Do I need a....

[btbyrd]

I believe that rotuts answered that question. You don't really need a circulator; cold water will do just fine. Warm water even better. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I am learning  lot from this thread.    About the way other people cook, and about the way i cook.     DH and I tend to have three modes of eating.     The two of us, which is rock bottom basic, when our kids join us, which is another level of basic, and dinner party, when we do try for a certain level of polish.    To a great extent, I've become a Dutch oven cook, tossing a haunch in a heavy vessel, the oven to 275 and forgetting it for hours, removing it to find dinner done.    Or maybe low and slow dry oven heat.    We've long stopped counting calories, and simply fry up what we hanker for.    For the rare, and rare, steak, we just grill pan it, or if thick enough, sear and finish in the oven.    One pan.   

I know I should up my game, but it sounds like more rather than less work for me.    I am definitely, at this point, a KISS cook.   (Keep it simple, stupid.)

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, TdeV said:

 

 

 

You'll note that the original question was asking @weinoo how his CSO means he can dispose of his microwave–– a still unanswered question.

 

Edited to add: The Joule seems like overkill for a weekday lunch . . .

 

 

1 hour ago, btbyrd said:

I believe that rotuts answered that question. You don't really need a circulator; cold water will do just fine. Warm water even better. 

 

Yeah, that's what I thought too.

 

By the way, @TdeV, I've managed to make it to Medicare age, all the way without the use of a microwave. Imagine that!

[chromedome]

Ultimately we all use what makes sense for us.

 

I still use my $19 rice cooker instead of my Instant Pot when I make rice, because it's smaller and less fuss. And I haven't discarded my slow cooker, even though the IP can theoretically replace that, too, because I find my braises come out better in a slow cooker (and mine has interchangeable inserts in three different sizes, which is useful). I haven't bought a CSO because it's too small for my purposes and I personally won't spend that much unless it can outright replace my main oven (which, to forestall the inevitable comments, I know some of you do...but it wouldn't work for me). I have no sous vide rig because it simply doesn't interest me except as a technology. My induction hob is basic and low-end.

(Shrug) It works for me, and that's who I cook for. YMMV.

[EatingBen]

I think you need the things you want to cook with. No fancy gadget is going to make you a fantastic cook or motivate you to cook the food you want if you just can't be motivated to learn. 

 

I've an air frier I'm trying to palm off on friends its useless and takes up space. Warms the kitchen up in winter nicely though but it was a learning experience for me I paid for it thinking it would make things easier but it didn't and it didnt make things "faster" either its just a gimmick. 

 

Otherwise I use a sous vide setup, a few induction plates, a pressure cooker (because rice and stock making, not much else) with knifes, fry pans and chopping boards, spoons and spatulas with all that paraphernalia . The other stuff I use regularly, high speed blender and food processor. 

 

I would love a CSO just because I've been following the thread closely wondering if it would work for me. I love the idea of it being just enough to make a serve of food for just me because I cook primarily for just me. I've always wanted a combi oven can't believe we still don't really have them.

 

Sous vide setup does the defrosting/heating of most stuff. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

 

Yeah, that's what I thought too.

 

By the way, @TdeV, I've managed to make it to Medicare age, all the way without the use of a microwave. Imagine that!

 

There are many kitchen toys I'd like in life.  But a microwave and blender are not among them.  If and when Instant Pot comes out with an induction model I might be tempted.

 

 

[KennethT]

I'm so glad that so many have added to this discussion...  I'm basically sold on the idea that I don't need a microwave... Whew! One less thing to worry about!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

10 hours ago, EatingBen said:

I think you need the things you want to cook with. No fancy gadget is going to make you a fantastic cook or motivate you to cook the food you want if you just can't be motivated to learn.

 

Paraphrased, "know thyself".     I've been in charge of daily meals for longer than many here have been alive.    Because of our simple needs, I now spend almost no time planning meals.    Stovetop cooking comes so naturally at this point that I have to consciously rethink how I cook in order to use other methods.       

 

I am looking across the room at my CSO, once again vowing to think about using it today.    I promise.   

[lemniscate]

12 hours ago, EatingBen said:

Otherwise I use a sous vide setup, a few induction plates, a pressure cooker (because rice and stock making, not much else) with knifes, fry pans and chopping boards, spoons and spatulas with all that paraphernalia . The other stuff I use regularly, high speed blender and food processor. 

 

This is me also, right there.   Except add the Kitchenaid mixer with the pasta attachments too.  Small Household too.

[ElsieD]

I would like to give honourable mention to my bread maker.  I still make bread by hand but if I am in a hurry it sure is handy.  I also like it if I want fresh bread in the morning as I can set it up the night before and it will be ready when I get up.

[TdeV]

Agreed @ElsieD! I've been using a bread machine regularly since the early 90s (I'm on my 3rd or 4th) . . .

 

Edited to add: great for pizza dough too.

Edited August 29, 2019 by TdeV
Edited to add one more thought (log)

[Kim Shook]

I don't use my bread machine a lot, but when I want it, I'm glad to have it in the attic.  For the last 2 Christmases, I've made a fruited bread as gifts.  It is wonderful to be able to just dump stuff in and with very little effort, make 2-3 loaves a day.  

[chromedome]

I still do bread by hand occasionally, but use my Zo to mix my day-to-day bread (a honey-whole wheat sandwich loaf my late wife was partial to, which I believe originated in the old DAK recipe book). I give it a second rise after the dough cycle ends, then shape it and pan it by hand and bake it in my oven. Baked some tonight, in fact.

[ElsieD]

19 minutes ago, chromedome said:

I still do bread by hand occasionally, but use my Zo to mix my day-to-day bread (a honey-whole wheat sandwich loaf my late wife was partial to, which I believe originated in the old DAK recipe book). I give it a second rise after the dough cycle ends, then shape it and pan it by hand and bake it in my oven. Baked some tonight, in fact.

 

I do this with pain de mie except the second rise takes place in the pan.

[lindag]

5 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

I do this with pain de mie except the second rise takes place in the pan.

I do this with my breads as well.  Love my Zo for mixing but I get the best results by baking in my big oven.

Edited August 30, 2019 by lindag (log)

[ElsieD]

6 minutes ago, lindag said:

I do this with my breads as well.  Love my Zo for mixing but I get the best results by baking in my big oven.

 

 

Agreed.  I have a Zo also and think it is fantastic.  I tried baking bread in the CSO a few times and I found the top always got too dark, burnt even.  So now I mainly use the big oven.

[gfweb]

Microwave popcorn, which I detest cooked by any method, may be the only thing where  uwave beats CSO in our house. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Honest confession, DH would starve midday without the microwave.     When he retired, I reminded him of the old saw, "for better or worse but not for lunch".    At first, he took umbrage, but with mutual accommodation, he finds stuffs in the fridge or freezer that he nukes when he feels the need.    Leftovers and occasional frozen tamales, enchiladas, various evil prefab plates.   Midday, i rely on microwave reheated "whatevers" from the fridge.

[jedovaty]

What's a CSO?

I've really wanted a chamber vacsealer for several years now, but, I get "paralysis by analysis" and end up postponing the purchase.  If I had pulled the trigger long ago, I'd have it by now.  Ugggghhhhhh.

[demiglace]

1 hour ago, jedovaty said:

What's a CSO?

I've really wanted a chamber vacsealer for several years now, but, I get "paralysis by analysis" and end up postponing the purchase.  If I had pulled the trigger long ago, I'd have it by now.  Ugggghhhhhh.

 

I don't have one but they are talking about a Cuisinart Steam Oven.

[j89k]

16 hours ago, jedovaty said:

What's a CSO?

I've really wanted a chamber vacsealer for several years now, but, I get "paralysis by analysis" and end up postponing the purchase.  If I had pulled the trigger long ago, I'd have it by now.  Ugggghhhhhh.

I snagged one on prime day last summer. I got a well known model that was normally 120 for 40. I use it ALL the time. I grabbed 2 giant rolls from Amazon for like 20 dollars. Still have probably a third of my first roll left. I use it all the time for meats. I load up during sales.

[ElsieD]

20 minutes ago, j89k said:

I snagged one on prime day last summer. I got a well known model that was normally 120 for 40. I use it ALL the time. I grabbed 2 giant rolls from Amazon for like 20 dollars. Still have probably a third of my first roll left. I use it all the time for meats. I load up during sales.

 

You got a chamber vacsealer for $40?

[Katie Meadow]

What is this thread about, really? It appears to be useful for talking oneself into or out of certain appliances. Or trying to justify not needing something or justifying your love of something. I've been reading about the CSO on eG for years, and I now feel very happy knowing that I will never get one. I've come to the conclusion that I don't really want anything that's multipurpose at this point in my life. I like all my single-purpose appliances.

 

We have purchased two new appliances in forever. My husband upgraded his ice cream maker to a much better model and we gave the old one to my nephew. I got us a top of the line Zojirushi rice cooker that looks like a white space capsule and that I make short grain rice in several times a week. I can still make excellent rice on the stove but this is the closest thing to magic in my kitchen. I admit that I am getting lazy in my old age. 

 

Things I most likely will never own: 1) a sous vide rig. We don't eat a lot of meat any more and what else is it good for? 2)a pressure cooker or slow cooker. I'm not in a hurry and love my cast iron enamel pots. 3) a stand mixer, even though they are very handsome and come in fabulous colors. My husband makes great bread and he seems to like kneading. I don't bake much and make do with a hand mixer.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

What is this thread about, really? It appears to be useful for talking oneself into or out of certain appliances.

 

You mean that is not the intent and purpose of the Society for Culinary Arts & Letters??

 

[Okanagancook]

We are in the Kitchen Consumer topic!