New sous vide tool

[Caslon]

Oh yes, the vacuum sealer is WAY better at stopping freezer burn.

Also, you don't have to use Foodsaver brand bags. There are other "Foodsaver compatible" bags available.

CD

Reynolds came out with the first battery powered hand held food vacuum that was able to draw out most all the air from their provided bags. Foodsaver and others followed suit and made their own versions. Ziplock's hand held pump was fail, but I still buy their vacuum bags to use with my Reynolds EZ-Vac.

Ziplock tried to make it impossible to use their brand bags with Reynolds Ez-Vac, but all one has to do is to hold the Ez-Vac's suction cup a little off to the side of Ziplock's circular suction entry point. Simple as that.

Tip for those "re-using" these types of prefabbed bags: If the bag leaks after re-sealing them (and the bag hasn't been punctured during vacuuming), rub a drop of vegetable oil over the seal strip. It will reseal that area.

 

[Silversage]

For a while I was considering getting a sous vide to keep my vat of milk/whey/curds warm, heat them slowly, while moving the liquids around. Then, duh, it occurred to me that if I tried that, the curds would get sucked into it and at some point probably clog it up and well, that won't do. So I haven't really, YET, found a reason to get one.

You can do this in a jar with lid. Just make sure it's totally submerged. Many folks are doing custards or egg bites (Starbucks knockoff) in glass jars at low temps. Google egg bites for the method.

Not everything needs to be in a plastic bag. For example, you can hard or soft cook eggs directly in their shells.

 

[caseydog]

The rules are changing. Automatic transmissions are very different from those of our childhood. They have manual shifting options and steering wheel mounted shifters. Performance numbers are equivalent to manual.

Okay, sorry in advance for this major thread-jack. I'm hopeless motorhead.

There are actually three options. On is a manual transmission that you have to shift, using your foot on a clutch pedal. Another is a pure automatic, that may or may not have an option to "manually" shift.

The third is the hot thing in high end sports cars, and most race cars. It is a manual transmission that is computer controlled. There is no clutch pedal, although there is a clutch. They are often called "paddle shifter" transmissions. The best ones actually are dual clutch, and can shift gears in milli-seconds.

I have driven them all, and the best is the dual-clutch "gearbox" that Ferrari uses. The first time I drove a 458 Italia in "race" mode, it was an automotive epiphany.

Again, sorry, but I have to post this YouTube video. One of my favorite drivers, in one of my favorite cars, on one of my favorite tracks. The sound alone gives me goosebumps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMRmLDZXRRI

Now, what were we talking about?

CD

 

[caseydog]

Not everything needs to be in a plastic bag. For example, you can hard or soft cook eggs directly in their shells.

I have not tried doing eggs sous vide, yet. I think about it from time-to-time. Have you?

CD

 

[blissful]

You can do this in a jar with lid. Just make sure it's totally submerged. Many folks are doing custards or egg bites (Starbucks knockoff) in glass jars at low temps. Google egg bites for the method.

Not everything needs to be in a plastic bag. For example, you can hard or soft cook eggs directly in their shells.

Oh I looked up the egg bites, they look good, I'd never heard of them.

With cheese, the curds need to move freely through the whey while they are giving off whey and becoming smaller. I was looking for something that might keep the heat at the right temperature and circulate or stir them quite gently so they don't mat together. Then they get strained out through cheese cloth into a mold or colander.

 

[caseydog]

With cheese, the curds need to move freely through the whey while they are giving off whey and becoming smaller. I was looking for something that might keep the heat at the right temperature and circulate or stir them quite gently so they don't mat together. Then they get strained out through cheese cloth into a mold or colander.

You are right about not being able to use an emersion circulator (sous vide thingy) directly in your dairy. But, you could set up a "double boiler" kind of thing, using the immersion circulator to heat a water bath that a pot with your dairy can sit in.

I don't know if that would be any easier than what you do now, but it's all I got.

CD

 

[blissful]

You are right about not being able to use an emersion circulator (sous vide thingy) directly in your dairy. But, you could set up a "double boiler" kind of thing, using the immersion circulator to heat a water bath that a pot with your dairy can sit in.

I don't know if that would be any easier than what you do now, but it's all I got.

CD

I can see that working for a 1 or 2 gallon batch, using it in the double boiler's water part, a pan or even in a sink full of water. I'm currently using a 4 gallon electric roaster. thanks Casey