Unusual & mysterious kitchen gadgets

[cakewalk]

28 minutes ago, Alex said:

 

As you can see from this YouTube video (there are others), a falafel press makes flying saucer patties, not spherical ones. Here's a meatball scoop.

 

Interesting, that. DanM shows two different sizes of felafel ballers, one larger one smaller. In the video, that's the larger one. He also puts a slight indentation in the bottom. The smaller ones I think are more straightforward, just a rounded felafel. 

[Okanagancook]

Amazon sells a set of 3 different sizes.  I would like the smaller ones....more fried outside to inside ratio.

[Okanagancook]

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B016YEV4E6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A3J88H09A2EBBH&psc=1

 

here is a link to the set

[rotuts]

how do these work /

 

is there a problem w very clean hands ?

 

just saying ........................

[Kerry Beal]

17 hours ago, cakewalk said:

The little thing protruding just underneath the felafel "bowls" is part of the mechanism that releases the felafel out of the form. I'm thinking the wooden board is unrelated to the felafel altogether and used for something else. 

My felafel maker has a little spade to push stuff off the platform when it's done.

[Okanagancook]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

how do these work /

 

is there a problem w very clean hands ?

 

just saying ........................

Have a look at the link a couple of posts up.  The gizmo makes for very even falafels.

[Okanagancook]

Our Syrian Family's mother makes falafel, hummus and baclava to sell at our Wednesday summer market.  She is making 200 falafel, 23 one cup portions of hummus and a sheet pan of baclava.  We help here for the 3 pm to 6 pm market.  She sells out and yesterday took in $380.  Her husband works at stucco all day and makes $100!!

 

she uses a falafel press and hers are beautiful.  It takes a long time to form and fry that many.  To me the press is indispensable.

[rotuts]

Thanks !

 

enjoyed several of the YouTube vids :

 

the falafel  place in Jordan

 

and those falafel Trucks in London !

 

Id like to have one of those trucks near me !

 

I had no idea cheese  , and im guessing it was cheese , ( London ) was an option for falafel.

 

 

[kayb]

1 hour ago, Okanagancook said:

Our Syrian Family's mother makes falafel, hummus and baclava to sell at our Wednesday summer market.  She is making 200 falafel, 23 one cup portions of hummus and a sheet pan of baclava.  We help here for the 3 pm to 6 pm market.  She sells out and yesterday took in $380.  Her husband works at stucco all day and makes $100!!

 

she uses a falafel press and hers are beautiful.  It takes a long time to form and fry that many.  To me the press is indispensable.

 

I love an entrepreneurial woman! Please tell her congratulations for her thriving new business!

 

@rotuts, there is a gyro food truck here in town that does to-die-for falafel. Unfortunately, it parks downtown, where if you don't work there, parking is a pain in the butt, so I rarely go. But damn, it's good.

 

[Okanagancook]

@kayb, her smile after her first market when she took in $140 and sold out in 30 min was PRICELESS.  She said, the first time SHE had money in her wallet since coming to Canada a year and a half ago!  Now she makes more product and people come to her stall first during the market because they know she sells outs.  Such a success story and my apologies to the moderator for being a little off topic but 200 falafels is my excuse!

[Okanagancook]

2 hours ago, kayb said:

 

I love an entrepreneurial woman! Please tell her congratulations for her thriving new business!

 

@rotuts, there is a gyro food truck here in town that does to-die-for falafel. Unfortunately, it parks downtown, where if you don't work there, parking is a pain in the butt, so I rarely go. But damn, it's good.

 

Our Syrian friend revealed the secret to moist falafel....add water to the dough to the right consistency which is of course is the 'rubb'...trial and error.  Her's are very good and does it by feel.  We use the food processor to make the dough from chick peas soaked overnight, onion, garlic, parsley, salt and baking powder, then fried in canola oil....fresh everyday. Served with lemon tahini or tahini and yogurt sauce.

[DanM]

On 7/20/2017 at 1:22 AM, Okanagancook said:

@DanM what size do you like for making your falafel.  I am currently deciding on which size to get.  Do you use it for making meat balls too?

 

Yup! Those are falafel scoops. You hold down the trigger, load it up with a spoon, invert it over the fryer and let go of the trigger.... Easy peasy. 

 

I use the large one for sandwiches and small one for snack size bites for the kids to take to school. 

 

The wood board is actually an eggplant knife given to me by my aunt. It is utterly useless at cutting eggplants or anything for that matter. I just keep it around to confuse people.

[chromedome]

The mall where I used to work in downtown Halifax had a Lebanese restaurant called Ray's in its food court. The local indie paper, The Coast, retired the "Best Falafel" category of its annual reader's choice poll because Ray's won every year, without fail.

 

Visitors are usually surprised to find that falafel are right up there with pizza and donairs as the city's late night street food of choice.

[Okanagancook]

Marathon falafel making session.  Three kinds:  a recipe out of Saveur magazine with loads of parsley and cilantro; Ottolenghi's recipe with a bit of flour added and not so much greens; Claudia Roden's recipe which was our favourite...a bit more balanced.  Used my new falafel maker which is awesome.

[Tropicalsenior]

On 7/19/2017 at 8:08 AM, naguere said:

Any guesses?

I had a little old Chinese neighbor who used a smaller version of this as a strainer to take things out of the pot.

[Anna N]

Chef's Press

 

Thiss quite interests me. I have just become the owner of a cast iron bacon press which I use many times a week for various tasks.  But being cast-iron it requires some care.  Stainless steel could be used for so many more tasks where cast iron might rust. 

 

Has anyone tried these?

Edited September 12, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[gfweb]

25 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Chef's Press

 

This quite interests me. I have just become the owner of a cast iron bacon press which I use many times a week for various tasks.  But being cast-iron it requires some care.  Stainless steel could be used for so many more tasks where cast iron might rust. 

 

Has anyone tried these?

 

Not sure what they accomplish in cooking a burger.  I'm not of the school that smashes  the juice out of a hamburger as I overcook it on the grill.

 

Got a photo of your bacon press?

[Anna N]

35 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Got a photo of your bacon press?

These do?

 

 

 

 

 I don't cook burgers so that's not an issue with me. But I frequently pan fry bread rather than toast it, I like to use the press when I'm searing a chop or a steak that has been sous vided,  I use it for bacon of course. But there are also times when I like to weight down vegetables that have been salted.  I could still use this if I use a plate between it and the vegetable.  Perhaps you have already talked me out of the stainless steel ones. 

[andiesenji]

I have a couple of cast iron bacon presses.  One doubles as a grill press because it has ridges and perforations.

I also have a medium-weight  flat lid for a Calphalon pan that I ruined about 20 years ago and kept the lid because it works as a "press" when I don't want to crush things and also keep some stuff (hash for instance) from spattering.  

 

I also have a tempered glass bacon press. It is square and doesn't fit round pans.  I don't use the square pan it fits all that much.

Correction. I also have a round one that is too small to be effective.

 

I also have one that is shaped like a pig - I've never used it, will have to dig it out and take a photo. I think it is steel, not cast iron.

 

[Norm Matthews]

I  also have a squarae tempered glass bacon press. I could not figure out what this was until I saw one at an antique store in original packaging with directions.  I regret not getting it now. 

[Kerry Beal]

Cookie dough portioner?

[andiesenji]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

Cookie dough portioner?

Correct.  

[Tropicalsenior]

4 hours ago, andiesenji said:

Correct

Very interesting. But how big is it and how does it work?

[Norm Matthews]

Yes. Cookie dough portioner.  Squeeze the handle so that the protrusion is on the other side of the slot, scoop the dough on to it then hold over a cookie sheet and release.  I suppose you could say it is a precursor of the (ice cream scoop-type) portioner.

Edited September 13, 2017 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Anna N]

 Well look you here:

 

Round tempered glass bacon press