AlaMoi

frankly, I don't think the parchment has thing one to do with browning. make the dish - I have not - but having worked through making the dish as a thought experiment..... it's fingerling potatoes? no? or does one slice/mandoline a big-axx potato then cut out the rounds? so youse take the fish chunk and put the carefully fish scaled potato slices on top. then you flip it over into the pan to cook potatoes down. really? what magic does one use to keep the potato scales in place while flipping the adorned fish chunk into a pan? methinks the entire purpose of the parchment is to maintain the physical integrity of the prepared (raw) "schufft" while flipping it into the pan and removing it later. a top-of-fish parchment? interesting - nadda clue with the exception that the temps required to produce such a pretty bunch of potato scales could work to dry out the fish.... regardless, we do fish right regular and this one is on my list.

the reality is a CO2 fire extinguisher won't do diddle-diddle for making ice cream. well, perhaps an 8,000 lb might get you halfway there.... just not enough 'BTUs of cold' produce by the expanding gas.

don't mention that to KFC. it'll ruin their whole day. after all, pressure frying is just the absence of a vacuum......

....So my broader point stands—I don't understand vacuum frying. that would make more than one of us. you are quite correct as to the maker's literature, etc. all fluff, no facts, no basis, no explanations. reducing the boiling point of oil is idiotic. no cook anywhere uses cooking oils at or near their boiling point. things "cook" by the absorption of heat, not by the evacuation of water. were that true, you could cook your meats in the freezer. at well below water freezing points H20 sublimes from solid form (ice) to gaseous form (water vapor) without becoming a liquid (aka "water") in the home, it's called freezer burn; when done in controlled fashion, it's called "freeze drying" as to oil absorption, the entire experiment involves 20 gram (0.705 ounces by weight) batches of carrot sticks. the authors do not claim this is a magic bullet to greaseless fried chicken. why do I have the idea tempura batter deep fried at 240'F might absorb more oil than when deep fried at 375'F? it is an interesting theory; cooking masses of chips in a near perfect vacuum is a big time serious physical/engineering problem. the underlying issues probably explains why so few high end kitchens are now equipped with their own liquid nitrogen generation plant - it may be "doable" - just not practical.

the original point is about frying, specifically deep frying, in oil - so the poaching thing is an aside. the boiling point of cooking oils is quite a bit higher than the smoke point - the oil temps used in plain old deep frying at the corner deli do not approach the boiling point of oils. I'm not sure how decreasing the boiling point of the oil would do anything in this situation. the article cited talks about carrot crips - and reading through the article: - the differential temperature oil to water boiling point is maintained. so if we assume a 'normal' fry temp of 350'F vs. 212'F for water, that's 138F' difference - as pointed out in the article, reducing the boiling point of water and likewise the oil temperatures means the vitamins, etc. are not heated to the same temp = less reduction of 'health benefits' and secondarily since the oil is not heated to such a high temp it does not oxidize and create toxic (their description) compounds in the oils. this all makes sense in context of (most) chemical reactions (assuming the detrimental, in this case) happen faster at higher temperatures. the paper gives the methodogy - for vacuum frying they used a pressure of 1.9 inches of Hg, or 0.93 psi (this is a near total vacuum....questions of practicality in reality exist...) which means the water boiling point is in the neighborhood of 100'F - about half the normal 212'F - not far off hot tap water in the kitchen - and an oil temp of about 240'F. and cooking times in the 2-4 minute range. the bottom line to this: these folks are talking some real serious deviation from the usual, ande it is an interest experiment, but results/conclusions may not apply across the board. it also raises a question of what to do about pathogens that may be in/on the food surfaces - those temperatures are too low to be effective against the common 'food poisoning' bacteria. leaving the food in the oil long enough for the 240'F oil temperature to penetrate the food mass will most definitely produce something crisp! although I'm a fan of 'low&slow' cooking for meats, 100'F steam is quite outside a usable temp - and 240'F will not brown any breading, etc. my take-away: is it might work for creating a carrot crisp - but those conditions/etc are not likely to produce satisfactory results with fried chicken, fish, etc.

not actually a whole lot to wonder about. couple of technical points: when H2O changes from a liquid to a gas the volume increases by roughly 600x. under vacuum, moreso.... so a teaspoon/5ml of liquid water will become 3 liters / 3.17 quarts of water vapor. the question about 'keeping the vacuum pump running' - ? - yeah, you're gonna need that. and you're gonna need a well designed filtering system to keep the misc. bits & stuff from the pot from entering the vacuum pump and causing failure$. low temperature deep frying - when food gets plunked into the deep fryer there's all this bubbling activity. that is water/moisture in the good turning to steam and blowing out of the foodchunk (600+ to 1, see above....) since in a vacuum liquid water turns to water vapor at a lower temperature, the theory is one can use a lower temperature for the oil - or put into marketing BS: low temperature deep frying. (actually, some benefit there - lower temp oil = longer oil life, fewer murderous free radicals, etc....) now, the theory is nice - but if you have four ounces of chicken you want cooked / deep fried, it takes a certain amount of heat energy absorbed from the hot oil into the chicken. the absence / removal of water is not what cooks the chicken, it is the exposure of the chicken flesh to heat that cooks the chicken. it takes more heat energy to turn liquid water to water vapor, than simply to heat up the water/chicken - the old high school science class "heat of vaporization" thing. the lower the temperature, the slower than goes, and one could speculate, the drier out the chicken becomes. in the end it's a balancing act - high heat cooks fast, lower heat cooks slower. does it work better/worse than "conventional __________" - no clue.

you're both right. that's the problem with science - it can mis-direct a body. there is a "coefficient" aka "number" which represents how much heat energy a material "holds" - according to that number, aluminum is much better at holding heat than cast iron (stainless, copper, etc) - see the table. but, that number is "per pound/mass" of material. a body will notice upon first hand inspection that aluminum pans are not as heavy as cast iron - there is less aluminum mass to the pan. so, aluminum holds heat better but there's less of it to hold some "amount" of heat - the "more mass" factor of cast iron is why it is noted for "holding heat better."

actually, there's nothing wrong with a motor under load. or a motor getting warm. if it gets too hot to hold your hand on "indefinitely" that is running into a bad area.

hhmm. disclaimer: I have a mid '80's 5 qt lift bowl KA - and I'm happy with it. 325 watt, 5 qt. I only do small(er) batches of breads and pizza dough - make butter, whip cream, and souffles. take note that eggs whites and heavy cream are not famous for offering a lot of resistance..... that said, there is megatons of truth in the stripped gears, poor design, etc., you will see reported on KA mixers over the years. the product has a history. the "name" / "brand" was sold and the new owners, seeking more milk out of the cash cow, gave the brand a pretty darn big black eye. some say the problems have been resolved. some say it's still the same old broke down cow. every year or so new KA models come out with bigger motors (wattage wise) and etc. the critics say it's the same old motor, just new Chinese math on wattage ratings..... the best expert on factual KA stuff I've read can be found here: http://leoladysw.blogspot.com/2012/02/introduction-and-timeline.html the "other" market has many converts. they swear by x y z. at double the KA cost + , methinks I'd swear as well.... it's not like KA are cheap. the basic issue is how big a batch are you demanding / requiring. few counter top models are intended for mass production - they are designed for the "home kitchen" - I say this as once upon a time came a similar query - and as it later turned out the poster was looking to do 20-30 loaves of whole grain breads per day. that's not a home kitchen, that's a small bakery..... and the really bad KA news is,,,, reading reviews of the newer 575 watt models, the happy campers sound like June Cleaver doing a happy-happy-happy dance, the unhappy campers sound rather gear-grounded in real life. makes one wonder about the reality of some reviews.....

I got one "free" with the purchase of other stuff from Thermoworks. as pointed out, the emissivity factor of various surfaces requires any IR device be properly calibrated if you need an accurate temperature number. for "it's hotter / it's cooler" they're fine. do not believe the "it auto calibrates" nonsense. I have yet to find a real-cooking-life use for the thing.

.....then that baker guy dumps it in the dumpster. I'm sure that happens somewhere under some circumstances. when I was a yung'un we had bakery outlet stores. you could buy the out of date bread right cheap there. in this area we have a couple stores that specialize in out of date product - just about nothing in the store is 'in date' - cases and pallets full of bottled drinks, vegetables and soups, frozen foods - especially seafood - frozen shrimp 30 days past,,, for $1/lb - it's a deal.... and all the bread products. our local food banks will not accept out of date items - because the starving masses relying on the food bank to eat will not take it. it's bad, it's spoiled, why you passing off this garbage on me?..... it does make one question the depth of the need....

..Ill bet they are tossed. lots and lots of food at supermarkets is tossed. fresh produce that fails some definition gets tossed, as does thawed fish, meats as well - except meat the market typically drastically marks down 'for quick sale' dry goods, breads, etc. - typically stocked by the manf. rep. - out of date stuff is culled and the manf. takes it back. just today a non-store dude was pawing through frozen pizza, putting buckets and buckets of boxes in his 'cart' - I asked if there was a recall and he said no, just expiring product..... supermarkets operate on a very slim profit margin - typically 1-2% they cannot afford to throw away all the three day old bread - the baker delivery guys gathers up all the old stuff and takes it back for credit. those cute little plastic clip ties are color coded so the rep can quickly spot old stuff.

...So what happens to the unbroken eggs in a carton where 1 egg is broken? no clue. it could be instructive to ask the manager(s)? eggs are only required by law to show the inspecting/packing plant code and the Julian date of packing. _if_ a use by/best by/mealymouthedotherwordsdates are used, it must be not coded - i.e. in an "open" date format. mmm-dd for example - and that date may not exceed 45 days from packing (if memory serves....I have been known to error....) a couple years back there was a mega-flappola because apparently at that time - and quite possibly still.... - out of date eggs could be returned to the processing facility where they would be rewashed, reinspected, repacked and resold with a new date. in theory this meant the eggs in the carton with a date 44 days from now could be 20-30 year old eggs that have been recycled many times...... okay, an exaggeration, but your get the drift, no? in the midst of the flappola my market had a big sign: "our eggs are not reprocessed" so perhaps cartons of eggs with a busted one are returned to the vendor for 'reprocessing'?

...defying the unwritten rule that old eggs are best for boiling/deviling. I can't explain it...I don't know what she did differently but the yolks on her boiled eggs were perfect and bright yellow...no green exterior! Color me shocked. aged eggs are better at being peeled. boiled/deviled isn't an issue there. "no green" - the green is a sulfur & iron reaction between the yolk and the white; and it is due to one single factor: over-cooking. end of story, no other reasons need apply.

...And what regular oven can give you 200 stable degrees? Sheesh, ATK is out of control. ATK out of control? whenever have they been in control? seems pretty normal behavior for ATK. as to ovens and temps,,,, the newer controls (digital) will do the 200'F job - even in builder's grade. I have a old style mercury-in-glass-used-to-be-traceable-calibrated yadda yadda thermometer that I use to check my oven. the oven is accurate and stable at low temps. in a long roast, I routinely use 245'F for poultry and pork, 265'F for beef. there is in basic principle no difference in the chimney from the grill method. the chimney just provides a smaller fire area and the natural draft created does produce higher temps - superficially that is. using lump charcoal and adjusting the distance grate to coals one can do the same with a $25 yard sale Weber. except of course, using the chimney method works out best if you are cooking for one. it's kinda' a tiny grill area.....

when people start getting sick and barfing in Aisle 11, state and federal authorities look to the codes printed on products - plant, packing date, lot code, etc. I suspect supermarkets would be disinclined to repack various and sundry eggs into 'other' cartons, but you really never know..... sparrowgrass - I have never found, altho I have searched, an FDA/USDA reg / rule about how long eggs can sit around prior to inspect/pack. the rules have changed sorta'-recent; eggs have to be refrigerated within 24 hours and kept/stored/shipped under refrigeration up to the point of sale, for example. was that 30 day an internal guideline, or do you know of a regulatory source for max storage prior to inspection?

had to hunt down this pix.... two eggs, Julian pack dates on carton were two days apart. one is Giant store brand. one is Egglands Best. which is who? things to keep in mind: as an egg ages, the white gets thinner. as an egg ages, the chalaza 'disappears' (that's the stringy thing attached to the yolk...) as an egg ages, the yolk looses cohesion and flattens out. and the kicker is: the pack date - required by USDA - is not related to when the egg was laid/produced. eggs can sit in cold storage for a long time before they are inspected and packaged.

perhaps an unclear post on my part . . . . nothing to do with cracked eggs in the carton. using the brown eggs in my kitchen is where the cracking part comes in. oh, I always open the carton and look, I have found cracked ones, I have found eggs invisibly (from the top) cracked and "glued" in their pocket - so I always run my finger down the rows to ensure they are free to wiggle. more than once I've handed a carton with cracked eggs to a store employee who happened by - he thanks me, takes the carton, and disappears. I have not a clue what they do with those eggs, although the store does have an in-house hot and cold prepped food - Chinese dishes to order, etc. so they do have a spot to use them.

here's a curious issue..... for a thousand years I've been buying store brand large eggs. no complaints. an aside: sometime back a batch of folk were raving about Eggland's Best. bought a dozen - despite similar pack dates, the Eggland white were far runner, the yolks far flatter - just plain old not as fresh.... back to the future of now,,,, our market posted signs 'sporadic egg shortages' etc... one day the only thing on the shelf was brown eggs, so I bought a dozen. apparently the browns are sourced locally / whatever because they struck me gag-gag as soon as I cracked one open - tall yolks, really nice color, firm whites - very fresh. can't say they taste way better, certainly not buying into the more nutritious theory, but they are prettier on the plate - I like 'em!

looks like kohlrabi - good stuff. bit like lima beans tho - there's be thems that love it and thems that hate it.

"deterrents" have a very spotty record. if they work for you, wonderful. just don't bet the corn on it..... chicken wire / bird netting / etc - this requires some care and consideration. our neighbors had 8' bird netting put up along the back of their yard to keep the deer from eating the (gasp!) ivy when food got tight. like ivy would never recover....but anyway.... we had to call the state game wardens to extricate a yearling from the bird netting. the deer jumped, didn't make it - likely didn't see the netting. snow&ice, perhaps it didn't have the "footing" it thought. in the end the deer had to be put down due to the injuries it suffered struggling to get out of the netting. "deer" visible is good - what they see and don't like - works best.

we had a dog, fenced yard. had no critter problems. dog died of old age; first year got a groundhog. previously and again this morning DW tells me we've got deer in the yard, inside the 4' fence. yup. tracks in the garden; green beans munched off, tomatoes munched (?!), peas chewed down, potato foliage mashed on exit.... height is near meaningless to deer. you'll need about 10' of very visible fencing to be sure. however comma, deer get antsy about the _width_ they must jump. even 3' wide orange plastic fence _horizontal_ is extremely effective. just be sure you think the placement through. my grandfather had a setup - almost perfect, a deer got in - and chasing the deer it opted to leave via the driveway non-horizontal blocked fenced - landed on the car, did several hundred bucks (....ohhhh bad pun..........) damage to the hood/roof.

correct - I should have limited "the world" - my oops....

meats may be injected with "flavor enhancers" - it is allowed by FDA/USDA and the law also requires the product to be labeled with that fact, and the contents. because it is allowed does not mean every piece of beef, pork and chicken on the shelf has been injected with water to make it heavier. well, perhaps except at Whole Foods - but the rest of the world generally follows the law. the law specifies the maximum that may be injected. for poultry the law specifies the maximum permitted "retained water" from the wash/rinse process. the tin hattist theories that everything is now artificially inflated is actually not true, but it is amusing. water coming out of fish is just water coming out of fish - cook a protein and it shrinks. frozen fish/seafood sold by weight must weigh as specified after any free water is drained off. if you need a quick check, pick up a 1-2 pound bag of frozen shrimp and put in on a store scale - or any the fish counter to weigh it for you. the one place you can get snookered is buying shrimp from under the counter. depending on how far along they are in the thawing bit, they can have a lot of ice still stuck on the shrimp - which gets weighed into your packaged price.

do I really think . . . uhm. in a word, yes. the run of the mill bacteria do not survive <200'F. ask your local friendly surgeon if he would be happy to have his instruments sterilized in boiling water. ...treat the printed cutters as disposable. is this because they are contaminated with horrible deadly bugs (from where? the dough? does this mean you can't eat the cookies either after they are baked because the cookie dough has contaminated the cookie cutter? where did the bugs go?) or because the structural integrity of a bunch of semi-glued plastic dots is not up to a massive cast iron casting?