CanadianHomeChef

Anyone know if you can vacuum seal yeast? I always seem to buy too much of it, and I hate to see it go to waste. But I could see it killing it off. Also what about products with yeast in them (e.g. pizza dough)? If anything, I'll just it to nicely seal them in a bag that's not vacuum tight.

Woke up and found a link to this on the comment section of my website. Looks like an excellent resource: http://thecontrolfreak.breville.com/ (I think someone from Breville might be reading this thread and saw that there was a demand for this )

Thanks. But that doesn’t appear to be counter height. Already have a dining table on the deck.

Took my induction unit outside for the first time. Only had a very low side table, so I used that. Absolutely loved it! Made me wonder why I haven’t been cooking outside more this summer. Only problem was the height. Anyone know of any good counter height tables that can stay outside all year: rain, shine, and -40 degree weather? Anything specifically labeled “outdoor kitchen” or “outdoor countertop” seems to be overpriced.

I own the bimaterial spoon and ladle. First got the spoon based on Kenji's recomendation. I like it for my nonstick and enamel cookware. I've never been a fan of wooden or plastic spoons. The little bit of silicone gives it the flexibility to reach all the corners, but the plastic gives it sturdiness. I use it daily.

Nice! I just recently put away my second control freak for counter top space. Plan is to only take it out when needed.... bet I'll have them both out by the end of next week You're kitchen is oddly familiar. I just recently bought one of those giant wire shelves and put a bunch of pans and appliances on it. I also see you have a VacMaster, a Le Creuset bimaterial ladle, and a Breville Smart Grill I'm actually getting rid of my grill. Packed it away when I got the control freak as I find a large frying pan or grill pan works even better on it Just haven't sold it yet.

So for some reason my local Sobey's is clearing out their selection of Ghiradeli chocolate chips These are my favorite kind of chocolate, and unfortunately I've never been able to locate the baking bars in Canada, so I rely on the chocolate chips. The chips were initially 50% off, and then they marked them down another 50%. So $1.40 a bag! I cleared out what they had on the shelf (just 8 bags). I'll be returning later to see if they restock the shelves. I tried other Sobeys and unfortunately they've only marked them 50% (and not the additional 50%). Needless to say I'll be doing lots of melting and tempering on the CF Also utilized my Vaccum chamber I bought a couple months ago. Vaccuum sealed in mason jars and put in the freezer.

Hah. I upgraded my pots too after getting the CF. I went with All Clad D7 for stainless and Anolon Copper Nouvelle for nonstick. Would have gone with Demeyere Proline but I got the D7 on the cheap off eBay. I actually have found pan control more useful than probe control for liquid custards. The reason being is that probe control will allow the pan to get hotter than the target temperature. So unless you are constantly stirring to circulate the ingredients, parts of it will get too hot. I tend to use pan control to start a custard. And then switch over to probe towards the end, minimizing the need to constantly stir

Made some Bibimbap using cast iron dolsots I bought over a year ago. Worked perfectly on the Control Freak as I could dial into 450 to crisp the rice without worrying about it going over. The dolsots were sizzling at the table 😋

Dolsot Bibimbap. Made Bibimbap before. First time using a dolsot. It was sizzling at the table. 😋

I buy all my spices, including a variety of peppercorns, locally from The Silk Road in Inglewood here in Calgary. They also have a store at the farmer’s market on Blackfoot and another store in Edmonton. They ship across Canada and the USA. https://silkroadspices.ca/pages/all-collections

175 I think. I’ll have to double check. Used the probe.

Funny. I just made chocolate ice cream the other day. So silky.

The guide here also looks promising: https://www.hestancue.com/blogs/blog-recipes/precision-cooking-temp-chart

Hestan Cue's blog has published a few "Ultimate Guides" that provide some temperature guidelines. For example: Can be found here: https://www.hestancue.com/blogs/blog-recipes

Thanks AngleicLiar, Go ahead! Summer has just arrived, and I got some free time from being a teacher. I want to test the limits of this device more, so I'm looking for inspiration

Smaller pots might overshoot. Happens to my tiny 1 quart. Might happen to thinner pots too. My 7ply barely overshoot, even on high.

Coincidence. I did the same thing this weekend following Serious Eats recommendations. 160 for 2 hours. 3 minutes in 400 degree oil. No batter. Fall off the bone tenderness. I added some Kansas City BBQ sauce that I made last month, vacuum sealed in my chamber, and froze.

I think the only feature that was updated on mine is that it won’t clear existing recipes if I copy recipes from one unit to another via USB. Instead it will just add to whatever was peexisting on the unit

I do it at 230f. I got that temp for garlic off another chart. Will try 300f next time. See which one to include on the chart here: https://sizzleandsear.com/precisioncooking/

No trouble. I run it on a 20 amp circuit though. I only ever had issues when I brought it to a friends house who had aluminum wires. Plugged it into the outlet connected to the stove solved that problem.

But so far it’s only the gauge that’s causing me worries. Without it, I’d think the machine was working mighty fine. Here is is a package of bacon I reseated after taking a few pieces.

Okay. I think I’m good! Found this: As a general “Rule of Thumb”, for every 1000 feet above sea level, the maximum possible vacuum is reduced by approximately one in-Hg (0.491 psi). By using this rule one can quickly determine the maximum possible vacuum for the area. https://vacmaster.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/202402637/Effects_of_Altitude_on_Vacuum_Systems.pdf According to Vacmaster the maximum vacuum that can be achieved in Los Angeles at sea level is 29.92 in-Hg. Using the rule of thumb, I subtracted 3.5 (round altitude to 3500ft) and got 26.42. Punched that into a google conversion calculator and got 0.089468389 MPa, which is pretty much what my gauge reads. Now I don’t fully understand everything that I did , so if anyone with a better grasp of the science could confirm (or not confirm) my calculations, that would be great. Just want to make sure I’m getting maximum function out of my machine.

Found this: 1. Perfect Vacuum: is the absence of all air. A perfect vacuum, if such thing even exists, is the absence of air, or any molecules. There is nothing, only space. 4. Absolute Pressure: is the pressure referenced to perfect vacuum. Elevation vs Absolute Pressure As the altitude increases, the absolute pressure decreases. The fact is that the absolute pressure is always the same given the same altitude regardless where on earth (excluding pressure changes due to Temperature). This is why an absolute pressure gauge can be used to measure altitude. https://www.sanatron.com/articles/high-altitude-package-testing-utilizing-an-acrylic-vac-chamber.php I get to just under 0.09 MPa where the gauge seems to max out at 0.1

Nope. Looked up the replacement part and it is just a straight piece rather than a complete circle. So that little bit seems to make sense. Unless it’s suppose to be tighter? I’m not really a science person, but maybe it could have something to do with my altitude? I’m in Calgary at 1045 metres /3428 ft (according to Alexa)