Search the Community

I'm about to purchase a whipping siphon/cream whipper. Is it OK to put CO2 cartridges into a iSi cream whipper? I'm reading some stuff online that says to ONLY use Nitrous/Cream chargers in cream dispensers, and ONLY CO2 cartridges in soda siphons. Modernist Cuisine at Home says it is OK to use CO2 cartridges (in addition to nitrous) in a whipping siphon. Can someone please clarify? Even the iSi manuals say "only use iSi cream chargers". Thank you!

Just got one, haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I have a question... The instructions don't discuss using more than one charger, and in fact, state "you only need 1 charger for your iSi ThermoWhip," but I've seen many recipes and bloggers talking about using 2 or 3 chargers. Is this because they're using the 1L GourmetWhip rather than the .5L ThermoWhip? Is the general guideline 1 charger per half liter? As an additional bit of confusion, the instruction bookalsostates "do not use more than 2 chargers for Espumas." So... how many chargers can I safely use in my little half liter ThermoWhip, and is there a reason to go for 2 or 3 rather than 1? Stiffer mousses?

Hi, i'm looking into buying a whipping siphon but I was wondering about the size. In the "Top 5 Modernist Cuisine at Home Tools" blog you mention that we should try to get the 1L if possible. I was just wondering what would happen if we cut the recipe in half, would a 1L siphon still work properly? or do siphons need a minimum amount of ingredients to work properly. Thanks so much for the help!! Martin

Here in Australia the Mosa CO2 cartridges are much cheaper than the iSi branded ones or the Liss ones. Does anyone have experience using these Mosa chargers in an iSi Gourmet Whip? I've found a few sites saying they are compatible, but these are also sites that are selling them. I just thought it would be prudent to check if anyone has direct experience with using the Mosa in and iSi. Thank you.

I recently picked up an ISI Dessert Whip. I've looked through the various threads on this product and am learning a lot, but have yet to come across recommendations for procuring reasonably priced refills. I don't need a case of 600, I'm a home cook who's actually at home only a few months a year. With that said, William Sonoma destroys me by charging $12 for 12 chargers. At a dollar per charger, it doesn't exactly lend itself to tons of experimentation. I've seen chargers sold online for in boxes of 24, so I suppose I can order a couple boxes of those. ISI, unfortunately, happens to be the most expensive brand. I know they say not to, but will the other brands' chargers work in my whipper? Can I find chargers lthat will fit in a sporting goods store or something for cheaper? As an aside, does anyone know if I can use xanthan gum instead of gelatin in dairy-free foams? If so, what proportions should I be using?

Hey guys, if there is any other thread for this already I apologize but I searched the forums and couldn't find one but still, apologizing in advance. Long story short, I recently got to book 2 of MC, and started reading more about modern techniques for achieving classic results. The section on modern clarifying techniques (Vol.2, p.350-375) especially the vacuum filtering really caught my attention as to how it could save me some time. The faucet aspirators although inexpensive may overall end up costing more due to the amount of water needed to run them as I'm charged by the litre (I live in Canada, no idea what a gallon even is) of water used. So I've been looking around and there are kit's being sold with the Buchner funnel, flask and all of the vacuum hoses and other accoutrements but they attach to a hand-held pump. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/500ml-Vacuum-Filter-Hand-Pump/dp/B004QXWWI0/ref=pd_sbs_indust_31 ) Unfortunately it doesn't give an idea of the PSI it's able to achieve or anything and I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience clarifying/filtering using vacuum pumps or anything similar who would be willing to share their experiences. Thanks very much for your time and anything you can think of to help guys.

I recently tried the recipe for scrambled eggs from Ideas on Food Website. The recipe there is wrong. It calls for 1hr at 82 degrees, resulting in totally solid eggs that could not be dispensed through the ISI. They suggested I checked the "right" recipe in their book (which is kind of annoying that even though they know people have been having problems with the recipe, they don't update it... but that is a different story). I finally had a chance to do it. The recipe calls for 6 eggs (inaccurately). In my case that meant 340 g (Canadian extra large eggs, even though the recipe called for large). 75 g whole milk, 4.5 g salt, and 50 g of unsalted butter. All goes into a bag and cooked for 25 minutes at 72.5C. Then into the ISI, one charge, and presto. Everything worked well. The flavour was there, and as they are were extruded, the look was very impressive (like whipping cream), but they didn't hold their shape for many seconds. (I used them instead of egg in a Salad Nicoise, inspired by the recipe of Thomas Keller that uses tuna carpaccio.) Has anybody tried this recipe? I wonder what magic-white-powder can be used to make them stay in shape for a bit longer. I suspect cooking them longer could help too. Any suggestions? --dmg

Is there any tangible advantage of the Sous Vide/Poly Science unit over the Anova? My local culinary store just started carrying the $399 PS. I ask because I have enough store credit, discounts and gift cards that I could buy the unit without going out of pocket. There is nothing else in the store in that price range that I want or do not already have. I tried but can't redeem store credit for gift cards. And I have two Anova's that serve me well. Somebody would have to go. The biggest difference I've found with google-fu is not in the PS favor, the "made in China" unit is not considered repairable though it will be replaced while under warranty. Any others?

[Host's note: this topic forms part of an extended discussion that grew too big for our servers to handle efficiently. The discussion continues from here.] I am thinking about an Anova for a slightly different purpose. Can I use this in a home brewing environment to manage the grain mash temperature? Maybe I can use this for a HERMS brewing setup? I would use the Anova to maintain the temperature of a hot water tank. I would then use my pump to circulate the wort from the mash tun through a heat exchanger (copper coil) that is immersed in the hot water tank. Thanks. Dan

Has anyone seen or heard anything about these? I've read in a bunch of Amazon reviews that people have reliability problems with Anova's later generation circulators. This one's for lab use, looks totally butch, and the price just came down by 50%, to $450. Anova scientific seems to do zero marketing. It looks bulkier than most of the consumer circulators, although it's not so easy to get an exact sense from the pictures. It might be less of a monster than the Polyscience circulators. And it now costs around half as much.

I've made veggie burgers before and they are good but normally they are bean based and quite mushy, and are difficult to grill without them falling apart. I'm wondering if there is a modernist cuisine take on them? Something that will make them more like the consistency of a garden burger that can eaily be put on the grill? jcg

[Moderator note: The original Anova Sous Vide Circulator topic reached the maximum size the eG servers handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Anova Sous Vide Circulator (Part 1)] I had to post this because this is happening more and more often now : If you drop your unit into water: Do not power it on!!! We have industrial vacuum ovens that can dry things out in a flash and recover the unit - if you power on, the unit will short out - meaning you probably will be buying a new unit.

Hi everybody, Pectins. Well I am trying to do some research on Pectins. The Bought kind. From the ideas in food blog and reading i have discovered there are basically 2 types of pectins. HM Pectin (The one you know, Requires acidic conditions and Sugar to set, Has different seeting speeds available) & LM Pectin is thermo reversible) (Low Ester, Requires Calcium to set. Hence Pomona comes with calcium satchels) However, In recipes recently the chefs are using some pectins which have confused me. Ok Grant Achatz uses "Yellow Pectin" & "Pectin NH" along with others including Adriano Zumbo (Zumbo uses it for his Glaze amongst many other things, which he reheats everytime he needs it over double boiler to 35degrees Celcius) I have the following Pectins at home and am trying to match which ones equal what in the recipes. Genu Pectin Type 101 AS (This is a LM amidated Pectin) Brown Ribbon HV (HM Pectin) GENU pectin type D slow set-Z (HM Pectin, Slow setting) This one is referred to as Yellow at Le Sanctuaire) So there you have it I have Solved the Yellow Pectin problem. Its a slow set HM Pectin. I suspect I could swap the Brown ribbon with The genu pectin Type D slow set. I'll test that and get back to you. So the question remains what the bleep is Pectin NH. Ok So i do know that Pectin NH is a LM amidated Pectin. So I would suspect the LMA pectin I have would be fine. I know that it requires calcium to set, and so many of the recipes it is mentioned in does not have any calcium added? so what is going on. I noticed at the paddymelon website in Melbourne, Australia that it states it is standardised with Polyposphate, Calcium Citrate & dextrose. And Louis Stab information sheets says it has Sodium Diphosphate and Calcium Orthophosphate in it. So I've found a few clues there. Seems that Pectin NH is LMA pectin with Calcium in it, now to work out the concentration. I'll have to do some tests. Has anyone anymore knowledge on this topic? Please add, correct delete and contribute to the discussion. I really don't want to reinvent the wheel. I also don't want to buy Pectin NH if i really already have it. Also asking as to why you would choose Pectin over other Colloids like Gelatin, Gellan, etc. Does anyone kno what brands of Pectin they use at Alinea, French Laundry, Fat Duck & Zumbo? Kindest regards, Vol

Going to Toronto at the end of the month I was wondering if somebody had a recommendation for great restaurants. Thanks

In some of the other posts most particularly one on homemade ginger beer they talk about different carbonation techniques. My personal belief is that there is good cooking and that there is new cooking and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. A new taste sensation when you have nothing to compare it to can be hard to beat. Once you've tried a few things in the same vein I then can build up the basis of comparison and get more discriminating. Carbonation is one of these things the marrying of cranberries with carbonation is magical. Okay done now what else can we do? To that and after seeing an article in the ginger beer at home posting I bought a Fizz Giz. I like what the guy had to say and the lack of malarkey on his website. And I just didn't feel like building something. The question is what to do with it now it might be fun to do something special such as carbonated hard liquor for New Year's Eve. Anyone have any ideas?

I recently bought a 0,5L siphon to try (amongst other things) making some foams. My first two attempts sadly have failed. This is my last attempt: 1) Two sheets of gelatine soaked in cold water for 5-10 mins 2) 0,25L Monin raspberry syrup heated 3) I add the gelatine to the syrup while stirring and it quickly dissolves. 4) I then let the syrup sit until it gets to room temperature. 5) When at room temperature, I add the syrup to the siphon, close it, and load it with two chargers, shaking vigorously after each charge. 6) I then put the siphon on it's side lying in the fridge for about 5-6 hours. When it came time to test the foam, nothing but gas would come out of the siphon. When I opened the siphon, the syrup had turned into a quite firm gel covered by what looked like a thin layer of foam. I have a few theories about what could have gone wrong, but I'd like your opinion and advice as well, before my next attempt. After two failures, I need a success My theories: 1) Too little syrup (0,25L for a 0,5L siphon) / roo few chargers. Maybe the pressure in the siphon was not high enough to push the gas into the syrup? Could more chargers have helped, or should I get a 0,25L siphon? (I would rarely be making foams from 0,5L fluid) 2) Should have shaked the siphon just before trying to eject the foam. 3) Too much gelatine, making the gel too firm for the gas to push it out. 4) Should the siphon be stored upside-down in the fridge? At least then the gas not in the gel, would be pushing the gel out, instead of just ejecting all of the gas leaving me to scoop out the gel manually afterwards Any help will be much appreciated!

Hello all, My Polyscience Creative Series finally came in the mail, and I've been tearing through recipes from Modernist Cuisine at Home. I was very intrigued by the technique of vacuum sealing a steak brushed with fish sauce to mimic the flavor of dry aged beef as mentioned in the section on beef. I currently have a skirt steak in the fridge doing just that, but I was unclear on the cooking process. Should the steak be removed from the bag after the three day aging period, rinsed, and seasoned at usual or should it be cooked as is? I'm somewhat leery of seasoning it as usual, due to the innate sodium content of the fish sauce but other forums have said throwing it in the sous vide as is will result in too strong a flavor of fish sauce. Given my wife's absolute disgust for the smell of the sauce as I prepared the bags, I'm trying to avoid serving her an entree redolent in that aroma and taste. Thanks in advance for your input.

Im wondering if anyone here as tried to age a steak w fish sauce. consider : using fish sauce to age steaks if this doesn't give you an interesting list , just type in the above w Google. I finally go around to trying this w RedBoat40 and a thick sirloin strip. then SV my results are here : note the ModernistCuisine method in one of the first links 3 days sealed , 3 days cheesecloth , conventional cooking. I only did my steak one day in the RB40 , then SV if you like ' aged ' tasted , try some sort of variation. if you have tried this : how long did you leave the steak w the sauce in the refrigerator ? next time Ill add a little more RB40 initially and leave it for three days. Im unlikely to try the cheesecloth additional time. has anyone done this ? I might even try it on bland flavorless skinless boneless CkBr's

Perusing sous vide threads and blog entries here at eG and elsewhere, one is quick to note that chuck roast (also referred to as chuck steak) is usually one of the first cuts of beef prepared by the owner of a new SV rig. No wonder; its fat content and connective tissue makes for a tasty cut! Please feel free to add notes and results from previous cooks, and tips or suggestions for future preparations.

How do i explain this... I want to slice it thin against the grain (about 1/8) i want it to have a slight pull, but give way. I want most of the connective tissue to break down. What i don't want is for it to fall apart easy. Confirmed unwanted time/temp is 24 hours @ 160F. Still very moist but falls apart very easily. Also note, this will be chilled before put on the meat slicer too be sliced. Is there a better cut of beef suited for this?