Rotavap or Centrifuge?

[Sparren]

I'm considering getting either a rotavap or a centrifuge to expand my culinary possibilities.

So my question to people with experience with these devices. If you had to choose from one, which would you choose and why?

[adey73]

I have no experience using them but have wondered like you over & over again....

 

but strictly on a fiscal front there's supposed to be a lower priced kitchen consumer 'fuge sometime this year by Dave Arnold (although it seems to have gone quiet on that front).

 

And once you've factored in everything for a  rotavap  even used they are super expensive. I've looked on equipnet for bargains. 

[Chris Hennes]

I think @Kerry Beal has (had?) a rotovap -- my recollection is that getting it up and running as well maintenance were significant headaches.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

11 hours ago, Sparren said:

I'm considering getting either a rotavap or a centrifuge to expand my culinary possibilities.

So my question to people with experience with these devices. If you had to choose from one, which would you choose and why?

 

I've thought about both.  But since I developed a more than satisfactory method for making ice cream I've lost interest in a rotavap.  In my youth I had much experience with the centrifuge -- just not for culinary purposes.

 

If Dave Arnold comes out with something good and inexpensive, I am all over it.  As they say.

[btbyrd]

I don't see how you can justify the expense unless you're running a bar program or are a Michelin quality kitchen (or you're Nathan Myhrvold). In either case, the fuge seems to be more useful to a general audience. Clarification and separation by density are handier processes than distillation under vacuum.

 

That said, I did have some delicious grenadine at Booker and Dax which had been made by rotovapping fresh pomegranate juice. (Apparently juicing pomegranates is not a fun task.) It was intensely flavorful, clean, and bright. I'm not sure what, exactly, they did, but it was amazing. That said, they didn't have anything on the menu that had been rotovapped, while most of the cocktails featured something that had been clarified in a centrifuge. It was nice being at a place where they have both behind the bar. It's also super baller to chill your glasses with liquid nitrogen. But I digress...

Edited February 25, 2016 by btbyrd (log)

[Kerry Beal]

On February 24, 2016 at 5:51 PM, Chris Hennes said:

I think @Kerry Beal has (had?) a rotovap -- my recollection is that getting it up and running as well maintenance were significant headaches.

Safe to say I never really did! Tiny centrifuge worked fine though. A working rotovap appeals to me more for flavour possibilities.

[paulraphael]

Why not add a large hadron collider to the wish list? The cool kids are only doing quantum gastronomy these days.

 

Seriously, I'd second that the centrifuge is probably more practical. I've been dying to play with a rotovap, and seriously investigated one once, but they're very big and very fragile, and it seems unwise to buy a used one unless you 100% know what you're doing, which was far from my situation. And new ones of course cost a bundle.

 

 

Edited February 26, 2016 by paulraphael (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, paulraphael said:

Why not add a large hadron collider to the wish list? The cool kids are only doing quantum gastronomy these days.

 

That way you could enjoy Swiss and French cuisine simultaneously.

 

If I lived in a mythical country that allowed legal distillation the rotovap would be much more appealing.  Sadly when I was in school the rotovap hadn't been invented and there was not much to drink besides lab ethanol.

 

[HungryChris]

I used to work in a medicinal chemistry research lab that had a Rotovap that we used regularly to work up reactions. Typically, we used it to remove solvent reagents from whatever step in the process we were performing. I can see how it would be interesting to concentrate flavors, like the centrifuge, but having a small kitchen, myself,  I couldn't justify the rather big footprint it would take up, not to mention the expensive collection of round bottomed flasks you would need to support it and their storage requirements as well. That doesn't even begin to take into consideration the setup time involved and the need for a vacuum aparatus. I can think of so many other items that would bring in many more miles of culinary adventure at much less expense. Just my two cents.

HC

[paulraphael]

I really wouldn't worry about the legal implications of distilling spirits in a rotovap. While the law is quite clear here (distilling even a teaspoon of booze is verboten) who's going to know or care if it's for personal use? With the quantities you can handle in a vap, you're probably not going to be distilling anything for a group bigger than a dinner party. Smoking weed at home seems riskier.

 

A friend and I looked into getting one and getting a microdistilling license (this is relatively now compared with years past). The plan was thwarted when I figured out how small the batches would be and how long each one would take. It's a lab tool, not a production tool. 

[Sparren]

Thanks for all replies.
I may not be Nathan but cooking is my biggest interest, so the kitchen is where I spend most of my money. However I don´t wan´t to invest in something that may just taka up shelf space.
The rotavap seems to be fun when experimenting with flavours but it seems to be very big ant difficult to set up. The centrifuge seems to be easier to use but almost as expensive as the rotavap if I decide to buy a new unit.
Centurion has a Pro-Xtract 3 Refrigirated that holds  4 * 750ml bottles (with included rotor) but will only pull 3600G with that rotor compared to >20000G in the modernist cousin recipes. What also makes me a bit suspicious is that they advertise it like a magic machine for making clear tomato juice which is something I rather easily make with my juice extractor.
So, will 3600G be limiting? And what magic would I be able to make with it?

[adey73]

this is an update on the BDX500 Culinary Centrifuge sign up for an email.

(found it by sniffing around )

 

http://www.bookeranddax.com/centrifuge

Edited March 8, 2016 by adey73 (log)

[adey73]

I know this is bad form to post after your own post.. However...

 

looking at the shipping of the new BDX cube & the Searzall replacement screens, I get the impression that this centrifuge will only be available in the US and not at 240V.

[Sparren]

I cannot find any information on BDX500

 

I have however received an offer on the Pro Xtract 3R för 7300 euro (3000ml swing bucket 3600G) and 2000 extra for the fixed angle rotor (1500ml 15600G)
I need advice on whether I should add the fixed angle rotor or if 3600G is enough? Seems a little low compared to modernist cousines recipies using 27500G.

Would a recipe running at 27500G for one hour translate to 7,6 hours at 3600G
 

Also i wonder if I need to buy (expensive) plastic bottles from the centrifuge supplier or if regular plastic bottles can handle the G force?