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Superbags


mojoman

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Don't have a superbag, but you can use tomato water for any sort of application that you might use tomato juice- it'll just have a cleaner flavor and mouthfeel.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the superbag cost, and which one did you get (the finer or coarser mesh?)

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al wang

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I just bought a superbag from le sanctuaire.  I recalled reading that you can throw cut up tomatoes in it to make clear tomato "water."

What do you do with the water?  Anyone else have one of these?

I just found this "sort of" recipe.

http://studiokitchen.typepad.com/studiokit...erbag.html#more

I'll have to try it when the melons get better later in the summer.

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Don't have a superbag, but you can use tomato water for any sort of application that you might use tomato juice- it'll just have a cleaner flavor and mouthfeel.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the superbag cost, and which one did you get (the finer or coarser mesh?)

I got the 100 um, 1.3 L one. It was $45 + $9 shipping.

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It looks like a reusable filter bag that comes in 2 sizes: 1.3 liters and 8 liters. I can appreciate its straining capabilities, but is it any better than cheesecloth or muslin in a China cap? Or a fine-mesh chinoise by itself?

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I just bought a superbag from le sanctuaire.  I recalled reading that you can throw cut up tomatoes in it to make clear tomato "water."

What do you do with the water?  Anyone else have one of these?

Geoff Lindsay from Melbourne would use the water to make a tomato jelly to use in his take on Greek salad. It was a pain for me to do, but I don't have a Superbag.

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Still, what the hell is a superbag, and how do you use it??

A super bag is basically a filter-like bag that you can use to strain or clarify liquids by means of their natural gravity.

Example: Tomato water is made by cutting up chunks of tomatoes and putting them in the bag and letting the 'water' filter through the bag over night. the result is a clear tomato flavoured water.

Another great way to use it is making a flavoured liquid base freezing it and putting it into the bag to defrost slowly. the liquid will be clear and taste like your base.

Does that help?

Effectivley you can use a chinoise lined with cheese cloth.....

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Superbags are awesome. I'm working at elBulli right now and they use them here to pass all their stuff. For example they puree asparagus and pass them through to make asparagus "water" that they then use for making airs. Or they pass olives by the thermomix and then we pass them through superbags and they use the olive water to make the famous olive spherifications, etc. It is basically like the best most precise filtering system you can use. Everything will come out absolutely clean and liquid.

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Oh, and mojoman, just remembered something. Since you mentioned tomato water. The way they do it here at elbulli is they put cherry tomatoes through the juicer, then out it in empty plastic water bottles with the tops cut off. Then they leave them undisturbed for a day in the fridge and the tomato water naturally separates and then we just pinch the bottom of the bottle and get the clear tomato water and that is passed through paper or superbags.

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It is sort of a pain to clean, especially if you use highly staining things like beets, but generally what they do here is rinse them well with soap and water, then they keep them submerged in some water with a little bleach for a while and then take them out and rinse them very well again and leave them to air dry.

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I've been looking at these for awhile (also looking for a suitable, cheaper copy from a laboratory supply), and for an inspired home cook, 45$ is a heck-of-a-lot to spend on a bag, no matter how useful. Can anyone shed any light on the durability?

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  • 1 month later...
Don't have a superbag, but you can use tomato water for any sort of application that you might use tomato juice- it'll just have a cleaner flavor and mouthfeel.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the superbag cost, and which one did you get (the finer or coarser mesh?)

I got the 100 um, 1.3 L one. It was $45 + $9 shipping.

I've seen on ebay and other sites this type of bag for oil filtering and other applications but the price starts at $9 they say they are suitable for food applications, the micron size is from 1 - 100.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
It is sort of a pain to clean, especially if you use highly staining things like beets, but generally what they do here is rinse them well with soap and water, then they keep them submerged in some water with a little bleach for a while and then take them out and rinse them very well again and leave them to air dry.

I just got a 100-micron bag from Le Sanctuaire. There are no cleaning instructions included, and the ICC web site doesn't have any info either. I'm wondering whether exposure to harsh chemicals will shorten the lifespan of the bag. Does bleach damage the fabric? If I use a strong alcohol (like Everclear) to sterilize it and speed drying, will that weaken the fabric? Questions, questions...

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
I just bought a superbag from le sanctuaire.  I recalled reading that you can throw cut up tomatoes in it to make clear tomato "water."

What do you do with the water?  Anyone else have one of these?

hi, the tomato water is great for enhancing flavours since it's concentrated with the umami flavour from the gel that holds together the seeds inside the fruit (it's the part of the tomato with most umami).

one of the best things i've tried is to gelatinize it in the plate you will later be serving another the main ingredient, it's great with seafood such as clams and oysters!

cheers

____________________________________________

Umami-Madrid

New Cooking Techniques & Asian Ingredients - In Spanish

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As there is at least one Spanish contributor to this thread I'll try my luck

Would a superbag be appropriate for straining horchata/orxata?

I'm wondering if the extra filtration would make the drink a little less 'granular'.

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