I jumped on to Mucho Bochos pot thread with this topic, I didn't realise knives were such a big deal. I thought a knife was a knife. How wrong was I? Very wrong...
Lets talk knives people,Jacob has an audio on knife skills, http://stellaculinary.com/knifeskills
Here's Jacobs words,
"I would go with a Wusthof 10" Chef's Knife if you're willing to spend the money. Durable, easy to sharpen, and great as an all purpose prep knife"
Wow, how can a knife cost that much
There's an insightful pot discussion going on at the moment. I want to talk about the various burner options and their inherent techniques, advantages, and disadvantages.
Jacob seems to favor a gas stove, I suppose I'm looking for whatever is best to control heat. I'd like a stove to have a list of buttons that read
1.rolling boil
2.gentle boil
3.simmer
However, that hasn't been invented yet. In the meantime, I'd like to find out more.
I copied a potato cake recipe. I boiled raw fries in a pot, over a standard hot plate.
The catch..temperature cannot drop below 175°, after I place fries in boiling water.
(I cannot activate pectin) (Raw fries are just easier, I have a peeler,cutter)
Great result but I want to do it on a large scale. I need a boiling vessel which permits a large blanch, keeping temp above 175°.
I've come up with a few possibilities,
-Massive pot over burners
-Deep fryer, pasta cooker
There's so much discussion online about burners (gas/electric/induction). I wanted to boil water quickly but it opened my eyes to how a burner plays a role in so much more.
I've read up on a lot of forums. In summary,
.To control heat- 1.gas 2.induction 3.electric(not good)
.To boil fast- 1.induction 2.electric 3.gas(not good)
The above is not fact by any means, there were conflicting opinions throughout.
Like everything, personal preference is a big factor.
I'm looking to get a salinity meter for equilibrium brining. I remember way back in one of the audios, Jacob might of said they were around $300(can't remember exact figure). They're about $15 on amazon but obviously they're not the real deal. Anybody ever buy/use a salinity meter, please drop in on this forum.
Anybody here in the restaurant business own an ice machine. I assume you guys would use it for quick chilling sous vide items. I've been offered a commercial one for cheap. I have the room and it'd be good for beer and bbq.
I'm just trying to see what other applications ice machines have, is it a luxury or an essential in a restaurant kitchen.
This afternoon, while the Peruvian Garlic-Lime Chicken cooked, I replaced the rotors and brake pads on the wife's car... Now that's multitasking! Served with sweet potato fries and sirracha aioli, it was delicious!
This book is simply amazing and I loved it. I had always hated chemistry etc... until I got into cooking and beer making; but this book is off the charts for science and is not boring at all. I could re-read (and have) this book over and over again. I also recommend the sequel What Einstien told his cook 2.
Book was pretty good. I honestly liked the first one more, probably because it went into some of the same things again and I just got done with the first book. Still very informative though.
Awesome and very helpful as a guide. I highly recommend getting this book. I rented from the library, but I would highly suggest buying this one. Not really meant to be read as much as consulted from time to time.