Torches and sous vide

[ElsieD]

I just purchased an Iwatani torch and have used it to sear steak, on which it does a great job. What other items can I sear with this? Poultry? Fish? Scallops? Pineapple? Any suggestions welcomed.

[Keith_W]

You can use it to sear anything that strikes your fancy. Just remember that dark things sear faster than light things - as pointed out by McGee and MC. So once something is browned, it will then brown very quickly. This is important to know because once food turns brown, it will very rapidly progress to black.

Since I bought my torch, I have found many uses for it:

- popping bubbles where you do not want any (e.g. in a custard or a chawanmushi)

- lighting my charcoal grill

- charring vegetables - it is especially good for peeling capsicum. Unlike the conventional method, the blowtorch does not cook the veggie underneath.

- starting a flambe

- melting the base of candles so they sit securely in the candle holder, and lighting candles

- clearing cobwebs and killing spiders (be careful that the surface you are torching is non-flammable!)

- killing weeds. Direct the torch at the base of the weed. More fun than pulling it out.

- opening tight jars, especially jars which are sealed from dried out sugar. A few cycles of heating and plunging into cold water usually breaks the seal, or you could try wearing a rubber oven mitt to open the jar directly after heating.

You'll think of more uses, i'm sure.

Edited August 7, 2012 by Keith_W (log)

[mkayahara]

It will certainly work to sear anything cooked sous vide, and of course you can sear fish even from raw with it. I second the "peeling peppers" thing; I've always thought it would be a good way to peel poblanos for chiles rellenos.

I used a torch once to remove a pin that had sheared off in the lid of my gas grill, too.

[EnriqueB]

Missing a barbecue, a torch comes great to cook eggplants for baba ganoush. I char the surface for about 5 minutes then cover with foil and it cooks inside with the residual heat: http://dorarnosella.com/2012/01/22/baba-ganoush-con-soplete/

Although I use it often after sous-vide for convenience, I still prefer a very hot cast-iron skillet or deep-frying for the browning.

[Shalmanese]

90% of the use of my torch these days is lighting the chimney starter for my grill. I light it in 3 different areas in the base and then hold it vertically down through the center of my starter for about 30s to get the top coals lit. So much better than the wimpy candle lighters I was using before.