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Steve Yun posted:In a misguided attempt to be one of the cool kids, I experimented with ways to compress watermelon using a Foodsaver. I used a vacuum container. I tried it with a bag, I tried it without a bag. I tried it a dozen times in a row both ways. No appreciable positive changes. Stop the presses!  It looks like the effect can be achieved with a Foodsaver after all. You need to cycle the pressure maybe 3-4 times using a vacuum container to loosen up the plant fibers, and then put it in a vacuum container for a couple hours, and then you've got compressed fruit. In the background you can see several chunks of watermelon. Some are the normal pink color, others are darker red. The pink ones only got vacuumed once, the darker ones were the ones that went through a few cycles of vacuuming Steve Yun fucked around with this message at 11:01 on Aug 15, 2013 |
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Aug 15, 2013 09:31
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Hey am I imagining things or are delitainers not as good as they used to be? All the ones I see now are flimsy, and I remember them being much thicker and sturdier before
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Aug 15, 2013 10:56
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Steve Yun posted:Hey am I imagining things or are delitainers not as good as they used to be? All the ones I see now are flimsy, and I remember them being much thicker and sturdier before
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Aug 15, 2013 16:37
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Isn't it sorted by shape? Here the round ones (about 1-3 cup size), are used for marinated feta, olives, semi dried tomatoes, diced fruit, cheese, yoghurt, small salads etc which are thinner weaker plastic which gets thrown out after use and never warmed up or heated. The larger rectangular shaped ones are used by restaurants that do take away or home delivery orders, and they are thicker and can be reheated or used for a few uses. That being said, I've never heard the term deli-tainer before. They're just 'disposable tubs' if they are the weak round ones, and 'take-away tubs' if the microwaveable and reusable rectangular ones. Different country and culture here I know, but they come from the same factories for all of us anyway. Fo3 fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Aug 15, 2013 |
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Aug 15, 2013 17:13
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Steve Yun posted:Hey am I imagining things or are delitainers not as good as they used to be? All the ones I see now are flimsy, and I remember them being much thicker and sturdier before
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Aug 15, 2013 20:31
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 Hey so I experimented some more with compressed fruit, and figured out a much easier method for people with pathetic consumer-grade vacuum sealers: freeze the fruit, thaw, then vacuum. The freezing process breaks up the plant fibers enough that a home vacuum sealer will be able to compress them easily. Steve Yun fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Aug 17, 2013 |
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Aug 16, 2013 08:29
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Before your posts on compressed fruit I had never heard of it. Does it just concentrate the flavor?
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Aug 16, 2013 08:37
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Concentrated flavor, denser texture, darker color, neato translucent effect.
Steve Yun fucked around with this message at 08:51 on Aug 16, 2013 |
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Aug 16, 2013 08:41
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Steve Yun posted:Concentrated flavor, denser texture, darker color, neato translucent effect. Do you need a foodsaver container or can you use bags?
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Aug 16, 2013 14:36
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How does putting it in a vacuum container compress it? Wouldn't that do the opposite?
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Aug 16, 2013 14:38
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Is there a recommendation for a vacuum sealer?
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Aug 16, 2013 15:08
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:How does putting it in a vacuum container compress it? Wouldn't that do the opposite? It's actually the atmospheric pressure around the evacuated bag that compresses it.
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Aug 16, 2013 16:31
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GrAviTy84 posted:It's actually the atmospheric pressure around the evacuated bag that compresses it. Right, I get that it works in a bag, but wouldn't putting it into a vacuum container not work the same way? Maybe I'm misunderstanding what he's doing.
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Aug 16, 2013 16:34
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You know what, I did half of them in bags and all of them in the container too, and they all seemed to get the effect, although some pieces more than others (maybe the bagged ones got more of the effect) I guess I'll test this out some more to make sure.
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Aug 16, 2013 17:02
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Right, I get that it works in a bag, but wouldn't putting it into a vacuum container not work the same way? Maybe I'm misunderstanding what he's doing. All of the air that is 'trapped' in between the fibers is pulled out in either case. The compression probably occurs as the air is reintroduced in the container, rather than as the air is evacuated.
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Aug 16, 2013 20:42
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That makes more sense to me. Thanks!
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Aug 16, 2013 22:24
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:That makes more sense to me. Thanks! This is also how vacuum pickling works.
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Aug 17, 2013 00:49
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Boris Galerkin posted:Is there a recommendation for a vacuum sealer? On the consumer end, pretty much any old cheap Foodsaver or Rival should be able to do the trick. I bought the top of the line Foodsaver and now I feel like I overspent.
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Aug 17, 2013 02:51
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:This is also how vacuum pickling works. So for, say, lightly pickled watermelon (w white sherry), just soak a bit, freeze, thaw, then vacuum?
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Aug 17, 2013 18:54
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You just put your pickling liquid in the bag with whatever you want to pickle. It works fine in a chamber or container. Dunno how well it would work in something like a foodsaver. Basically you're sucking out all of the air in the cells, and when you reintroduce air, the pressure pushes the pickling liquid into the cells.
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Aug 17, 2013 21:19
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GrAviTy84 posted:It's actually the atmospheric pressure around the evacuated bag that compresses it. This is incorrect, atmospheric pressure around the bag is the same as when the fruit is sitting there on the counter (~14 and a half psi). On top of that fruit mostly contains water, which isn't really compressible. As already said, its probably the vacuum pump sucking out gasses present in the fruit.
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Aug 17, 2013 22:27
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OtherworldlyInvader posted:This is incorrect, atmospheric pressure around the bag is the same as when the fruit is sitting there on the counter (~14 and a half psi). On top of that fruit mostly contains water, which isn't really compressible. As already said, its probably the vacuum pump sucking out gasses present in the fruit. Yes the atm is the same for both, but the outward pressure of the bag at atm is balancing it. When you evacuate the bag, the same pressure on the bag instead crushes it.
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Aug 17, 2013 22:31
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Look what I found at a thrift store for  , still in the box, with the blade covers on. $200 mandoline for I couldn't buy it fast enough!
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Aug 17, 2013 22:50
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Does anyone have a suggestion for a citrus squeezer that will really well and truly squeeze the gently caress out of a lime wedge? I got the Amco model CI suggests, but the two parts are spaced for a lemon rind, so it doesn't squeeze tight enough unless I maneuver the wedge and fold it over itself after the first attempt. That kind of defeats the purpose of owning it for me (not getting lime juice all over my hands), so I am looking for something that works better. Amco makes one that does limes as well, but all the reviews say the lime part breaks. Durability and the spacing being too large for limes seems to be a pretty common theme in reviews for these things...
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Aug 17, 2013 23:04
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Is there a reason you need to squeeze wedges instead of halves? Cause Ra Chand, or a similar level-operated juicer is what you really want for citrus. On those it's hard for the fruit to be too small, and most of the Ra Chand models can be used from limes all the way up to good-sized grapefruit. It's an investment, but it will make you a citrus god. Good for pomegranate too.
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Aug 18, 2013 01:46
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:Look what I found at a thrift store for  gently caress you.I'm jealous 
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Aug 18, 2013 02:57
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If it makes you feel better, it's more like a $150 slicer on amazon Yeah me neither
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Aug 18, 2013 03:42
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Are all mandolins that expensive or is it just that particular brand or something? What brand is it, anyway?
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Aug 18, 2013 04:22
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It's a Bron mandoline. They're the commercial standard.
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Aug 18, 2013 04:34
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:Look what I found at a thrift store for 
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Aug 18, 2013 05:09
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:Look what I found at a thrift store for
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Aug 18, 2013 17:04
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No Wave posted:Do you prefer using that over the japanese style (Benriner etc)? Yeah, but mostly because the french style is just a better piece of equipment. Much more adjustable, and I love waffle fries/chips.
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Aug 18, 2013 17:09
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So if I'm looking to buy a mandoline, what's my best option? Love the Bron, but it's far too expensive. I have owned an OXO one that I didn't care for. I've seen this: http://amzn.to/15X403w, which is probably at the very top end of my budget. Is it worth the money over this: http://amzn.to/13wBlrI ? Anything else I should be looking at?
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Aug 18, 2013 20:20
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angor posted:So if I'm looking to buy a mandoline, what's my best option? Love the Bron, but it's far too expensive. I have owned an OXO one that I didn't care for. I ended up buying a borner v slicer, but went to the stainless steel version as I do a lot of carrots and things that may stain white plastics. It's OK, and while it can cut your fingers off, struggles a bit with harder veg, I hate the food holder too. I can only repeat advice given to me when asking about them myself, probably best to look at ones that are properly adjustable, (the borner has 3 fixed sizes) and ones that have cheap replaceable blades. I just got a real cheap deal on a stainless one so bought it anyway. BTW now I have better knives and a bit more knife skill, I hardly use it. Fo3 fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Aug 18, 2013 |
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Aug 18, 2013 20:28
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If you're buying a mandoline and have any sort of budget the only answer is Benriner. http://www.amazon.com/Benriner-BN1-Japanese-Mandoline-Slicer/dp/B0000VZ57C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376964100&sr=8-1&keywords=benriner
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Aug 20, 2013 03:01
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Chemmy posted:If you're buying a mandoline and have any sort of budget the only answer is Benriner. Though waffle fries are a very justifiable reason for needing the french style.
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Aug 20, 2013 03:49
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SOLD! On the Benriner, that is. I can live without waffle fries.
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Aug 20, 2013 12:56
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:Look what I found at a thrift store for Man you overpaid, I got one for free.
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Aug 20, 2013 21:14
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Reviews on amazon lead me to believe that there is a significant fake market for Brons
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Aug 20, 2013 21:21
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mediaphage posted:Man you overpaid, I got one for free. Not all of us have a Flash Gordon Ramsay laying around
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Aug 20, 2013 21:21
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