jaw
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Posts posted by jaw
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seems like the oven light is on by default. comes on as soon as the oven starts heating up.
as far as the light is concerned, you basically only need your phone if you want to turn it off while the oven's on.
the light is off when the oven is off/idle.
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i always thought they were kind of interesting. though totally unappealing. better than nothing, but far from my first choice in ranges.
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i forgot to mention one of the things i like the most about it so far. there's no bullsһit mystery modes! the theory of operation is pretty transparent. idk if i've ever used an appliance this complex and just immediately felt like i knew WTF it was actually doing. a real treat, wow.
one exception is what steam % actually signifies above 100°C. the manual hints that this temp is a cutoff in the control logic but doesn't actually explain it well. fortunately, i listened to some podcast about it, so i know the % is kind of like a duty cycle, and it just 'continuously' emits steam. at 100°C and below, % steam is the RH.
but compare that to my breville toaster oven or miele M Touch ovens that don't explain jack. they only give you application advice / usage suggestions. many of the operation modes are totally opaque 'magic' bs. the APO is so much better in this regard.
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well, i got an APO because it was on sale. haven't used it yet aside from initial burn in to cook off the residues.
what i like:
- build quality seems acceptable
- although i haven't put it to the test, the app seems ok. multiple clients connected to the APO at once, and it didn't seem buggy.
- i was worried about lack of usability with the on-device (non-app) interface, but you can actually get to most of the useful stuff. seems like the main thing missing is multi-stage cooking, and i'd want to do that from the app anyways.
- the fw (OTA) update process is pretty good. and fast.
neutral:
- no exposed bottom element for powerful radiation from below. maybe this isn't a big deal though.
- the on-device interface is capacitive touch. i don't really like the look or UX, but as far as capacitive interfaces go, this one is good. NOT great, but it is at least (barely) acceptable. capacitive interfaces are usually complete shit.
what i don't like:
- there is no way to have the oven turn off when the timer finishes. this is a major WTF. if they want to have a mode where the timer just beeps at you and does nothing, that's fine. but it needs to be configurable in the timer menu (do X when timer finishes). CRITICAL feature imo. afaik, the closest thing to a workaround is to set up multi stage cooking and have the final stage set the oven to the minimum temp (75°F?). that kind of works, but it's a pain the ass. every other oven i use (including toaster oven) shuts off by default when the timer's done. this potentially totally breaks my experience with the APO. idk if i can use this as a convenience device. i'm used to being able to put in food, quickly press a couple of buttons, walk away, and come back whenever i want without worrying about burning. and you know what happens to devices that aren't convenient, right? they don't get used
- no on-device oven light button. app-only.
- the baking pan is ridged. ew. i know they did it because it's a cheap way to get a rigid pan, but ew.
- no desktop/web app. i guess i can probably run it in bluestacks or something (android emulator). assuming this is the case, it's no big deal
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Quote
The Searzall Pro is compatible with MAPP gas. And with MAPP gas, this Searzall Pro is MUCH faster than the original.
eh, what? MAPP gas hasn't been readily available in over a decade. lol
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i'd open it and check it out at least. inspect the can liner from the inside. lol
could still be good
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On 5/12/2021 at 10:35 AM, weinoo said:
I don't even dip. I put the rice cooker bowl on a scale, and weigh the rice - now it's in the bowl I wash the rice in, and after draining, it's back on the scale for the amount of water needed. I find that by subtracting how much water is left clinging to the rice from the total amount of water needed, the rice comes out beautifully.
i'm with you. i have various scales in various capacity/resolution ranges for different tasks. for this one, i have a Jennings CJ-4000 (4kg x 0.5g) that lives on my countertop connected to AC power.
i put the rice cooker bowl on the scale, tare, weigh the rice, tare, wash the rice, and then weigh the water. notice that i tare before rinsing. the rinse residue is included in my water weight.
for me, i wager that this is at least as fast as measuring the rice and water volumetrically. i can just pour the rice directly in the bowl without stopping. no fiddling with the stupid measuring cup up to 6 times, making sure each cupful is level, etc.
i have a small table taped to my wall next to my scale with measurements i've tweaked bit by bit over time. the columns are for "portions" -- 1-6 portions, where 6 portions represents the max capacity of my cooker. the first row is rice mass. the subsequent rows are water masses for various kinds of rice i use (water for tamaki gold, water for brown rice, etc).
i use scales whenever it makes sense (which is almost always). my recipes are all formulated gravimetrically in spreadsheets in google drive in a recipe folder. i just have to change the value in the "portions" cell to quickly scale the measurements. i like this system.
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7 hours ago, ElsieD said:
Although I have signed up, I am still waiting for my coupon. I may try calling them.
for BB&B, you should be using a 20% coupon on every order. ideally, you should split orders with multiple over-$39 items into multiple orders -- the coupon is 20% off a single item, and the free shipping threshold is $39.
i make a new account with a new email address every time, but i don't know if that's actually necessary.
coupon link:
https://offers.bedbathandbeyond.com/SignupWidget/dynamic/BBBUS-email-printable-offers_FEO
some brand exclusions apply (look at the list).
you have to wait a little. it does arrive within a day or so, though.
link to creami for convenience:
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/ninja-creami-ice-cream-maker-in-silver/5628259
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2 hours ago, horseflesh said:
Thanks @jaw. Interesting that the CF is fussy about cookware... that's a trait I already have on my junky cooker and I is not awesome. Do you have an induction cooktop you favor?
I cook outside a lot -- especially now that I am mired in a months long warranty issue with NXR -- and I need something decent... I am limited to 120V, though.
you mean a portable induction cooktop? if so, no. i only have a CF. but the vollrath 4-series is worth a look. see this post for my thoughts:
i mostly cook on this miele HR 1622-2 induction range:
https://www.mieleusa.com/e/30-inch-range-hr-1622-2-10902350-p
i strongly prefer it for general purpose cooking. the oven is also pretty badass.
is there room for improvement on this device as well? of course. but it's pretty good. not perfect, but it's imo the best range currently on the market.
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On 8/22/2021 at 10:30 PM, horseflesh said:
A few weeks ago my NXR gas range/cooktop bit the dust... gas leak! While I've been dealing with the warranty rodeo I have been doing all my cooking outside on a pretty junky induction cooktop. And I hate it, I absolutely hate it... primarily because the heating element is really small, so pots tend to get a hot spot in the middle. It's especially bad with cookware that doesn't have a good heat spreader, like carbon steel... or especially cast iron. It's almost unusable with either of those kinds of pans.
I've been eyeing the Control Freak for a couple of years but with my new recent induction experience I am increasingly gun shy simply because it is an induction cooktop. Those of you who have and love the Control Freak, I would love for you to tell me that there's nothing to worry about in this regard. Or if it IS a drawback, knowing that up front would be a big help too. It would be too bad if I could not use my nice Darto carbon steel pans on the Control Freak, but it might not be a deal killer.
in terms the burner's size and evenness of the field, the CF is acceptable.
however, even if i had several CFs, i personally would not want it as my main cooktop.
- for general cooking, i prefer controlling power output (open loop control). 0%-100% (100 settings) or actual power in watts would be ideal. instead, you only get three power output settings, and beyond that you must select a temperature setpoint (closed loop). turning the setpoint all the way up is not enough for good open loop control with only three output settings. you can't trick it to work around it.
- it is rather finicky with cookware compatibility/recognition. slightly warped stuff that should work (and DOES work on other induction cooktops) often won't work on CF.
for me, it is a specialty tool. i usually cook on my miele induction range which gives 12 power output settings.
love the build quality, though.
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cool system, @CentralMA.
pics?
does pressure equalization happen somehow? i.e. is your jug of soap caved in, and does it become progressively harder/slower to dispense?
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for peels, Gi Metal or bust.
they have a wide range of products, and i bet you can get short handles for these portable ovens. or at least shorter handles. if you want, it's also easy to trim the handles with a saw.
https://gimetalusa.com/gimetal-our-products
i have A-32RF/120 launching peel and I-20 turning peel, but my oven is much bigger.
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10% off on tapmaster sink foot actuators on conservastore.com
code: EARTHDAY21
expires 4/22/21 midnight (idk which timezone)
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well, there's a 10% off sale at conservastore (code EARTHDAY21, expires tomorrow), so i got a "euro" style to try out on another sink.
it will be fun to compare to the kickplate style. i'll eventually update with which style i prefer and why.
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On 12/29/2020 at 6:51 PM, ErwinR said:
The pan is a Demeyere which is supposedly made for induction use. When I place a straight edge on the bottom of the pan I can slip a piece of copier paper between it and the pan at the very center but two pieces of paper is too thick. I would think that this would be flat enough but I’m just starting to use the CF so I don’t know.
even for the CF, that's more than flat enough.
any updates?
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eh
the price on that skillet has been 14.88 for almost all of the past year. they dropped the price by less than a dollar. 89 cents savings, lol.
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hmm, idk. 500-600usd is a hard sell for an immersion circulator.
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On 12/31/2020 at 2:26 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:
I'm pretty sure Thermoworks dosen't manufacture the pH meters they sell. Anyhow I have not yet succumbed.
My Thermoworks collection includes two Thermapens, a surface contact Thermapen, wifi, waterproof, precision reference thermometer, countless thermocouples, and a Wand. Plus cases to almost fit them in.
thermoworks doesn't manufacture the thermapen, either. ETI does. https://blog.thermoworks.com/thermometer/thermoworks-eti-ltd/
that's not a criticism. just sharing because i thought it was interesting.
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6 hours ago, blackp said:
If the bottom of your pan is not totally flat and even why would you even consider using a CF? Assuming that the pan was slightly warped the sensor would be reading the temp close to the centre while one edge may not be even touching the glass therefore not getting the same induction input of those parts of the pan which were touching. It's all about precision. If you have an old warped pan toss it or use it on gas. If on the other hand you are keen to get an even temperature precisely held, then use a decent pan on your CF and get the benefits that you paid for!
first, i assert that it's not all about precision. i think they should have had a "classic" mode without temp control (but where temp is displayed!). i.e. you pick power output in watts or percentage or whatever, and there is no closed-loop temp feedback. this would have added no cost to the device and would have made it more versatile.
as for my pans, they aren't warped enough to matter in the way you suggest. also, you realize there's a gap in the field in the center of the resonator too (where the contact sensor is), right? the power distribution isn't perfectly even across the cooking surface, and there's always going to be a temp gradient as a consequence of finite thermal conductivity.
On 7/5/2020 at 10:27 PM, Snowpup said:It's okay. Not much worse than a large cast iron skillet.
The CF will read the temperature from the button of the steel, so will be a little low, but consistent enough to compensate.
even if my pans were ridiculously warped, i think i should still be capable of cooking on them unless there's a technical limitation that physically prevents it from working. why should i not be able to do something just because "computer says no"? especially if i paid a lot of money for it, lol.
failure to "detect" usable cookware is an undesirable limitation.
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unfortunately, the CF is finicky with cookware detection. i talked about this earlier in the thread.
i have a lot of slightly-to-moderately warped stainless cookware that works fine 100% of the time on my miele induction range but works inconsistently on my CF.
sometimes, it works fine on CF. sometimes, it stops working mid-cook. other times, it won't work at all.
it's a shame because it's an issue that could be fixed in software. i emailed polysci and asked them to release a fw update with a debug/calibration menu that could let you adjust the coupling detection threshold, but obviously they don't want to do that. they don't even trust their users to update their own fw anymore lol.
it does work fine with modern cookware "designed for induction" that is in good condition (perfectly flat-bottomed).
but if you have "borderline" cookware, don't expect it to work even though it could (and should).
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43 minutes ago, rotuts said:
@ jaw
this doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Im not sure what you mean by
" the previous days' cheeses at half off "
cheese , after all , is designed to keep for ' some time '
are these the 12 days of cheese's
now a Day Old ?
I've never understood the ' allure ' of WF...
i can't tell if you're joking or not. giving the benefit of the doubt, the 12 days of cheese sale says:
Quote*Valid 12/12 – 12/23/20. Only valid for the cheese specified for the day.
i'm saying that this year they're doing something different. they'll honor sale for all of the previous days' cheeses, but you have to ask them to slap a special PLU sticker on there.
i'm just talking about
cheese on sale, but
thanks for the
"lesson" i guess 🙄
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two whole foods in my area will sell the previous days' cheeses at half off. you have to ask them to stick a special sticker on them though.
i went today and got several different ones on sale.
edit: i mean that today in particular, you can get any of the '12 days of cheese' cheeses at half off.
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sometimes, i wonder if the CF is actually necessary or worth it. this is not one of those times. the CF shines in candy and sauce making.
in this case, it was trivial to make syrup without scorching or caramelizing anything.
i candied some aji lemon drops (C. baccatum).
ingredients:
- 350g water
- 250g sugar
- 2g citric acid
- 3g salt
- half a lemon
- 360g aji lemon drops (cut, destemmed, and deseeded)
meticulously cutting and cleaning the peppers is BY FAR the most time consuming part. you don't have to do this i guess, but i'd at least cut them in half. i just think the small, clean pieces eat better, and removing the placental tissue makes the heat level very tolerable to most people. the pepper weight above is after cleaning and cutting.
the sugar, water, citric acid, and salt were combined in a saucepan. the lemon was squeezed in as well, and the rind was then sliced into 1cm strips and added to the saucepan for extra pectin.
T+0
1) sucose inversion (acid-catalyzed hydrolysis):
the CF was set to 215°F in pan control mode (cookware contact sensor), and the mixture was heated for 30 minutes at slow/medium power as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. it was stirred to get everything dissolved while it came up to temp.
T+30min
2) pepper candying:
the lemon rind was removed, and the peppers were added. the setpoint was raised to 232°F, and the mixture was gently stirred until the syrup hit >230°F (thread stage) as measured by thermapen (about 15min). it was necessary to tilt the pan and let the syrup pool up to get a good reading. at this point, the peppers were translucent.
T+45min
3) jarring:
pour them in a jar, let cool to room temp, and put in the fridge. they keep a long time. if you want, you can prop up one side of the pan on something to let the excess syrup drain away. sometimes, i do this and put the syrup in a separate container because i don't like the candied peppers super syrupy.
enjoy them on stuff like pancakes, sandwiches, pizza, etc.
yield: about 430g (somewhat less than a pint)
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18% off sitewide on thermoworks. thermapen, anyone?
sale just started today. doesn't say when it ends. no code necessary.
Current sales, deals, and bargains (Part 2)
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
https://www.fissler.com/us/products/product-list/sale/
some fissler stuff is on sale.
no code needed
Sale dates 11/24/21 through 12/2/21 at 11:59 p.m. PDT