tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14227953630393669352024-02-20T02:24:03.722-05:00MedellitinA food blog dedicated to modernist cuisine (molecular gastronomy), sous vide, and the food industry. Less cooking and more thinking.pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-88009525510804113502012-11-05T22:43:00.000-05:002012-11-05T22:43:24.293-05:00Seamlessweb Foibles: Lucky For Whom?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-8112667651663060112012-07-25T08:46:00.000-04:002012-07-27T23:14:37.499-04:00Polyscience Sous Vide Professional Creative Series<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXWZyQvMPTwnoPzmKrH4ecoDXipPUIO7KQeEtRIhkVJtQgIN2IR1ST_BaC97iX_mCmeD6lcuXFECpo7i8Bh13ebeG9FZU0EjP5MdIMWViA1ec8HsqO3-ve6uZKAe0GbgzaE1WyIAuNyOj/s1600/PolyScienceSousVideProfessionalLine.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXWZyQvMPTwnoPzmKrH4ecoDXipPUIO7KQeEtRIhkVJtQgIN2IR1ST_BaC97iX_mCmeD6lcuXFECpo7i8Bh13ebeG9FZU0EjP5MdIMWViA1ec8HsqO3-ve6uZKAe0GbgzaE1WyIAuNyOj/s640/PolyScienceSousVideProfessionalLine.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Polyscience is one of the most trusted sous vide brands in the professional kitchen, but they generally price themselves out of the range of the home market. When they released the Sous Vide Professional they managed to bring the price point down to 799.95$, which was still several hundred dollars away from the consumer appliance range.<br />
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Today, Polyscience is consolidating the brand names of their circulators by renaming the 7306 aka the <i>Sous Vide Thermal Circulator</i> to the <i>Sous Vide Professional - Classic Series. </i>It also got some minor cosmetic changes to reflect the rebrand.<br />
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The Sous Vide Professional will henceforth be known as the <i>Sous Vide Professional - Chef Series.</i><br />
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But this probably isn't interesting to anyone except for myself. Cause, as someone who covers the sous vide appliance market, I can tell you this: no one cares about this stuff except for me and like ten other people.<br />
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The exciting news (to you) is that Polyscience also announced the <i>Sous Vide Professional - Creative Series. </i>The Creative series is "Specifically designed for the casual user", which is code for "This is the new consumer option from Polyscience". Priced at 499.95$, this model has a number of differences from the <i>Chef Series. </i><br />
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But lets get to the nitty gritty. The Creative can heat a 20 liter bath<span style="background-color: white;"> to a </span><span style="background-color: white;">maximum temperature of </span><span style="background-color: white;">99ºC within 0.1ºC</span><span style="background-color: white;">, and has a fixed flow rate of 6 liters per minute. Contrast that to the SVP Chef which can heat a 30 </span><span style="background-color: white;">liter bath</span><span style="background-color: white;"> to a </span><span style="background-color: white;">maximum temperature of </span><span style="background-color: white;">100ºC within 0.07ºC</span><span style="background-color: white;">, and has a <i>variable</i> flow rate of up to 12 liters per minute. According to the <a href="http://www.cuisinetechnology.com/sousvide-creative.php#3">website</a>, the Creative takes up the same amount of space as the Chef (14.125 x 3.875 x 7.375 in), but is significantly lighter (5.5 pounds versus 9.5 pounds).</span><br />
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There are some other things you give up, including some failure mode indicators, the cookbook and the storage/carry case.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">For the home user, the </span><i style="background-color: white;">Polyscience Sous Vide Professional Creative Series </i><span style="background-color: white;">sacrifices things you won't care about, and gives you (most of) the things you wanted at a pretty great price point. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LfVb-CRKtBE?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-43749896567322918452012-07-10T00:36:00.001-04:002012-07-10T00:36:48.620-04:00Nomiku Update/ThoughtsFor those not paying attention, the <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2012/06/nomiku-sous-vide-immersion-circulator.html">Nomiku</a> is a <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nomiku/nomiku-bring-sous-vide-into-your-kitchen" rel="nofollow">kickstartered</a> approach to launching an immersion circulator company. The exciting news is that the Nomiku team has exceeded its $200,000 goal. And by exceeded, I mean, they blew the doors off. They still have over a week left and they have raised a total of $309,073.<br />
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Most of the money raised has been through 829 people effectively pre-ordering the Nomiku at 299$. While I think the fact that geek new outlets covering this stuff overlaps nicely with the Nomiku's target market, I also suspect that this is really good news for anyone in the sous vide business. <br />
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Even if it means another competitor.<br />
<br />pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-42230733883088577862012-06-19T21:49:00.000-04:002012-06-19T21:49:35.840-04:00Nomiku: Sous Vide Immersion Circulator<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="360px" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nomiku/nomiku-bring-sous-vide-into-your-kitchen/widget/video.html" width="480px"></iframe></div>
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I had been quietly <strike>stalking</strike> following Q and Abe from the first time I heard they were <a href="http://qandabe.com/2012/factories-and-surprises/" rel="nofollow">working</a> with <a href="http://www.haxlr8r.com/" rel="nofollow">haxlr8r</a> to prototype a new sous vide cooker. Yesterday, to much <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/19/nomiku-immersion-circulator-sous-vide-cooking/" rel="nofollow">fanfare</a>, they <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nomiku/nomiku-bring-sous-vide-into-your-kitchen" rel="nofollow">kickstarted</a> <a href="http://www.nomiku.com/" rel="nofollow">Nomiku</a>, an immersion circulator targeting home/amateur cooks.<br />
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They are off to a fantastic start, having already raised 16% of their $200,000 goal. But less about their successes and more about the product and what I think it means. As we know, I am of the mindset that the more products out there, the better it is for everyone right now. At some point there will be consolidation in the sous vide appliance market, but only after it's been proven. And by proven, I mean, when Salton starts shipping one.<br />
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But, if you are reading this, you are probably just a sous vide nerd. So, nerd, eat some hot spec:<br />
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<b>Heater output:</b> 750 Watts.<br />
<b>Circulation rate:</b> 10 L/min.<br />
<b>Temperature accuracy:</b> 0.2° C.<br />
<b>Display:</b> 1.3" full color OLED.<br />
<b>Minimum water height:</b> 4 inches.<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Voltage:</b> 120V (US + Canada, shipping in December 2012) and 220V versions (the 220V version will work with 220V-240V, and will ship in March 2013)</span><br />
<b style="background-color: white;">Capacity:</b><span style="background-color: white;"> 5 Gallons</span><br />
<b>Temperature range:</b> 0ºC - 100ºC<br />
<b style="background-color: white;">Price:</b><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">299$ USD</span><br />
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Some quick commentary from the me:<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">300$ for an immersion circulator is excellent pricing. The price point clearly says "we're coming after you, Sous Vide Supreme". (The SousVide Supreme Demi is priced at 320$). </span></li>
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<li><span style="background-color: white;">While it's no match for the Polyscience Sous Vide Professional, at half the price it promises to deliver way more than half the value. </span></li>
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<li><span style="background-color: white;">I love the simplicity of the UI. Pretty brilliant, just turn the dial.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></li>
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<li><span style="background-color: white;">The design looks pretty shnazzy and modern, but I have to say that the form factor does make it look like a garden hose nozzle (or a g-spot stimulator for a water buffalo). </span></li>
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It's a great project, so you should go to Kickstarter right now and contribute!</div>
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<br /></div>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-12024782353031932222012-05-21T20:42:00.002-04:002012-05-21T20:42:38.109-04:00SousVide Supreme ChefEades Appliance Technology LLC, the folks who brought you the <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/02/sousvide-supreme-reviewwrapup.html">SousVide Supreme</a> and the <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/10/sousvide-supreme-demi-quick-glance.html">SousVide Supreme Demi</a>, just launched their third appliance: the SousVide Supreme Chef. Along with this commercial version of the original SousVide Supreme, they have launched a new <a href="http://www.sousvidesupremechef.com/" rel="nofollow">website</a> to go along with it. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5bRItR8X3dnMg1h0UIN_yL9AcQEkMfYOh9DotFj2YSewT08KLxTSlBbyvaBWXsd1ZJnfiJAlHpYE1LPByCqLO0G_Dl2b4wxcgnGyvMmtvmSxya2lafzggR_K0a8n7-DfRiIRHV6_qT4p/s1600/SousVideSupremeChef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5bRItR8X3dnMg1h0UIN_yL9AcQEkMfYOh9DotFj2YSewT08KLxTSlBbyvaBWXsd1ZJnfiJAlHpYE1LPByCqLO0G_Dl2b4wxcgnGyvMmtvmSxya2lafzggR_K0a8n7-DfRiIRHV6_qT4p/s400/SousVideSupremeChef.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The price of the SVS Chef is 750$ USD, which I believe is telegraphing where they think they can win against other, more established players in the commercial sous vide market: larger kitchens. The only way I can see a purchasing justification of 250$ more than the SVS is that there are kitchens where UL and NSF ratings influence the decision.</div>
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It's a challenging price point, because for an extra $50, you can purchase a Polyscience Sous Vide Professional. The SVP can handle about three times the volume that an SVS Chef can with a higher degree of accuracy. Being circulated, it is also going to be able to recover from the temperature drop when larger quantities of food are placed in the water bath. These factors are pretty compelling from a cook's perspective.</div>
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Of course, important to note, that there could be other differentiators to establish value at this price point, but I haven't seen them yet. While I was researching the SVS Chef I did uncover that there could be another variation of the product that we haven't seen yet. The UL listing for the SVS Chef had two model numbers, the SVS10CN (a.k.a. The SVS Chef) and the SVS10C, which could be something we haven't seen yet.</div>
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Ultimately, I think having a model geared towards the professional kitchen makes a lot of sense. I am curious to see how the SVS Chef fares in the marketplace. <br />
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Anyone considering purchasing one? If so, tell us in the comments below?</div>
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</div>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-11849722016768488322012-02-23T21:42:00.001-05:002012-02-23T21:42:07.661-05:00SideKIC: Sous Vide Review (Accuracy/Stability)Welcome to the third part of my ongoing review of the SideKIC. The first piece covered <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2012/02/sidekic-sous-vide-review-initial.html">SideKIC esthetics</a>, the second part covered <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2012/02/sidekic-immersion-circulation-review.html">SideKIC usage</a> and now we are going to talk about the initial heat up times, the temperature accuracy and temperature stabilization (what happens when we introduce cold product to the water bath). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSshAcTZuRo72YiWjB3cXT7-mRGFF0983ri5SbDVCBQcmY2OqUUSdA39uynPiFOD4tsGYcXQNywL_-8NpeUBpAcu0GZzbjEfU0vu0pGTWAeQy4iTDf3KxDSkh3BUcQJKp2Zrf92tJNLFf/s1600/sidekic_heater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSshAcTZuRo72YiWjB3cXT7-mRGFF0983ri5SbDVCBQcmY2OqUUSdA39uynPiFOD4tsGYcXQNywL_-8NpeUBpAcu0GZzbjEfU0vu0pGTWAeQy4iTDf3KxDSkh3BUcQJKp2Zrf92tJNLFf/s320/sidekic_heater.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Initial Heatup </b></div>
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The first thing I wanted to understand was how long it would take for the SideKIC to bring a water bath up to temperature. I am less interested in being mathematically precise and more interested in what this would be like for someone who was new to sous vide cooking. I added 6.25 quarts of hot tap water to a stockpot. This amount happened to be what it took to get the water levels to the correct place on the SideKIC (between the first and second windows).</div>
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I turned on the device, and set the the temperature to 155ºF. The SideKIC read the initial water temperature as 129ºF. To be honest, I don't actually do much cooking in the 155 temperature range. I am usually doing sub 140ºF or over 170ºF temperatures. With an uncovered and uninsulated stockpot, it took 32 minutes to come up to temperature. <br />
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Overall, the time it took to come up to temperature was longer than what I have experienced with other equipment, but it wasn't unreasonable. This can also be mitigated by adding hot water from a tea kettle to bring the water bath up faster.<br />
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<b>Accuracy</b><br />
Using an external thermometer, I tested multiple spots in the bath for temperature variance, and found that overall the SideKIC kept temperatures to within .7ºF. For 99% of the cooking you are likely to do, I think this is totally acceptable. It is also important to note that there are limitations in accuracy with thermometers, and the temperature range didn't exceeded the margin of error.</div>
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<b>Stabilization</b></div>
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My stability test was to use the SideKIC to heat up and stabilize a six quart water bath at 140ºF. Once stabilized I added a hunk of frozen beef. By hunk, I mean, 430 grams of 2.5" thick chuck roast, that had been hiding in my freezer for quite some time. After I added the beef, the temperature in the water bath dropped down to 136ºF. It took about nine minutes for the water bath to return to 140ºF. After that, the SideKIC overshot by about .6ºF. It took about another ten minutes to stabilize. I never observed the temperature of the water bath get much more than .6 degrees off. Which, again, with the margin of error for my thermometer. Obviously, adding more frozen product might impact both the bounce back time as well as the degree of temperature overshoot.</div>
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
The initial heatup can be time consuming, but the accuracy and stability is totally fine for most home use. You might want to be careful about adding too much frozen product, because I assume if you lower the temperature of the water bath too low you are going to experience a fairly significant stabilization time as the heater will be working overtime to get back up to temperature.<br />
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<b>Notes</b><br />
I cannot guarantee that my results will match anyone else's results. I did my best to perform tests in a way that would be accurate and make sense to readers of this blog. If you think I should have done things differently, let me know!<br />
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Product: SideKIC Immersion Circulator<br />
Manufacturer: ICA Kitchen, LLC<br />
Available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006X4GNAI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006X4GNAI">Amazon.com</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B006X4GNAI" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-image: initial !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<br /></div>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-75551843759655776292012-02-22T20:03:00.002-05:002012-02-22T20:03:29.255-05:00Sous Vide Supreme On America's Test Kitchen<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu4wFqIG38tbevxhRZiHfdzyb0MXXmT6K6KoZ-Mgc7aEFIgUAgUM5zG80fYZcIvaF1J9jYR1-N-SVOJ7Wjyu4IWHT3rSf0TV8hqlvg4mMk9vDD-scnTSRj7rOLl0IQq4sko8QwvsMWPDaj/s1600/AmericaTestKitchSousVideSupreme.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu4wFqIG38tbevxhRZiHfdzyb0MXXmT6K6KoZ-Mgc7aEFIgUAgUM5zG80fYZcIvaF1J9jYR1-N-SVOJ7Wjyu4IWHT3rSf0TV8hqlvg4mMk9vDD-scnTSRj7rOLl0IQq4sko8QwvsMWPDaj/s640/AmericaTestKitchSousVideSupreme.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">America's Test Kitchen <a href="http://www.americastestkitchen.com/video/index.php?document_activeCategoryName_2_10_0_mv=testing&docid=36516">Video</a></td></tr>
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America's Test Kitchen <a href="http://www.americastestkitchen.com/video/index.php?document_activeCategoryName_2_10_0_mv=testing&docid=36516">talks</a> sous vide and uses the <a href="http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/">Sous Vide Supreme</a> as the basis of the conversation. I have a lot of opinions about sous vide, as a trend, as a technique and as a market. At the end of the day though, I am really just enthusiastic about it all. Which is why, whenever it gets any mainstream coverage, I approve. <br />
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I do have a couple of issues with the video:<br />
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<ol>
<li>They give SousVide Supreme all of the credit for the increased adoption of sous vide in the the consumer kitchen. While there is no doubt that the SousVide Supreme has been pretty important in legitimizing the consumer sous vide market, there are a number of factors that have contributed to the rise of sous vide in the home. For example, the increased use of sous vide in television shows like Top Chef or Iron Chef America have also contributed to peoples awareness of this technique.</li>
<li>They claim that there are no competitors to the SousVide Supreme which I think is just not true. There are other devices like the Sous Vide Professional (<a href="http://www.polyscience.com/">Polyscience</a>), <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/02/fresh-meals-magic-pid-controlled.html">Fresh Meals Magic</a> (<a href="http://www.freshmealssolutions.com/">Fresh Meals Solutions</a>) and most recently the <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2012/02/sidekic-sous-vide-review-initial.html">SideKIC</a> (<a href="http://www.icakitchen.com/">IcaKitchen</a>).</li>
<li>They claim that you cannot overcook your food, which is an easy mistake to make. Heck, I made this mistake. While it <b>is</b> true that you can't burn your food, or go past whatever the water temperature of your bath is, you can absolutely overcook your food. Overcooking just has a different meaning with low temperature cookery. Low temperature overcooking can be as simple as drying out your short rib, or even basically dissolving a swordfish steak.</li>
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Overall, hard to complain. Visibility like this is great for the whole market. </div>
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After all, a rising tide...</div>
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<br />pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-44030031012796653002012-02-21T01:03:00.001-05:002012-02-24T11:59:56.271-05:00SideKIC Immersion Circulator Review: Basic UsageI spent some more time testing the <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2012/02/sidekic-sous-vide-review-initial.html">SideKIC</a> over the weekend. I am really enjoying this sous vide cooker because of the sweet, sweet combination of its compact size, its ability to circulate water, and its overall aesthetic. While enjoying those factors, I think there is another element that should work really well with folks who want to cook sous vide. The oft-overlooked UI. <br />
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The basic operations of the SideKIC are really simple. You configure the SideKIC using the click wheel and the GUI. Set your temperature and then click start. <span style="text-align: center;">The heater will activate and you will see and hear the pump circulating water. The controller will display the target temperature, along with the current temperature. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXohTTM1cxjEhOkLTjGFttbpov_2H1-lIboFYuhOp0K1S7I0R-El133ut0uxlqpJSzO8_EqmiMdPI32lj0pgUmEcjkKiqqG-3Z9-iivotC02DwMMXY2fcgkV76o0qSHD1N-ewW5XpRhBKh/s1600/SideKIC+Usage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXohTTM1cxjEhOkLTjGFttbpov_2H1-lIboFYuhOp0K1S7I0R-El133ut0uxlqpJSzO8_EqmiMdPI32lj0pgUmEcjkKiqqG-3Z9-iivotC02DwMMXY2fcgkV76o0qSHD1N-ewW5XpRhBKh/s640/SideKIC+Usage.jpg" width="492" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SideKIC Immersion Circulator Usage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The positive side of the water pump that is used by the SideKIC is that it is really quiet. Other immersion circulators I have used make a fair amount of noise. This is pretty important for a home kitchen.<br />
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The design of the SideKIC does have some builtin limitations and challenges. Since the heater is not designed to be fully submerged, you need to be somewhat precise about the amount of water you put into the vessel. The documentation says that the correct water level is between the two "windows" on the heater.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GaVub31O4ss/T0F6gEKc0JI/AAAAAAAAAug/jC1_7LEK8pY/s1600/SideKIC_Heater_Straight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GaVub31O4ss/T0F6gEKc0JI/AAAAAAAAAug/jC1_7LEK8pY/s400/SideKIC_Heater_Straight.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SideKIC Level</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This creates a couple of situations where you can make a mistake. The first is that the amount of water you initially add has to both be at the right level during the initial heating as well as after you add the food you are cooking. It's easily fixed by removing some water, but since it was the first mistake I made, I thought it was worth mentioning. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GzMPfUD0_zAPpDKNKXFaRpezfjnqqkCGbAZFqiOGeh2fi9M8uLtOuFT2UqrwEN17Zm_AfPVcle5pKGmLhKGjqit6r16GGiv0UdYyrGtLNA3sSJv6-FX8Us5-JYKYhLIITRw6fh44fRcc/s1600/SideKIC_Heater_Crooked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GzMPfUD0_zAPpDKNKXFaRpezfjnqqkCGbAZFqiOGeh2fi9M8uLtOuFT2UqrwEN17Zm_AfPVcle5pKGmLhKGjqit6r16GGiv0UdYyrGtLNA3sSJv6-FX8Us5-JYKYhLIITRw6fh44fRcc/s400/SideKIC_Heater_Crooked.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SideKIC Crooked</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The other place where I had some challenges with the heater was in its stability hanging on the edge of the pot. Sometimes, the heater would be tilted in one direction or another. One of the causes of this was the length of the cabling that connected the heater to the controller. There were a couple of times where I moved the controller a tiny bit and ended up bringing the heater with it. The length of the cabling is also a challenge in that the controller is not supposed to get wet, but the length of the cable keeps it really close to the water vessel.<br />
<br />
I think it would be awesome if a future model had a clamp to keep the heater in place and level. Another option would be to put something against the back of the heater (by back, I mean the side of the heater that faces the inside of the bowl) that can help keep the device level. <br />
<br />
Another limitation to be aware of is that it has a maximum temperature of 185ºF. This won't have much of an impact on meat cookery, but there are places (e.g. some veg, fruit and dessert-y applications) where this could get in the way. <br />
<br />
All in all, these are <b>incredibly minor issues</b>, and it is important to remember that the SideKIC isn't going to be pin compatible with appliances that are <b>two to four times</b> <b>more expensive</b>. The SideKIC is easy to use and has produced the same quality food that I've gotten when I have used or reviewed other sous vide cooking devices. I have <b>already recommended</b> it to one of my friends who wants to experiment with sous vide but has some incredible space constraints (*) in his kitchen, but doesn't want to commit to a Polyscience Sous Vide Professional. <br />
<br />
Next up will be some stats on my experiences with initial heat up and stabilization after dropping the water temperature using a frozen block of beef.<br />
<br />
Previous: <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2012/02/sidekic-sous-vide-review-initial.html">SideKIC Sous Vide Review: Initial Thoughts </a><br />
Next: <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2012/02/sidekic-sous-vide-review.html">SideKIC: Sous Vide Review (Accuracy/Stability)</a><br />
<br />
Product: SideKIC Immersion Circulator<br />
Manufacturer: ICA Kitchen, LLC<br />
Available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006X4GNAI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006X4GNAI">Amazon.com</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B006X4GNAI" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<div>
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(*) If I ever start a band, it shall be called "The Incredible Space Constraints"</div>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-70234139671923409242012-02-15T21:30:00.000-05:002012-02-15T21:30:01.292-05:00Why Josh Ozersky Should Boycott Chik-fil-A.Been awhile since I wrote a food politics post, but Josh Ozersky got the juices flowing with his latest article "<a href="http://ideas.time.com/2012/02/15/why-i-wont-be-boycotting-chick-fil-a/?">Why I Wont Be Boycotting Chik-Fil-A</a>". In the article, Josh talks about something that probably won't surprise you. Chik-fil-A is one of the few companies that identifies as Christian and has a charitable arm that donates money to organizations that promote Christian values. In some number of cases, these organizations actively oppose same sex marriage. While he does not support these organizations, he has decided not to boycotr Chik-fil-A, and here's why:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Chick-fil-A, the fast-food outlet, has one plane of interaction with the public: its sandwiches, sodas and waffle fries. The prices are fair, its employment practices not onerous, and the food is good, especially if you are as devoted to MSG as I am. You could make a strong argument that the suffering their chickens endure prior to becoming sandwiches constitutes a kind of original sin; and that’s something you have to think about. But businesses should be judged by their products and practices, not by their politics.</blockquote>
This feels like a cop-out to me. There are arguments I can relate to, but this is not one of them. When a business donates money, that is a practice, not some abstract political belief. When you spend money at a business that will take some portion of that money and donate towards a cause you morally oppose, it evidence of a hypocrisy. Oddly enough, I don't take issue with hypocrisy. It's human. Especially in food. <br />
<br />
I also believe there is a place where if the dial were turned, Josh probably wouldn't spend money at Chik-fil-A. Say they were 100% owned and operated by an organization dedicated to fighting same sex marriage, and every dollar earned would go towards fighting same sex marriage. <br />
<br />
If Josh were to say that he feels that the amount of money he inadvertently funnels to organizations he detests is small enough that it is within the noise of his comfort level, I don't know if I would argue that. I suspect that this is actually what is going on, and would actually be a reasonable argument. I am sure that everyday, some portion of the money every consumer spends will go towards a cause they detest. If he had just clearly stated that, I probably wouldn't have written this. But, he didn't. He came up with some really odd logic and poor comparisons. For example:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But, just as with JC Penney and DeGeneres, it doesn’t seem fair to me. Should you boycott the Grammys because they put on the guy who beat up Rihanna? Then you would have missed Adele. When I was a kid, it was taken for granted that Jews should never drive Fords or go to Disney World, since both Ford and Disney were notoriously anti-Semitic. My father’s reasoning was that, since everyone back then was anti-Semitic, picking on Ford and Disney was arbitrary and pointless. There are none righteous, not one, as St. Paul said; businesses should be judged on what they do — to their customers, their employees, their suppliers and their chickens — and not on what they do with their profits. That’s part of living in a free society too.</blockquote>
I have no comprehension on what fair has anything to do with anything. Fair to Josh? Fair to Chik-fil-A? I actually think that the boycott might just be the only fair interaction between consumers and corporations. Don't like how an organization behaves, don't spend money to support it. If enough people agree with you, the business can make the decision about what is in its best interest. If their principles are stronger than their desire to make money, then they can downsize accordingly. If they would rather profit, then they can change their spending habits. <br />
<br />
The comparisons to JC Penney and the Grammy's are just bananas. One Million Moms wanted to organize a boycott until JC Penney fires Ellen Degeneres for being a lesbian. They are basically boycotting JC Penney until JC Penney decides to break the law by terminating a spokesperson because of their sexual preference.<br />
<br />
I don't know if you should boycott the Grammy's because of the their decision to have Chris Brown perform. But I definitely <b>know</b> missing the Adele performance is the worst reason to not boycott the Grammy's if you think they are in the wrong. Following that logic through suggests that you shouldn't boycott Chick-fil-A for opposing gay marriage because then you don't get to eat a chicken sandwich.<br />
<br />
The only time anyone stands for their principles is when there is a cost associated with it. That is why people who actually stand by their beliefs in the face of adversity, deserve our respect. <br />
<br />
Even when adversity is as simple as not eating a chicken sandwich.<br />
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<br />pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-53044804828881188352012-02-12T20:01:00.002-05:002012-02-21T03:38:00.928-05:00SideKIC Sous Vide Review: Initial Thoughts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSshAcTZuRo72YiWjB3cXT7-mRGFF0983ri5SbDVCBQcmY2OqUUSdA39uynPiFOD4tsGYcXQNywL_-8NpeUBpAcu0GZzbjEfU0vu0pGTWAeQy4iTDf3KxDSkh3BUcQJKp2Zrf92tJNLFf/s1600/sidekic_heater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSshAcTZuRo72YiWjB3cXT7-mRGFF0983ri5SbDVCBQcmY2OqUUSdA39uynPiFOD4tsGYcXQNywL_-8NpeUBpAcu0GZzbjEfU0vu0pGTWAeQy4iTDf3KxDSkh3BUcQJKp2Zrf92tJNLFf/s320/sidekic_heater.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SideKIC Immersion Circulator</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Earlier this week, I received a <a href="http://www.icakitchen.com/the-sidekic">SideKIC</a> sous vide controller. This 170$ entry into the sous vide consumer market looks like it is going to offer a lot of value. The SideKIC is an immersion circulator. This means that there is a heating element that can be put into a bowl or pot and it will simultaneously heat and then circulate (pump) the water. Many people consider water circulation critical to maintaining temperature stability. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkCm5tdlE8NgOLI-To0M8Gb-JXhnj5qUFRNu8PCPJWiN9O5a_B86Ms6VARk9Pi2n2Z1UfyXuJ54GK1Sf2HQSTXGC8mdsRuXv-yow5KNQaUxG6_pn78pP_-16_AUqDjX1uat-LulzBJS-R/s1600/IMG_1576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkCm5tdlE8NgOLI-To0M8Gb-JXhnj5qUFRNu8PCPJWiN9O5a_B86Ms6VARk9Pi2n2Z1UfyXuJ54GK1Sf2HQSTXGC8mdsRuXv-yow5KNQaUxG6_pn78pP_-16_AUqDjX1uat-LulzBJS-R/s320/IMG_1576.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The (sorta) Unbox</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Unlike most immersion circulators, the SideKIC separates out the heating unit from the controller. All of the controls of the device are done through a color UI, somewhat resembling an iPod. There is a scroll wheel (ok, its a dial) used to navigate through the menus. The dial also acts as a button, and pressing it allows you to make a selection. As I said, it's like a Sous Vide iPod.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBb8GKhzDL6epvAVHEXJSw9NFxaNL7dXHxQ8ZrXpS3k5WxWXJPtnhf8OilVYnegjPEHpZjLULCdTSxWh0jfocQWYpyvvjIdVA4ofaltPI0v75LgFKgWnWW7eJHOVnPQjdh73KMqAn7XE5i/s1600/IMG_1577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBb8GKhzDL6epvAVHEXJSw9NFxaNL7dXHxQ8ZrXpS3k5WxWXJPtnhf8OilVYnegjPEHpZjLULCdTSxWh0jfocQWYpyvvjIdVA4ofaltPI0v75LgFKgWnWW7eJHOVnPQjdh73KMqAn7XE5i/s320/IMG_1577.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Controller/iPhone Comparison Size</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The SideKIC is also pretty tiny, which is great if you have a small kitchen. It can easily fit inside of just about any pot you were going to use to cook with, so in theory, you can buy one and have it not take up any additional space in your kitchen.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nofGBeub1d8/TzheQcKPlaI/AAAAAAAAAuI/CuKDJmpn0ps/s1600/SideKIC+In+Pot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nofGBeub1d8/TzheQcKPlaI/AAAAAAAAAuI/CuKDJmpn0ps/s320/SideKIC+In+Pot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As far as initial drawbacks go, I think the biggest compromise made to produce the SideKIC was the power of the heating element. Its heater is not nearly as powerful as immersion circulators designed for professionals. As a result, it takes longer to initially bring up a water bath to temperature. This might also have implications on stabilizing temperature after product is put into heated bath. The manufacturer is very straight forward about this on their website, where they also recommend that you not use more than ten quarts of water in your water bath.<br />
<br />
Continue to the second part of my <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2012/02/sidekic-immersion-circulation-review.html">SideKIC Review</a>.<br />
<br />
Product: SideKIC Immersion Circulator<br />
Manufacturer: ICA Kitchen, LLC<br />
Available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006X4GNAI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006X4GNAI">Amazon.com</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B006X4GNAI" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<br />pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-71953058257400008712011-11-19T17:44:00.001-05:002011-11-19T18:05:00.914-05:00Kyocera Knife FAQ Funny<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017U3UA4/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=B0017U3UA4"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0017U3UA4&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=medellitin-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0017U3UA4&camp=217145&creative=399369" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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Kyocera makes ceramic knives. The advantages of ceramic knives are that they remain sharp for a lot longer than their metallic counterparts. They are also significantly lighter (which some people prefer, but I prefer heavier knives), and they are a little more delicate (meaning, you don't want to use them on product that could potentially damage the knife (meaning frozen foods, or anything with bones). I say all of this, only because I was recently reminded of this knife, and I wanted to hunt down the original <a href="http://www.kyoceraceramics.co.za/faq.asp">FAQ</a>, which included something that I find very entertaining:<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Q: The peeler is great! How come you don't make a shaver?</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A: Too dangerous! A metal razor blade has a relatively "rounded" edge (under the microscope) which prevents the blade from cutting into the skin. A ceramic razor blade, however, does not have a rounded edge and slices into the skin. Thus, a ceramic shaver would be too dangerous to use. Several engineers in Sendai who tested prototypes can confirm this painful fact!</blockquote>
</blockquote>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-50644906256122612502011-11-13T11:12:00.000-05:002011-11-13T11:12:35.883-05:00Bataligate: Twempest In A Tweet Cup<br />
A quick disclaimer: I don't much care about the morality of sound judgement of comparing bankers/customers/anyone to Hitler or Stalin.<br />
<br />
A bunch of online outlets are linkbaiting the crap out of this Bataligate bullshit. It's lazy, layup blog-o-journalism, taking advantage of the current political climate along with riling up the primary readership of financial trades. <br />
<br />
Let's dissect Eater's <a href="http://eater.com/archives/2011/11/10/bataligate-day-two-internet-backlash-continues.php">coverage</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Despite having apologized for comments comparing bankers to Stalin and Hitler, the internet backlash against Mario Batali rages on. Yelpers have been dropping one-star reviews for his New York restaurants; the #BoycottBatali and #BataliGate hashtags on Twitter are blowing up; financial types are trashing his restaurants on Bloomberg terminals; and bankers are bad-mouthing the chef in the Wall Street Journal: "I must have spent more than $5,000 on his stupid black truffles over the years, and now he says I'm Hitler?!"</blockquote>
They reference four sources: Yelp, Twitter, Bloomberg Terminals and the WSJ. Let's actually look at those sources:<br />
<br />
<b>Yelp</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
While Yelp ostensibly does not allow reviews that have nothing to do with, you know, actually eating at a restaurant, the ratings for Batali's New York restaurants Babbo and Del Posto have taken a bit of a beating since BataliGate began. Two Yelp users in particular, James P and Steve G, seem to be leaving generically bad reviews on the restaurants, but a (since removed) ad by one Joe D. doesn't mess around with the fakery, calling Batali "idiocy in orange crocs." </blockquote>
I did a quick check, and Yelp may have deleted reviews, but so far there have been a total of three negative reviews of Del Posto since this came out and a total of six reviews of Babbo. If you heard "Yelpers have been dropping one-star reviews for his New York restaurants", would you think nine bad reviews, some from the same person?<br />
<br />
<b>Twitter</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
the #BoycottBatali and #BataliGate hashtags on Twitter are blowing up; ... a select list of tweets</blockquote>
Maybe I got this wrong, but a search of twitter as of earlier today showed a just over a total of 200 tweets <b>combined</b>. Also, not mentioned in this is that a fair number of said tweets are overall neutral or supportive of Mario Batali.<br />
<br />
How do I know? I scored each tweet. Yes. I read all of that shit, and scored it positive, neutral or negative. You can even check my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0AqlQX5_O4RcMdFI3UGpTaGpUcU5UZXN4SmFYdFpQUkE&single=true&gid=0&output=html">numbers</a>.<br />
<br />
Of the 193 tweets from a total of the 159 users who "blew up" the #boycottbatali and #bataligate hashtags, I could only determine 75 of them to be clearly negative. 53 of them were overwhelmingly positive. Let's assume the margin of error is 100%. That would 193 negative tweets. <br />
<br />
I bet Bourdain's <a href="http://eater.com/archives/2011/11/05/tmz-unearths-photos-of-anthony-bourdain-naked.php">scrotum</a> had more of a negative response on twitter.<br />
<br />
<b>Wall Street Journal</b><br />
<br />
The <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204358004577028552135309864.html">WSJ</a> got quotes from two bankers reacting negatively to being compared to Hitler or Stalin. Probably not hard to do. Their coverage was pretty balanced, but you know, is this really a story?<br />
<br />
<b>Bloomberg</b><br />
<br />
I don't really have access to the data they reference, and you know, if there is a place where you are going to see the heat on something like this, it will be on Bloomberg terminals. I totally believe there will be a bunch of negative reviews piling up there. <br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
I am not naive. The people that were supportive of batali during this twempest are probably no more likely to eat at his restaurants because of what he said. And people with a negative response are less likely to eat at his restaurant (assuming that they ever were going to go). I believe this will cost him some business in the short run. <br />
<br />
My issue is not about the finance industry or Mario Batali. It is with the total number of articles dedicated to this bullshit. <br />
<br />
Whats worse is that I just wrote about it, continuing these shenanigans.<br />
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<br /></div>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-60310188851299363192011-10-24T10:54:00.000-04:002011-10-24T11:36:27.499-04:00French Reuben Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I don't really share recipes on this blog. It just isn't what I do. But, today is different. Just like the last time I posted a recipe. But this time, I blame a providence of Michaels. I read Michael Ruhlman's post on <a href="http://ruhlman.com/2011/10/french-onion-soup-recipe/">french onion soup</a>, and Michael Nagrant <a href="http://twitter.com/michaelnagrant">tweeted</a> about reuben soup. </div>
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The trick with doing a dish like this is honoring the souls of these iconic dishes without being constricted by them. So...</div>
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<b>What is french onion soup?</b><br />
<br />
How can anyone forget the first time they had french onion soup? Molten cheese bubbling on top of crouton floating over a rich, deep caramelized onion broth. The flavors muted only by the burning sensation in your mouth, not realizing that this soup was just sitting underneath a jet-engine-hot broiler. <br />
<br />
<b>How about a reuben?</b><br />
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The reuben is an iconic sandwich of the jewish deli (*). Corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and russian dressing layered between two slices of caraway studded rye bread. Then the whole sandwich gets the grilled cheese treatment. Crisped golden brown in a pan with some butter. Anything else is bullshit. </div>
(*) Weird because it certainly isn't kosher, what with the beef and cheese.<br />
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<b>French Reuben Soup (Serves 6-ish)</b><br />
<br />
I love this dish because it gives you a lot of places to sneak in the familiar flavors of both of these dishes. I do it a little differently every time I make it, sneaking a little caraway seed or powder somewhere new. Architecturally speaking, we are going to make a soup base by combining caramelized onions and shallot mixture with a corned beef broth. Then we are going to float an open faced reuben on top of the soup and melt the cheese in the broiler.<br />
<br />
<b>Corned Beef Broth</b><br />
4 ounces of Corned Beef (chopped)<br />
288 grams of Mirepoix<br />
8 cups water<br />
2 tsp caraway<br />
1 tbs olive oil<br />
<br />
1. Toast caraway seed in a dry pan<br />
<br />
2. Remove caraway seeds and add olive oil<br />
<br />
3. When the oil is hot, add the caraway seeds<br />
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4. After about thirty seconds add the mirepoix.<br />
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6. After the mirepoix starts to caramelize, add the corned beef.<br />
<br />
7. Add the water and simmer until it's done.<br />
<br />
8. Strain and reserve.<br />
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<b>Caramelized Shallot/Sauerkraut </b><br />
4 Shallots, sliced<br />
1/3 cup Sauerkraut<br />
1 tbs caraway seeds<br />
1 tbs butter<br />
<br />
1. Heat oil and butter on low<br />
<br />
2. Add the caraway seeds<br />
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3. Slowly cook the shallot until they start to brown<br />
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4. Add the sauerkraut<br />
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5. Cook until it's awesome. Be very careful with the kraut as it tends to burn.<br />
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<b>Reuben Crouton (*)</b><br />
1 tbs butter<br />
Slices of rye bread<br />
(*) I don't really abide by my measurements for this part. <br />
<br />
0. Heat a skillet over a medium flame<br />
<br />
1. Cut the rye bread into rounds appropriate for your bowls<br />
<br />
2. Melt the butter, crisp the bread<br />
<br />
3. Remove the bread from the skillet<br />
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<b>Composition</b><br />
Corned beef broth<br />
Caramelized shallot/sauerkraut mixture<br />
Rye rounds<br />
Corned beef<br />
Sauerkraut<br />
Russian dressing<br />
Emmentalier cheese, shredded<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JPF5zr0_WizlEKZEbStgSd1xwSTQgq9HceJlwluO5A9hyphenhyphen0tbYuVKfa7bG-Ekw6lVWd-p110vJCeQJ7JOSTPg3GqYlztgjdWmibZu66_spuPNBEt5RB7eVM8HbHjKjWuES6UVpTxfEEbS/s1600/french+reuben+soup+-+mise.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JPF5zr0_WizlEKZEbStgSd1xwSTQgq9HceJlwluO5A9hyphenhyphen0tbYuVKfa7bG-Ekw6lVWd-p110vJCeQJ7JOSTPg3GqYlztgjdWmibZu66_spuPNBEt5RB7eVM8HbHjKjWuES6UVpTxfEEbS/s400/french+reuben+soup+-+mise.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mise: Grated Emmentalier, russian, corned beef, corned beef broth, discs of rye<br />
and a caramelized mixture of kraut and shallot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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0. Line up bowls on a sheet pan, these are going under the broiler, so position as appropriate.</div>
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1. Heat the broth and the shallot/sauerkraut mixture in a saucepan.<br />
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2. Ladle the soup base into individual bowls<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr05fR9GshDHYayCbCjwJiwQe38X-Xan6nCvZd425z7w2AmUug2rFxo9S2mhnJpMUCIpWkZls6OePnUC4uJgRYE1uoEy7X7ArUTWTC7QOdlpxbBwP2HmX3n5TYLzwQHrLjw1-4RSFV6VT4/s1600/french+reuben+soup+-+base.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr05fR9GshDHYayCbCjwJiwQe38X-Xan6nCvZd425z7w2AmUug2rFxo9S2mhnJpMUCIpWkZls6OePnUC4uJgRYE1uoEy7X7ArUTWTC7QOdlpxbBwP2HmX3n5TYLzwQHrLjw1-4RSFV6VT4/s400/french+reuben+soup+-+base.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corned beef broth with caramelized kraut/shallots</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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3. Evenly apply russian dressing on top of the rye crouton.</div>
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4. Place a single layer of corned beef over the crouton and cut the corned beef to fit.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAMW9s9_BVKbxJuQU5YuRHDFh4Wn-qsrjzC6g5hBxMxSuZazvK01zjx5839sTLY1R56ai_-q74darWUZfOH1DQNn1JRVRI_j0u4wF6nSw2XHfkWK9hvKT1j2lhzFjwZqlldoR9Z2gpkgz/s1600/french+reuben+soup+-+corned+beef2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAMW9s9_BVKbxJuQU5YuRHDFh4Wn-qsrjzC6g5hBxMxSuZazvK01zjx5839sTLY1R56ai_-q74darWUZfOH1DQNn1JRVRI_j0u4wF6nSw2XHfkWK9hvKT1j2lhzFjwZqlldoR9Z2gpkgz/s400/french+reuben+soup+-+corned+beef2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russian Dressing and Corned Beef Applied</td></tr>
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5. Float the crouton on top of the soup base. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzxCpNvG79t2m4F4NwBrhEk87rJYufMef4Tk0fcml_qKhQBI67uhVZTD6juZnw4rstlrxdQBXU5I4vKypworlx9LFfCDC3xfMBiYbsUqCEGOomG6e-k5YW-UoXnr8m8uiup0a1N-fpsNL/s1600/french+reuben+soup+-+kraut.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzxCpNvG79t2m4F4NwBrhEk87rJYufMef4Tk0fcml_qKhQBI67uhVZTD6juZnw4rstlrxdQBXU5I4vKypworlx9LFfCDC3xfMBiYbsUqCEGOomG6e-k5YW-UoXnr8m8uiup0a1N-fpsNL/s400/french+reuben+soup+-+kraut.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kraut.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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6. Add the sauerkraut.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOuciqbOdQGGjp_wUugV4zHrLlVZfhHBI0nIj_LDOXzuR9-uECQsfzwNQBmGfoBT8kyzZA6hFjMMlgasw4sMl4QiASJ3s9NXRh9cc7laHU0nbbcP16wH6uGsq0PBELvIa8wMEbVW8h7N-C/s1600/french+reuben+soup+-+cheese2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOuciqbOdQGGjp_wUugV4zHrLlVZfhHBI0nIj_LDOXzuR9-uECQsfzwNQBmGfoBT8kyzZA6hFjMMlgasw4sMl4QiASJ3s9NXRh9cc7laHU0nbbcP16wH6uGsq0PBELvIa8wMEbVW8h7N-C/s400/french+reuben+soup+-+cheese2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ze Cheeze.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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7. Pile on some cheese.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmB4uKHzN0Zt1ywBpeWvgyLG_TVX435RFfofIl0OzinZVnu5aYLufb_-24s2kXwzxaCGkj2MzHF9Y3HBOwc3rqNR1sivgU6x-LpUmwVIck6tXJOHc-TSdhgdzJTKmLCHOfnNV_0JJpwR-G/s1600/french+reuben+soup+-+broil2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmB4uKHzN0Zt1ywBpeWvgyLG_TVX435RFfofIl0OzinZVnu5aYLufb_-24s2kXwzxaCGkj2MzHF9Y3HBOwc3rqNR1sivgU6x-LpUmwVIck6tXJOHc-TSdhgdzJTKmLCHOfnNV_0JJpwR-G/s320/french+reuben+soup+-+broil2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HEAT.</td></tr>
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8. Broil until cheese is melty, oozy and napalmy.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvy2NLBjJbaiTnkqnMhhza8TLCkIgReeyDHbN6DKsp8LeBw5woUJQ_xsY49oylxcwjzC409LbPrww77jlqpSOwoxIHvuv7GXC5Bt6xu4SGUMoyjnKC_szzZJd6uTvBuiXWjJZkc3bhH1B/s1600/french+reuben+soup+-+final.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvy2NLBjJbaiTnkqnMhhza8TLCkIgReeyDHbN6DKsp8LeBw5woUJQ_xsY49oylxcwjzC409LbPrww77jlqpSOwoxIHvuv7GXC5Bt6xu4SGUMoyjnKC_szzZJd6uTvBuiXWjJZkc3bhH1B/s400/french+reuben+soup+-+final.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serve.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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9. Blow some minds. </div>
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<span id="goog_68790181"></span><span id="goog_68790182"></span>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-63801346529440152922011-10-23T15:05:00.000-04:002011-10-23T15:05:29.434-04:00More Fish Confusion: Great Globe ArticleFirst of all, great <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/10/23/on_the_menu_but_not_on_your_plate/?page=full">article</a> in the Boston Globe on the pervasive mislabeling of fish. My one criticism with the piece is the following sentence:<br />
<blockquote>
The Globe found escolar being sold as white tuna, super-white tuna, or albacore at merchants such as FuGaKyu in Brookline, Kowloon in Saugus, H Mart supermarket in Burlington, and Oishii Sushi Bar in Chestnut Hill.</blockquote>
While it is true that the FDA's <a href="http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/SEARCH_SEAFOOD/index.cfm?other=complete">Seafood List</a> says that you can't sell escolar as white tuna, it is unfair to single out out places for selling <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2008/12/escolar-world-most-dangerous-fish.html">escolar</a> as white tuna or super white tuna when it is a pervasive industry practice. Now, selling it as albacore tuna is more dodgy, because as I have written about before, there is a genuine sushi bar distinction between <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/09/white-tuna-sushi-escolar-vs-albacore.html">albacore and escolar</a>.<br />
<br />
Anyhoo, good article.<br />
<br />pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-12559197995759552272011-10-01T09:30:00.000-04:002011-10-01T09:30:02.500-04:00My 7 LinksThe noble <a href="http://www.foodforthoughtmiami.com/">frodnesor</a> tagged me in to the link-baity "My Seven Links" internet cage meme. And while the speed of the internet is light-speed, the speed of a Pablo post is still all USPS baby. So while I am pretty sure this meme is dead, I am a sucker for the lay-up blog post. Of course, this took two hours to write. <i>Why? </i> Because I just reread a lot of my posts. Which I think is why this meme worked. It was really nice to stumble down memory lane, I definitely saw some posts that are totally horrifying, but then I also saw a lot of posts I had forgotten about, and were surprisingly, not shitty. <br />
<br />
<b>My Most Beautiful Post</b><br />
<br />
This is a tough call. Like the aforementioned frod, I am pictorially-challenged. At first I was thinking that some of my travel posts like <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/01/altered-tastes-tacos.html">Taco</a>, <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/07/altered-tastes-epoisses.html">Epoisses</a> or <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/06/altered-tastes-baguettes-and-your.html">Paris</a>, where I managed to take some quality shots. Of course, Ultimately, I think I have to give it to my initial thoughts on the <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/11/sousvide-supreme-demi-initial-thoughts.html">SousVide Supreme Demi</a>, which is really a short rib photo shoot, or my <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/09/white-tuna-sushi-escolar-vs-albacore.html">white tuna</a> post, where I compare albacore tuna fillets and escolar. I guess I have to pick one, so fuck it, it goes to the white tuna post. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvD9B2aPPUS8G5r0Ogg9Gx73EERar9ex6ZNXaozbxqIAMq3oMsCRmCX32H0ySrIoqi5ZIdNAnK-2ZE_dn552lyVWcYf6xhA_N4Hmf1Uj_mifVzazdJ_smPphHQ_uY61fbY3CRz_DBYSeJ/s1600/escolar-vs-albacore3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvD9B2aPPUS8G5r0Ogg9Gx73EERar9ex6ZNXaozbxqIAMq3oMsCRmCX32H0ySrIoqi5ZIdNAnK-2ZE_dn552lyVWcYf6xhA_N4Hmf1Uj_mifVzazdJ_smPphHQ_uY61fbY3CRz_DBYSeJ/s400/escolar-vs-albacore3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was possessed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Link: <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/09/white-tuna-sushi-escolar-vs-albacore.html">White Tuna Sushi</a><br />
<br />
<b>My Most Popular Post</b><br />
<br />
This one is a no brainer, it's my magnum-poopus. I wrote a post on the dangers of eating escolar. Sort of off-topic for what I pretend my blog is about, but this finely crafted post came from somewhere deep inside of me. It contained a crap-ton of research, as it was supposed to be my first blog post. But on the shelf it sat. When I finally completed it, it had the trifecta: Funny, Informative and Gross. If you want to know what I love about the post, it is that it launch a bazillion hilarious comments.<br />
<br />
If I am a one-hit wonder, this is my "I'm too sexy"<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/39YUXIKrOFk" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
Link: The <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2008/12/escolar-world-most-dangerous-fish.html">Escolar</a> Post<br />
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<b>My Most Controversial Post</b><br />
<br />
My most controversial post also has the distinction of being my first post as well as being one of the posts that makes me cringe to read. I wrote a blog post about how Miracle Connect had mishandled customers Miracle Berry supply issues. While they definitely mishandled it, I think I come off like a livejournal blogger writing emo-etry. That being said, <a href="http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2008/08/miracle_connect_attempts_to_te_1.html">Grub Street</a> linked to me on my first post. <br />
<br />
Link: <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2008/10/miracle-disconnect_29.html">Miracle (Dis)Connect</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>My Most Helpful Post</b><br />
<br />
I really pride myself on not being helpful or instructive. There were some exceptions to that, including my two part guide on building a <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/08/diy-polyscience-form-factor-smoke-guns.html">polyscience</a> <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/08/diy-polyscience-form-factor-smoke-guns_11.html">smoke gun</a>, or my recipe for making <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/02/roasted-garlic-powder.html">roasted garlic powder</a>. I also took my notes from the ideas in food class on <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2008/11/liquid-nitrogen-or-going-to-go-thaw.html">liquid nitrogen</a>. And while I think people seemed to really find my sous vide equipment posts really useful, I found my post on Umami, Kokumi and the Taste Map the most helpful post. Why? Cause I still thought that the taste map was actually how our sense of taste worked.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKHdVuFB_Qx-WKGiR3XCbAlYLrLylSXiQSvnvPyHoqXXgFp4H9LP3Xom9TTz_Xy1Cwy3bBYZL87nmQoUvFwiaY64XNziFRVYOE92ZEkMcDNVNa8Mv7mdzZcXcLBeEg_zAs2gFIVZAvb5J/s1600/mouth_diagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKHdVuFB_Qx-WKGiR3XCbAlYLrLylSXiQSvnvPyHoqXXgFp4H9LP3Xom9TTz_Xy1Cwy3bBYZL87nmQoUvFwiaY64XNziFRVYOE92ZEkMcDNVNa8Mv7mdzZcXcLBeEg_zAs2gFIVZAvb5J/s200/mouth_diagram.jpg" width="170" /></a></div>
<br />
Link: <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2011/01/taste-map-umami-and-kokumi-complexities.html">The Taste Map, Umami and Kokumi (Complexities In Taste)</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Post Whose Success Surprised Me</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
I don't really think I have had that many like blow-my-mind successes. But I wrote a tiny little post about edible cups that got a lot of traffic out of nowhere. I wish I had more to say about it, but the post was as disposable as the cups.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-yIyaz1ZERLTCKS0KLo-c6ohyphenhyphens3nm0nHDEAW_5rpCRJVR0d_IFXKWW8T4PYWFtZnuhLhjqPINkQ4q0UteJVicR534x1ksSKLWo7WC0T3UBIZwVX6VRcIHfSSOSKqBCU-VLCMJzQr0vxj/s1600/jelloware2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-yIyaz1ZERLTCKS0KLo-c6ohyphenhyphens3nm0nHDEAW_5rpCRJVR0d_IFXKWW8T4PYWFtZnuhLhjqPINkQ4q0UteJVicR534x1ksSKLWo7WC0T3UBIZwVX6VRcIHfSSOSKqBCU-VLCMJzQr0vxj/s320/jelloware2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Link: <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/07/jelloware-edible-agar-agar-cups.html">Edible Agar Agar Cups</a><br />
<br />
<b>Post That Didn't Get The Attention It Deserved</b><br />
<br />
This one is also an easy one. I wrote what I thought was a barn burner similar to the Escolar post. I spent a crap-ton of time trying to figure out why Count Rumford was credited with inventing sous vide cooking. There was no easy to find citation, and yet it was one of the first facts in the sous vide Wikipedia page. Then I took that excellent nugget of research and batter dipped it in the funny. You should read this post now, and tell me how everyone got it wrong.<br />
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Link: <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2010/08/sous-vide-historical-note-count-rumford.html">Sous-Vide Historical Note: Count Rumford</a><br />
<br />
<b>Post I am Most Proud Of</b><br />
<br />
I would actually say that the escolar post or the Count Rumford post are really the top two. But I think I can't repeat or my phone will ring, someone will say "7 links" in a spooky voice and then a scary lady will come out of my tv and freeze me. As such, I think I have to go with either my <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2011/03/shark-fin-controversy-one-hot-mess.html">shark fin</a> controversy post for calling it as I see it, or some of my funnier lil bits like my post on <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2009/04/thoughts-on-tgrwt16-chicken-and-rose.html">chicken and rose flavor pairings</a> or really, my mini screenplay on <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2009/10/ordering-technique-part-i-screenplay.html">ordering technique</a> featuring Frank Bruni, Snoop Dogg, Pickled Jalapeno and myself.<br />
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Link: The <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2008/12/escolar-world-most-dangerous-fish.html">Escolar</a> Post<br />
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SURPRISE ENDING SUCKERS!<br />
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Gotta go, phone's ringi- ohno.pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-10685239243755579942011-09-11T22:31:00.001-04:002011-09-12T01:37:55.503-04:00On The Value Of The $200 Fennel BraiserThis is probably indicative of my state of mind, but I got super furious when I saw the following ad on epicurious:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dP47Om8WKOwJZg14vzdnc8dZJYw-PimNoCmzo42j2oKH3OU4eyldvdJD3cOmSiiDtbZPV1CcMrwjF7taigyhyphenhyphentFVvVNcwL39ZE81IOHoUmQ_A0yrsPogwmY1heCOaSAxe0esrJpsEkTw/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-09-10+at+2.35.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dP47Om8WKOwJZg14vzdnc8dZJYw-PimNoCmzo42j2oKH3OU4eyldvdJD3cOmSiiDtbZPV1CcMrwjF7taigyhyphenhyphentFVvVNcwL39ZE81IOHoUmQ_A0yrsPogwmY1heCOaSAxe0esrJpsEkTw/s320/Screen+shot+2011-09-10+at+2.35.22+PM.png" width="291" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A $200 fennel braiser. Questions like: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>Who the fuck would spend 200$ just for the task of a fennel braiser? </li>
<li>What unique qualities of fennel could be coaxed with a special braising device? </li>
<li>Why would anyone think they could get away with this scam?</li>
<li>Where did epicurious get the gall to sell such a ridiculous item?</li>
</ul><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had to research this further. Within seconds my rage converted into amusement. With myself. At myself. For within two clicks, I found the following:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiox14OQRMFLthMsXxsMt_Bke9H9FGv0RjqtFJ0y5fT4cuYsUe-qqU9DzQDwPRQDnxMPNamDS-FxGujY0865bzr4ssjJVgt857GGfOikBZJSkjkZktYEkMI5zVQZfdEq1prn6N0XL4oULQS/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-09-11+at+10.22.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiox14OQRMFLthMsXxsMt_Bke9H9FGv0RjqtFJ0y5fT4cuYsUe-qqU9DzQDwPRQDnxMPNamDS-FxGujY0865bzr4ssjJVgt857GGfOikBZJSkjkZktYEkMI5zVQZfdEq1prn6N0XL4oULQS/s320/Screen+shot+2011-09-11+at+10.22.14+PM.png" width="293" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-29857598894287378022011-09-05T13:36:00.000-04:002011-09-05T13:36:32.254-04:00Coffee tawk.<br />
<div class="p1">Coffee has been top of mind <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/dining/cold-brewing-coffee-and-tea-the-curious-cook.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1">lately</a>. With the rising price of coffee in NYC (I think I pay $4 for a thimbleful of iced americano), being able to make an excellent cup of coffee at home is becoming a priority. I haven't made coffee at home without the guidance of Mr. Coffee himself, so this is going to be a learning process.</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">To further complicate things, I really only like iced coffee. Oh sure, I'll tolerate the hot stuff when it is freezing out, but give me iced coffee <a href="http://isiticedcoffeeweather.com/10001">anyday</a>. Wisdom of the interwebs says that cold brewing coffee is the way to go. Ratios and tools change, but technique pretty much remains the same. </div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1">Once I get a handle on making a good iced coffee, some variations I want to try are:</div><div class="p1"></div><ol><li>Seasoning. A <a href="http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2010/12/salt-your-coffee-25.html">little</a> bit of <a href="http://blog.khymos.org/2010/03/21/a-pinch-of-salt-for-your-coffee-sir/">salt</a> can go a long way. It just makes sense and will supposedly cut bitterness.</li>
<li>Cavitation. I won't be the <a href="http://www.jimseven.com/2010/08/20/pressurised-cold-brewing/">first</a> to take <a href="http://www.cookingissues.com/2010/08/11/infusion-profusion-game-changing-fast-%E2%80%98n-cheap-technique/">Nitrous cavitation</a> to cold brewing coffee, but maybe it's time to revisit the technique.</li>
<li>Alcohol. Ok, might not be for the every day cup of joe, but I was curious to see if I could infuse some coffee into a neutral spirit like vodka. Gotta figure that there are flavor compounds that are alcohol soluble versus water soluble. I would try this with fats as well, but not really ready for a <a href="http://www.brewed-coffee.com/coffee/hot-buttered-coffee/">hot buttered coffee</a> (*). </li>
</ol><div class="p1">(*) Sounds like a term that should be in urban dictionary.</div><div class="p1"><br />
Got any tips?<br />
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</div><br />
<div class="p1"><br />
</div>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-40741283873677953942011-07-08T17:38:00.000-04:002011-07-08T17:38:17.550-04:00NYPL: What's On The Menu?I think it is safe to say that my niche is turning out to be foodnerdery. Which is why I am ashamed that I missed the New York Public Library's initial announcement about the friggin' awesome <a href="http://menus.nypl.org/">What's On The Menu?</a> project. <i>What's on the Menu?</i> is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing">crowdsourcing</a> project chartered to take their incredible menu collection and transcribe it. Before you think that no one would contribute to this, allow me to say that you are a cynical jerkward, aaaaannnnd... as of July 8th, 2011, there are over 430,000 menu items transcribed.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUeZFfYQUX7GdzXm7GWfSA3BDQzN85lWFeezzyJWU151OkMp3ImBGlj_DYM-q3JNa7J1GXHRFAiQVX5A42QA3mIJEVk47w4ljbl3NbIYuUjnoos-LihukzU4njvHBoiTcd2dj6Obth1rg/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-07-08+at+4.50.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUeZFfYQUX7GdzXm7GWfSA3BDQzN85lWFeezzyJWU151OkMp3ImBGlj_DYM-q3JNa7J1GXHRFAiQVX5A42QA3mIJEVk47w4ljbl3NbIYuUjnoos-LihukzU4njvHBoiTcd2dj6Obth1rg/s640/Screen+shot+2011-07-08+at+4.50.12+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss Frank E. Buttolph American Menu Collection, 1851-1930</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div>The NYPL menu collection has about 40,000 menus dating back to the turn of the century. Approximately 25% of the menu collection is available <a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/dgexplore.cfm?topic=culture&col_id=159">online</a>, but only searchable by high level meta data about the restaurant, not the menu data itself. The first stage of the project is to take the menus that are already available digitally and have folks like you and me input what's on each menu.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I started playing with it recently and the interface is pretty slick. Within a couple of seconds I found myself contributing to the effort by clicking on menus and transcribing dishes. It has enough smarts to provide the right kind of inputs for whatever menu or menu item you are transcribing.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2ZXr5heWLELNoR1a6fIHLhoHbIdP9ffvehfV40gqcQ-E4dS3ccqX46IltyEu_MJsDgY-7cAm7YuyyYcTWLjvulsWLLasg20l7WJ5tz7r-BCdDDebDbVsm-_TGBKXQ_KUiSDrwsfXFjYY/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-07-08+at+4.58.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2ZXr5heWLELNoR1a6fIHLhoHbIdP9ffvehfV40gqcQ-E4dS3ccqX46IltyEu_MJsDgY-7cAm7YuyyYcTWLjvulsWLLasg20l7WJ5tz7r-BCdDDebDbVsm-_TGBKXQ_KUiSDrwsfXFjYY/s640/Screen+shot+2011-07-08+at+4.58.34+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What On The Menu? Transcription UI</td></tr>
</tbody></table>While I could go on and on about the tech side, what I think is really going to be awesome is how people will use the database. They plan on keeping it open and offer API and/or data export capability, so if you are a food historian trying to grok the rise and fall of various food trends, you'll only be a couple clicks away. Wait, you are a notable chef with a restaurant built around time and place themed menus? Pretty sure your New York, 1897 just got easier. <br />
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<b>My question to my readers are</b>: If you had access to a crazy huge menu database that chronicles some portion of how we ate over the past 150 years, what would you use it for?pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-73369806398946158412011-07-07T09:22:00.000-04:002011-07-07T09:22:27.512-04:00The Sous Vide Vacuum Conundrum<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/SousVide-Supreme-Zip-Pouches-Bags/dp/B00551V8N2?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="SousVide Supreme Zip Pouches/Bags - quart size" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B00551V8N2&tag=medellitin-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/SousVide-Supreme-Zip-Pouches-Bags/dp/B00551V8N2?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">SVS Zip Pouch</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00551V8N2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>My posts on <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2011/03/sousvide-supreme-chamber-vacuum.html">SousVide Supreme Chamber Vacuum</a> and on the <a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2011/02/are-combi-ovens-future-of-sous-vide.html">Combi Oven</a> nicely lead up to the subject of the value of the vacuum, and its role in low temperature cooking. For most home cooks exploring low temperature cooking, there are two primary reasons why you use vacuum sealed bags: heat transfer and eliminating buoyancy. Even though sous vide literally means under vacuum, you don't <i>need</i> to <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00551V8N2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />vacuum seal to achieve most of the desired affects of low temperature cooking. The truth is, you can use a ziplock bag, manually <a href="http://www.cookingissues.com/primers/sous-vide/part-ii-low-temperature-cooking-without-a-vacuum/#sectionII3b1">remove</a> the air out of the bag, and pretty much achieve both of these goals. <br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000GB3ADC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-Advanced-Design-Vacuum-Sealer/dp/B000GB3ADC?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="FoodSaver V2240 Advanced Design Vacuum Food Sealer" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B000GB3ADC&tag=medellitin-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-Advanced-Design-Vacuum-Sealer/dp/B000GB3ADC?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">FoodSaver Clamp Vacuum 2240</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000GB3ADC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
That being said, using a vacuum sealer is considerably more convenient. Especially if you are cooking products that tend to float or you are going to be using like 50 bags. Most consumers are familiar with the food saver style vacuum sealer. The foodsaver is an example of an external clamp vacuum sealer. These sealers suction the air out of a bag and then heat-seal. If your bag contains liquids, then you are likely to remove some liquid as well, which can affect the quality of the seal and also make a huge mess. There are ways to mitigate this, including freezing the liquids and double bagging, but they have their own challenges.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001Q3LSW4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/VacMaster-VP210C-Chamber-Machine-Metallic/dp/B001Q3LSW4?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="VacMaster VP210C Dry Piston Pump Chamber Machine, Metallic" height="200" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B001Q3LSW4&tag=medellitin-20" width="170" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/VacMaster-VP210C-Chamber-Machine-Metallic/dp/B001Q3LSW4?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">VacMaster VP210C Chamber Vac</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001Q3LSW4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Chamber vacuums operate by placing your bag into the vacuum and putting the open end under a sealing bar. The vacuum sealer then removes all of the air from the entire chamber, including the bag. Since the air pressure stays equal both inside of the bag and outside (in the chamber), the liquid doesn't get sucked out of the bag.<br />
<br />
At this point, you are probably wondering why someone would spend 700$ on a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/VacMaster-Pro-112-Chamber-Machine/dp/B003YE8FG0?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">chamber vacuum</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003YE8FG0" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> when 130$ buys you an external clamp <a href="http://www.amazon.com/SousVide-Supreme-VSD100-Vacuum-Sealer/dp/B003EGIIN8?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">vacuum sealer</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003EGIIN8" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />. The truth is, there aren't that many cases where a chamber vacuum is essential for low temperature cooking techniques. Apart from the ability to vacuum liquids you can also control the strength of the vacuum. The vacuum strength can be used to influence the <a href="http://www.cookingissues.com/2009/06/17/boring-but-useful-technical-post-vacuum-machines-affect-the-texture-of-your-meat/">texture</a> of the product. The chamber vacuum is not just useful for sous vide, as it is also handy for other techniques, including: compression, rapid marination and infusion of liquids. While clamp vacuum sealers can sorta do some of those techniques, there are limitations, including lack of control and degrees of effectiveness. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UDm-zrWaL58yVZ_HFX76SfcQsZ9GX_ObsSEWQBWQmuvU47niLCN0Khrov8afPn6cm2fx9mjWtVbENr8CTx8OLRTovmYYv_vLX6n3xsxLb1R5-NMwTt4qkXliifQ1K7LD1LAzrHkjSe0l/s1600/vacuum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UDm-zrWaL58yVZ_HFX76SfcQsZ9GX_ObsSEWQBWQmuvU47niLCN0Khrov8afPn6cm2fx9mjWtVbENr8CTx8OLRTovmYYv_vLX6n3xsxLb1R5-NMwTt4qkXliifQ1K7LD1LAzrHkjSe0l/s320/vacuum.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handy vacuum charts</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The distinction between vacuum sealer versus non-vacuum sealer is most important for commercial and professional kitchens, where the use of a vacuum may require an HACCP plan to minimize the risk of botulism or other food borne illnesses. This basically means that restaurants wanting to utilize modern low temperature cooking will have to take on a bunch of extra overhead, including additional process and inspections if a vacuum sealer is used.<br />
<div><br />
<br />
</div>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-64586492126419667622011-07-04T18:02:00.001-04:002011-07-04T23:03:37.064-04:00"Loaded" "Risotto"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6voUGmwIfc1wlSjXuSrpKh4ASR-dyffdobCtUyDhrKD72D4OMErnPk6PK9UYM93I_tOG9h6l_-gvoPLWQNg9c5yuf-kCVqvqGzZmNnmQ1d0psLt2CGOhtr4Ib6_zed9qhw1X5U4s0VF_/s1600/potato-risotto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6voUGmwIfc1wlSjXuSrpKh4ASR-dyffdobCtUyDhrKD72D4OMErnPk6PK9UYM93I_tOG9h6l_-gvoPLWQNg9c5yuf-kCVqvqGzZmNnmQ1d0psLt2CGOhtr4Ib6_zed9qhw1X5U4s0VF_/s400/potato-risotto.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
When your dish has a word or phrase in quotes, you are probably being a heretic. This act can be forgivable when performed artfully. When the name of your dish has more quotes that words, you are being sacrilegious. Fortunately for me, I don't work in a kitchen, and like ten people read my blog.<br />
<br />
For those ten that do, I bring you a special treat. An actual recipe. Not just a recipe but a photo of some food I actually made. I usually veer away from this being a cooking blog because I don't think all that highly of myself as a cook or as a photographer. And really, who needs another dipshit on the internet writing recipes.<br />
<br />
But hey, it's 4th of july. And I was inspired by someone on twitter who twoted:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<blockquote><span class="tweet-user-name" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a class="tweet-screen-name user-profile-link" data-user-id="23116429" href="http://twitter.com/#!/DemianRepucci" style="color: rgb(47, 194, 239) !important; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" title="Demian Repucci">DemianRepucci</a> <span class="tweet-full-name" style="color: #999999; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Demian Repucci</span> </span><br />
'Baked Potato Bar' risotto:) The 6min. <a class=" twitter-atreply" data-screen-name="ideasinfood" href="http://twitter.com/ideasinfood" rel="nofollow" style="color: #2fc2ef; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="at" style="display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; opacity: 0.5; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">@</span><span class="at-text" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">ideasinfood</span></a> method. Awesome. <a class="twitter-timeline-link" data-expanded-url="http://twitpic.com/5id3sk" href="http://t.co/ak53FDz" rel="nofollow" style="color: #2fc2ef; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="http://twitpic.com/5id3sk">twitpic.com/5id3sk</a></blockquote><br />
I thought this was clever and figured I could embiggen the cleverness by subbing out rice for potato. I used my fingers' mortal enemy, the mandoline, to thinly slice the potatoes. Then I cut the slices down into rice-ish sized pieces of potato. I think potatoes release starch better than traditional risotto rices and also has a shorter cooking time.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<br />
And, really, what's more American than the loaded baked potato. Simple carbs? Lots of fat? Minimal use of nutritional vegetables?<br />
<br />
Happy Independence day, 'Merica.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4TeMd4X2gLLLt4OXGdS1fcz2d62y1O2BX8ruuyNqCALjUmTE_e5xBxubYVP6mZ8eZtNLa5SUffyGtG6xOZzMq8sH4jltKClGcVOtM8pctkLULni-CbIt7nAJ9fktq6R7wYk_LgXUnx1l/s1600/potato-risotto-2-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4TeMd4X2gLLLt4OXGdS1fcz2d62y1O2BX8ruuyNqCALjUmTE_e5xBxubYVP6mZ8eZtNLa5SUffyGtG6xOZzMq8sH4jltKClGcVOtM8pctkLULni-CbIt7nAJ9fktq6R7wYk_LgXUnx1l/s400/potato-risotto-2-final.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Loaded" "Risotto" </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><b>"Loaded" "Risotto" - Recipe </b></div><div><br />
</div><div>2 Scallions, white and green parts separated and sliced</div><div>1-2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped</div><div>Bacon (Or baco bits to keep it veg)</div><div>1/2 Russett Potato, cut into rice sized pieces</div><div>1.5 TBS Olive Oil</div><div>1 TBS Butter</div><div>1/2 Cup Extra Sharp Cheddar, Shredded</div><div>3/4 cup Brocoli Florets</div><div><ol><li>Roast the brocoli in the oven. I used 350ºF for ~20 minutes.</li>
<li>Heat chicken stock or water in a separate small saucepan. </li>
<li>Combine butter and olive oil in skillet over medium heat.</li>
<li>When butter and olive oil come up to temp, add white parts of scallion along with garlic and bacon. Let this cook until the garlic is starting to brown. </li>
<li>Add potatoes and stir quickly but gently. They will absorb the fat pretty quickly.</li>
<li>Add a ladelful of stock/water to the pan and continue to stir slowly, letting the liquid reduce and the starches release from the potato. </li>
<li>WHILE POTATO < ALMOST_DONE THEN GOTO 6. (Approximately 15 minutes for me)</li>
<li>When the potato is almost done, should be cooked but not mushy, add the brocoli and the cheddar cheese. </li>
<li>Adjust seasoning (salt and pepper) and garnish with cheese, green parts of scallion and more bacon/baco bits.</li>
</ol><div>I think there are a lot of variations to try here. Some that I am going to incorporate in future revs:</div><div><ul><li>Add sour cream at the end</li>
<li>Make a cheddar cheese and scallion broth</li>
<li>Beer to deglaze</li>
<li>Serve in a potato skin</li>
<li>Use yellow cheddar to improve color</li>
<li>Remove skins to improve color</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div></div></div>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-61347982396009817092011-04-19T19:11:00.000-04:002011-04-19T19:11:42.230-04:00The Modernist Beat Volume 3I have been sitting on this one for a little while. Mostly trying to cover science-y/food convergence type things. If you have links to suggest for the next one, just pop a comment up in this bitch. Without further adieu:<br />
<br />
<b>From the 'how do you get to be a test subject for this study' dept.</b><br />
Scientists have <a href="http://www.newswise.com/articles/creating-the-perfect-bloody-mary-good-chemistry-of-fresh-ingredients">improved</a> on the perfect hangover cure: The Bloody Mary.<br />
<br />
<b>Where Math And Sausage Infinitely Converge.</b><br />
I give you... the <a href="http://wondertonic.tumblr.com/post/3931283529/mandelbratwurst">Mandelbratwurst</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Locannivorism</b><br />
In the 8th case of its kind, a man self <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10719690">cannibalizes</a> his own finger. Is this a horrifying trend, or is it really just self foraging? I personally look forward to the negative Yelp review.<br />
<br />
<b>Obligatory Modernist Cuisine Book give away</b><br />
Marcel's Quantum Kitchen is sponsoring a Modernist Cuisine Book <a href="http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/04/win_a_copy_of_modnerist_cuisin.html">giveaway over at grubstreet.</a> All you have to do is suggest a theme for a future episode. I suspect that Marcel detractors have already suggested self cannibalism or some form of modernist mutilation.<br />
<br />
<b>Do white chocolate and epoisses pair well together?</b><br />
Probably not, but go to <a href="http://www.foodpairing.com/en/home/">Foodpairing.com</a> to find out. They just got a stellar makeover and the site is looking slick. Now all we need is for Khymos to set up another <a href="http://blog.khymos.org/tgrwt/">TGRWT</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Speaking of Khymos...</b><br />
Martin has an excellent post on making the <a href="http://blog.khymos.org/2011/04/18/perfect-egg-yolks/">perfect</a> egg yolk.pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-58327091348262028962011-04-13T23:27:00.000-04:002011-04-13T23:27:27.634-04:00Espuma Matata (Culinary Foam Worries)I have been working on a list of modern cooking technique debates I hate witnessing and the "Do Foams Suck?" debate is filled with jackassery from both sides. I am a proponent of all culinary techniques regardless of trendiness. They just have to be well executed and service the dish. That being said, I think us pro-foamers do need to check ourselves when we attempt to engage the enemy.<br />
<br />
Say you are minding your own business when some foam hating douche walks up to you and says:<br />
<blockquote>I <i>hate </i>foams and everyone that likes 'em!</blockquote>The initial response as programmed by the Internet will invariably be:<br />
<blockquote>You hate <i>all</i> foams? You know that <i>x</i> is a foam right?</blockquote>Where <i>x</i> is:<br />
<ol><li>Bread</li>
<li>Mousse</li>
<li>Cappuccino</li>
<li>Beer</li>
<li>Your Mother</li>
</ol>Hocking that loogie is a total red herring. Obviously, when someone says they hate foams, they are being more specific than any solid or liquid with a gas trapped inside of it. So, let's stop channeling that nerdiness from high school that got you into this whole modern technique thing to begin with. It didn't win friends in high school and it won't today. Also, least convincing argument ever.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEjXMcNfVxbUv8QOQCF-yLfChdAkAXmPuZ-uKmIRHD3T1aIhB0toqeKWm224MqVwyJ9migziOi9o8LHvdV8pE9-g3GgQ47ohL2MVHAvFp2wxwZG3T6aJwhbm8JUrapl0x8irtI9ntRrdy/s1600/foam-vs-foam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEjXMcNfVxbUv8QOQCF-yLfChdAkAXmPuZ-uKmIRHD3T1aIhB0toqeKWm224MqVwyJ9migziOi9o8LHvdV8pE9-g3GgQ47ohL2MVHAvFp2wxwZG3T6aJwhbm8JUrapl0x8irtI9ntRrdy/s400/foam-vs-foam.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One Foam Is A Cinnamon Foam (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/WillPowder-Soy-Lecithin-Powder-16-Ounce/dp/B00250UC92?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Lecithin</a>), <br />
The Other Is A Lemongrass and Clementine Zest<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001FA1NV4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> Foam (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seventh-Generation-Natural-Lemongrass-Clementine/dp/B001FA1NV4?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Hand Soap</a>). </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Informed persons should be able to dislike foams and not receive contempt. There are a couple of reasons to hate foams:<br />
<ol><li><b>Aesthetic.</b> Since I am rummaging through the ole trope drawer, let's pull out the old 'you eat with your eyes first' bit. It is a cliche, but it is also true. And some people see foam as soap scum or spittle, or perhaps as a sign of microbial growth. My woman is one of them. I force-fed her a foam last night. Does. Not. Want. </li>
<li><b>Texture.</b> While foams can vary in texture dramatically, many of them can have unappealing textures to people. I hate Gummi thingies. It doesn't matter what form of gummi thingie it is, I just can't like it. If it rained blow jobs and money every time I ate a Gummi Bear, I'd still hate eating Gummi Bears. Which would suck, cause my entire life would be reduced to eating Gummi Bears and sleeping. </li>
<li><b>Flavor muting.</b> Depending on the construction and the ingredient, foams can reduce the flavor of an otherwise tasty component. While this is often the intended affect, and can be a win for some, it can also make a foam tasteless. </li>
</ol>Combine esthetically and texturally unappealing with flavorless and I can see why some people wouldn't like foams.<br />
<br />
<b>Buuuuuuut... On The Other Hand</b><br />
<br />
I think there are definitely a fair number of people who don't like foams for the reasons stated above. However, I also think there are people who express their foam-y hatred as a euphemism for saying they hate modern technique influenced cuisine and/or its associated trendiness. <br />
<br />
I suspect Top Chef Season 2 is to blame for this. Chefs and judges alike kept harping on Marcel's use of foam. Millions of people's first foam experiences were colored by it. I am sure that there were also a lot of bad foams put out there by chefs dabbling with them. People also might conflate the trend with the component. <br />
<br />
Ultimately, the foam has become The Scarlet Letter of modern cookery.<br />
<br />
So when you say<br />
<blockquote>I <i>hate</i> foam</blockquote>know that I hear something as ridiculous as:<br />
<blockquote>I <i>hate</i> sauce </blockquote>or<br />
<blockquote>I <i>hate</i> protein</blockquote>Foams can be nuanced in both texture and flavor (just like sauces and proteins). Maybe you just haven't found a foam you have loved. Culinary close-mindedness is a terrible crime, and my contempt for you is as endless and unrelenting as the entire controversy around foams. <br />
<br />
Just kidding. Maybe.<br />
<br />
<b>Let's Put A Bow On This Pig</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
IF YOU ARE A CHEF, continue to make or not make foams.<br />
<br />
IF YOU ARE A DINER, continue to eat or not eat foams.<br />
<br />
CONTEMPLATE THE VALIDITY of the other side, while you<br />
<br />
CONTINUE YOUR ACTIVITIES. <br />
<br />
IN SILENCE.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4S31yvJx9QxctVrhebZpURRLTnhpBbh_AqGzA-zaUVFumgb8sibptx_IPifOexQxe6-Sa1deEemEnCvINEqCusfuQ18XJNxTJMC_qTg3VdcyzK2tWBTu1wAkApCF0ETwu-WJMd9lIllrx/s1600/c_reggie.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4S31yvJx9QxctVrhebZpURRLTnhpBbh_AqGzA-zaUVFumgb8sibptx_IPifOexQxe6-Sa1deEemEnCvINEqCusfuQ18XJNxTJMC_qTg3VdcyzK2tWBTu1wAkApCF0ETwu-WJMd9lIllrx/s200/c_reggie.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I Ate One Of These In The 80s.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>Two Special (and Fecal) Notes</b><br />
<ol><li style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">I have had these thoughts in my writing colon (that's where my writing ideas are stored) for quite some time. I would like to thank <a href="http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/138051-i-love-foam/">eGullet</a> for performing the high colonic that relieved me of this Reggie Bar of a post.</span></b></span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Like a child that painted with his own excrement, I am incredibly pleased with the title of this post. </span></b></li>
</ol>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-68011567241740426182011-03-13T20:38:00.000-04:002011-03-13T20:38:15.838-04:00The Shark Fin Controversy (One Hot Mess)The <a href="http://www.salon.com/food/francis_lam/2011/03/07/sharks_fin_soup_ban">blogs</a> are all <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inoakland/detail?entry_id=84629">a-twitter</a> about <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/us/06fin.html">California's</a> (and other <a href="http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/global/story.asp?s=12738729">states</a>) recent push to ban the possession and sale of shark fin. This is legislation designed to protect sharks against a practice called shark finning. Shark finning is the process of harvesting the fin of the shark and discarding the still live shark back into the ocean, where it will either drown, starve or be consumed by other predators. <br />
<br />
You might think that <a href="http://www.killallanimals.com/shark.php">killing all sharks</a> is a good thing. Much like one might think that killing all bees is a good thing. And you might be right. Of course, you would be betting against most of the credible scientific community. Look out, I'm going to blind you with some <a href="http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/law/lwsch/journals/bciclr/24_2/07_TXT.htm">science</a>:<br />
<blockquote>There are a number of reasons why sharks should be protected from senseless and wasteful killing through finning. First, sharks are apex predators in the marine food chain and, without a proportionate number of sharks, an ecological imbalance with potentially disastrous repercussions will occur in the world’s oceans. Common sense and an overview of evolution show that sharks have evolved to a vital stabilization role in all oceans. Sharks prey on weak and/or sick fish which, over time, creates better genetically and evolutionarily capable species. Sharks also keep populations in check, such as the octopus population in Australia and the stingray population in Florida.</blockquote>Basically, sharks sit just below us on the top of the food chain (notwithstanding the occasional surfer) and they help control the population of all other sea life. It's like that Star Trek episode, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trouble_With_Tribbles">The Trouble With Tribbles</a>. Only instead of us being covered in cheaply manufactured stuffed animals, we all die.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ib49_Df9Wv_PU3qa7vQJLNQci35y5jB4JCY4VuUyA_pb7b7aXdvyJMA7JRH4Lf2C0nWYqjF42dSOv-hiLHrdbyukQfEQv8HntMvgopXJuvkEfU-Ew802hZDzzurqHii_W_p5exiKq1Cw/s1600/STTroubleTrib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ib49_Df9Wv_PU3qa7vQJLNQci35y5jB4JCY4VuUyA_pb7b7aXdvyJMA7JRH4Lf2C0nWYqjF42dSOv-hiLHrdbyukQfEQv8HntMvgopXJuvkEfU-Ew802hZDzzurqHii_W_p5exiKq1Cw/s320/STTroubleTrib.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Trouble With Tribbles (via wikipedia)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The United States government recognized this and attempted to ban the practice of shark finning in 2000. Congress passed the Shark Finning Prohibition Act (SFPA), which criminalized the following actions:<br />
<ol><li>The act of shark finning where the shark's body is dumped into the ocean on board any U.S. fishing vessel</li>
<li>The possession of shark fins without the shark carcass within the inner boundary of the U.S. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_Economic_Zone#United_States">Exclusive Economic Zone</a> on any U.S. fishing vessel</li>
<li>To 'land' any fin without the carcass on any fishing or cargo U.S. vessel at any U.S. port</li>
</ol>You would think this would effectively curtail the practice of shark finning in US waters. Now I will turn to some <a href="http://www.elawreview.org//summaries/natural_resources/shark_finning_prohibition_act/united_states_v_approximately.html">excellent</a> <a href="http://nsglc.olemiss.edu/SandBar/SandBar7/7.2sharkfins.htm">analysis</a> of a court case that will go down in history as <i>the silliest name for an environmentally tragic court case</i>.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins</b></div><br />
Two years after this legislation was enacted, The King Diamond II was detained off the coast of Guatemala when the US Coast Guard found approximately 65,000 pounds of shark fins aboard the vessel. The fins were seized and the US government won a district court ruling for the forfeiture of the fins. <br />
<br />
Tai Loong Hong Marine Products, Ltd. (TLH), who chartered the KDII, appealed the decision on two technicalities within the SFPA:<br />
<ol><li><b>Vessel Classification. </b> The KDII was a chartered vessel that purchased the shark fins from over twenty different fishing vessels. While the US Government claimed that the KDII was a fishing vessel in that supported other fishing vessels by allowing them to stay out at sea longer, the courts disagreed. </li>
<li><b>Usage of Foreign Ports. </b>The KDII was destined to land on a port in Guatemala, and the SFPA landing provision only applied to U.S. ports.</li>
</ol>The 9th district court maintained that a person of reasonable intelligence wouldn't conclude that the activities of the KDII would classify it as a fishing vessel. Unfortunately, a person of evil super genius intelligence would conclude that the courts would come to that very conclusion. Let's do some quick math on this <b>single</b> incident.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqPNXAbbb_gFh8Ke4ait7KXUP7Dey0m_Z82yM9fK50Q_xiOplfPoSWMFaBvhhYPUFdvvsb2fCZyWH74UYZx4jnrjTrvy3WBit7PjauXQjGsuqpg4yv12LiJztOeONSEViqgZMn72SjHAbC/s1600/sharkweight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqPNXAbbb_gFh8Ke4ait7KXUP7Dey0m_Z82yM9fK50Q_xiOplfPoSWMFaBvhhYPUFdvvsb2fCZyWH74UYZx4jnrjTrvy3WBit7PjauXQjGsuqpg4yv12LiJztOeONSEViqgZMn72SjHAbC/s640/sharkweight.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 million pounds of wasted shark meat?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>While the bad guys won that day, Congress recently enacted the <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-81&tab=summary">Shark Conservation Act of 2010</a> (in 2011) which attempts to patch the loopholes in the SFPA. This <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr81enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr81enr.pdf">bill</a> does contain an exemption for smooth dogfish sharks, allowing state licensed fishing vessels to separate fins from the shark as long as the total weight of the separated shark fins do not exceed twelve percent (12%) of the total weight of the smooth dogfish shark bodies when landed. This percentage is exceedingly high according to the amazing blogging team at <a href="http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?p=8851">Southern Fried Science</a>:<br />
<blockquote>This 12% number appears to come from thin air, since the worldwide standard is around 5% and the National Marine Fisheries Service calculated that the fin to weight ratio for smooth dogs is around 3.5%.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It is a shame that this loophole was necessary to get the bill passed, and we can fully expect the King Diamond III (or perhaps the Danzig I) to somehow use this loophole to do terrible things. But, it was the only way to get North Carolina Senator Richard Burr to sign the bill. North Carolina hosts Smooth Dogfish Shark fisheries, and his constituents apparently need to be able to separate shark fins from shark onboard the vessel. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The unfortunate truth in all of this is that even if the US managed to completely opt out of all shark finning and US commercial fisheries abided by established quotas, it won't be enough. Other countries still consume most of the shark fins and also have the least regulation.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>What about the hypocrisy of the shark fin possession laws?</b></div><div><br />
As mentioned in the beginning, this post is inspired by the efforts of west coast state legislation attempting to outright ban the sale, distribution and possession of shark fins. I understand why some Chinese-Americans could be frustrated with the potential banning of a cultural symbol and delicacy. But in a game of rock, paper, scissors where one player throws tradition and the other throws the-whole-fucking-planet, tradition loses.<br />
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I completely agree that it is hypocritical that the same people who ban shark fins don't vigorously defend the blue fin tuna and Caspian caviar as well. Instead of being angry that you can't contribute to the destruction of the planet, pick up the fight and help protect other species.<br />
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Just sayin'.<br />
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</div>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-86569878273115978722011-03-05T17:11:00.001-05:002011-03-05T17:14:28.200-05:00SousVide Supreme Chamber Vacuum ThoughtsEarlier this week, SousVide Supreme announced their entrance into the chamber vacuum space. An OEM'd VacMaster <a href="http://vacmaster.aryvacmaster.com/cgi/vac.wsc/hnt/IN/in210125.r?p-item-num=vp112&p-seq-no=ipjlakfndKHkaaKa,172578&marker=1&p-callprog=cust-search">VP112</a>, this tabletop chamber vacuum sold out within hours of the announcement. <br />
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Assuming that this isn't the result of EAT, LLC doing an incredibly small first run of chamber vac's, I am surprised that their customers would rush to buy an $800 chamber vacuum to assist with a $400 water bath. You'd think that people that had the budget for the chamber vac would have bought an immersion circulator instead of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/SousVide-Supreme-SVS-10LS-Water-10-L/dp/B003AYZIB4?ie=UTF8&tag=medellitin-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">SousVide Supreme.</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medellitin-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003AYZIB4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />It is possible that once people start cooking sous vide they become more willing to invest. Maybe I am also underestimating the number of professional kitchens using the SVS. If that is the case, it makes me wonder if we will see a high end SousVide Supreme<a href="http://blog.medellitin.com/2011/03/sousvide-supreme-chamber-vacuum_05.html#note1"><sup>1</sup></a>. Finally, I wonder if there was a lack of awareness around the VP112's existence. It was on my list to research this product given its (relatively) affordable price point.<br />
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So, any of my readers willing to speculate? Or if you bought one of these, can you tell me what was compelling about this?<br />
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<sup>1</sup><span id="note1">Perhaps they can call it the SousVide Supremerer</span>pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1422795363039366935.post-29148291782056096552011-03-02T14:30:00.000-05:002011-03-02T14:30:41.369-05:00The SousVide Supreme Chamber Vacuum (Vacmaster VP112)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGLjq1dH7Tgle5heDnJDOrpICfgpNlil2r4hxJi1_Ex1-7wjBnLCKT8bTgLWdV5KBKzghh2NviH2uQj-lC9XsBqdFdzUU_rD-XdMjcqJ3Zw2nWqKEUQhx6gIAGJ_qA2lMX8Ad3_oimDDR/s1600/SousVide-Supreme-VacMaster-VP112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGLjq1dH7Tgle5heDnJDOrpICfgpNlil2r4hxJi1_Ex1-7wjBnLCKT8bTgLWdV5KBKzghh2NviH2uQj-lC9XsBqdFdzUU_rD-XdMjcqJ3Zw2nWqKEUQhx6gIAGJ_qA2lMX8Ad3_oimDDR/s400/SousVide-Supreme-VacMaster-VP112.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The folks at SousVide Supreme just introduced a chamber vacuum to their product lineup. Given the name of the chamber vac is the <a href="http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/product.aspx?productid=54&deptid=1"> SousVide Supreme VacMaster® VP112 chamber vacuum sealer </a>, it appears to be a SousVide Supreme branded version of the VacMaster VP112 (possibly the dumbest sentence I have written this month).<br />
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The price point is $799 (Which is list price for the VP112), but a quick <a href="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=vacmaster+vp112&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=14468154355435907615&os=sellers&sa=X#">Google Search</a> reveals prices as low as <a href="http://www.qualitymatters.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=QMAR-VP112&click=49427">$650</a>, for the non branded VP112. <br />
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ps: Will have more to say later. <br />
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pps: Buyer beware at that 650$ link. They have good ratings from Google, but I have never heard of them.pescolarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15929876317615379676noreply@blogger.com5