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Cuisinart Combo Steam/Convection Oven (Part 3)


JoNorvelleWalker

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Has any APO

1 hour ago, palo said:

Okay, now some adventurous soul has to do one for the APO!

 

p

 

Has anyone's APO ever clogged?

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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  • 5 weeks later...

Question for folks who use the CSO to do baked potatoes.  I usually do 425F for about 1 1/4 hours (until they "squeeze") on BAKE.  I just looked at the chart and both directions indicate using BAKE/STEAM.  I am wondering if the skin will be sufficiently crisp on BAKE/STEAM?  Thanks!

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@Kim Shook 

 

I used to do BP all the time

 

I used good sized russets , prick them over

 

and start w steam/bake  400  maybe 45 min ?

 

3/4 cooked ?

 

then got to 425 regulate bake un til 

 

very crispy.   the second baking time depended

 

on the size of the potatoes,

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32 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Kim Shook 

 

I used to do BP all the time

 

I used good sized russets , prick them over

 

and start w steam/bake  400  maybe 45 min ?

 

3/4 cooked ?

 

then got to 425 regulate bake un til 

 

very crispy.   the second baking time depended

 

on the size of the potatoes,

That's exactly the information I needed!  Thank you, @rotuts!

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@Kim Shook 

 

the tastiest BP's Ive made

 

have come out of the CSO

 

I like the skins very very crackle - ey .

 

but you can get the skins anyway you want them

 

this might be a first time to really taste the skins !

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On 6/22/2022 at 1:29 PM, rotuts said:

@Kim Shook 

 

the tastiest BP's Ive made

 

have come out of the CSO

 

I like the skins very very crackle - ey .

 

but you can get the skins anyway you want them

 

this might be a first time to really taste the skins !

My potatoes were perfect!  Thank you, rotuts!

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  • 1 month later...
1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

Found this perfect little baking pan for $3.99 at Aldi this weekend:

1-IMG_0302.thumb.jpg.1afd32b66ad61b1aafe0f92594c7a6f3.jpg

It perfectly fits the CSO - 8.4X6.4-inches.  

 

Enameled steel?

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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29 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

Label says "carbon steel" and it feels like it's non-stick.  

 

A pretty pan but it sure doesn't look like carbon steel.

 

I was interested because a while back I bought an inexpensive enameled steel pan for baking potatoes in a bed of salt.  My pan is probably too big for the CSO.  But with two spare CSO's in the living room I always have an eye out.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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  • 1 month later...

Another great use for the wonderful Bake/Steam setting.  I had a 3 day old croissant this morning.  Pretty unyielding, but not completely hard.  325F for 7 minutes on Bake/Steam and it was perfect. Not quite as flaky as a fresh one judging from the fewer shards on my plate after eating, but quite good!  

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  • 2 weeks later...
11 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

Question:  I have something that looks like mold or algae in the water tank.  What's the best way to deal with this?  

 

I'd say return to Cuisinart under warranty.  But since from experience I know that that won't happen, I'd suggest purchasing an APO.  Or at least I would have until I found a wisp of a similar pinkish-purple fauna flocculating in the tank of my kissed by distilled water exclusively APO.

 

If the lifeform is actually green it is most likely algae and can be controlled by using only distilled water in the tank.  Good luck cleaning it out of the tank however.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Would bleach in the tank help? I'd be inclined to try that, but the next question would be: at what dilution?

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15 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Would bleach in the tank help? I'd be inclined to try that, but the next question would be: at what dilution?

 

I tried vinegar.  I'm not sure it did much good.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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8 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Question:  I have something that looks like mold or algae in the water tank.  What's the best way to deal with this?  

put in a bit of chlorox in a cup of watter and shake it around.

Maybe put a towel over  the tank to shade it

that  is what I do

Edited by gfweb (log)
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9 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Question:  I have something that looks like mold or algae in the water tank.  What's the best way to deal with this?  

Hydrogen peroxide will also get rid of it - although the stuff at the drug store has additives I wouldn't want to put in my mouth.  But I think if you were to first try and clean out what you can with a bottle brush or something, then sterilize, then shake around with soap and water, then rinse with a few changes of water, I think you'd be set.  Like @gfweb says, if it's algae, putting a towel over the tank will keep it from returning.  If it's a mold or other bacteria, it won't help.

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4 hours ago, gfweb said:

put in a bit of chlorox in a cup of watter and shake it around.

Maybe put a towel over  the tank to shade it

that  is what I do

 

Ditto this. I do a few rinses after the bleach.

I have under-cabinet lighting that was nicely illuminating the water tank and the towel prevented the algae from coming back.  

The light above the CSO burned out a while back.  I elected not to replace it and now I don't need the towel!

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I took some pictures so that it would be clear what I was dealing with.  These two are pictures of the algae on the bottom of the tank (I bumped up the color saturation so it could be seen better:

1-IMG_0678.thumb.jpg.5eadf47ac7dc870979c1df3b5bf76e0d.jpg

 

1-IMG_0680.thumb.jpg.35dd95564489dac2d37b9fbe3dd3c2c4.jpg

 

This is a smear on a paper towel from my finger where I managed to just barely reach the growth:

1-IMG_0679.thumb.jpg.bfcbef00ec9df19766239263f2f90dff.jpg

 

Jessica decided to take matters into her own hands and not wait for me while I was out this morning and she's already soaked it with boiling water and boiling water and white vinegar. These pictures after these "treatments".  

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2 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

what I was dealing with

Hi Kim, the others have given good advice.

 

I've had a CSO and now an APO. Both in the same place by an unshaded window. Both apt to contract the dreaded green tinge.

 

It's a contradiction: UV is a great steriliser but in lesser quantity also a promoter of various undesired life forms.

 

My practice is from time to time to fill the tank with water and sodium percarbonate (nappy steriliser) or potassium percarbonate. Give it a good soak.

 

I'm also a fan of phosphoric acid or iodine. These are rapid and easy to use sterilisers, often used for clean-in-place operations in brewing and dairying. It takes a tiny amount -- somewhere in the order of 1 part per thousand -- and does not require rinsing, although I would empty and refill the tank.

 

Think of this in three steps:

 

1 Clean -- remove the lifeforms

2 Disinfect -- nothing wrong with bleach; wash out well afterwards

3 Sterilise -- try phosphoric acid. A bottle will last a lifetime in a domestic kitchen.

 

I'm not really troubled by a touch of green in the CSO/APO. After all, the water is taken to high temperatures in the steam process. I have a coffee maker with a clear tank and also subject to sunlight. I'm more careful with that, given that the water temps in operation are lower.

 

 

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@Kim Shook 

 

it is difficult to get a brush into most of those areas

 

i  bent a slim one this way and that way , and got most of the algae out.

 

what more important is to kill watts left , and 

 

prevent new area , with a 'shade '

 

Id be leary of any dish detergent  :

 

can you get all of it out ? and the perfume that comes with it ?

 

I don't think detergent does anything 

 

that hot water might due 

 

after all , no fats , other food substances in the reservoir ?

 

so it water and algae 

 

hot hot water , or dilute bleach 

 

for me.

 

 

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