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AnonSpore posted:Okay, this is a bit of an unusual request, but I've started up some indoor herbs but I'm afraid that my cat will eat them all while I'm at work once they start to sprout and grow. Does anyone know of a setup that'll keep cats out but not also be annoying to get around when I'm cooking? You might see if the cat thread in pet island has any suggestions, but short of making it inconvenient for everyone I can't think of anything. When our cat was spry the only way to keep her from plants was to suspend them from the ceiling with nothing around them for a several feet, or just grow them outside. I guess you could probably make a little cage (including a top panel) with a gate, if you've got room at your growing space. Ours goes nuts for basil (and all mint family plants, since catnip is in there too) so it was nearly impossible to grow inside.
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Dec 14, 2023 14:29
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A foil sheet. 3/4 cats I've had won't go near it after touching it once and hearing the awful sound / realizing it's not solid ground. Just tape one corner down so your AC doesn't blow it off the counter. We perviously used an ultrasonic motion alarm called Cat Scram. Unfortunately I'm an idiot and kept forgetting to disarm it when I entered the kitchen. It wasn't fair to our kitties for me to trip the screech only they can hear a couple times per week, they would run full speed away even if they were one room over 
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Dec 14, 2023 15:46
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BrianBoitano posted:A foil sheet. 3/4 cats I've had won't go near it after touching it once and hearing the awful sound / realizing it's not solid ground. Seconding this. They hate foil. And hopefully your cats will be like all the ones we have had and they don't really care to nibble at the plants more than once. Maybe we have just been lucky but thankfully it's not been a problem.
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Dec 14, 2023 16:07
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I’ve never washed a can opener in my life. How are you using it that you get it messy?
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Dec 14, 2023 16:36
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Phil Moscowitz posted:I’ve never washed a can opener in my life. How are you using it that you get it messy?
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Dec 14, 2023 16:45
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hypnophant posted:I just get mineral oil from the pharmacy. You can buy food grade mineral oil for more money from Amazon, but I don’t know why that would be safer than the pharmaceutical grade, which is safe to swallow, with a dose of a tablespoon. Pro tip: that "dose" is for use as a laxative - so while safe, don't swallow that much unless you want to poo poo yourself  .I use the same thing, whatever store brand is convenient. There's another option where you can heat some of the oil over a double boiler and melt paraffin wax into it (I'm too lazy to look up the ratios). I have a pint jar of that I use when I'm feeling extra fancy.
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Dec 14, 2023 17:21
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Vegetable posted:The sharp part surely gets some food on it as it punctures the can. Kinda gross that you’ve never washed it. I can see with my own eyes that it almost never does. If it did, it would be totally inconsequential to wipe and dry it with a paper towel, definitely nothing to remember much less say it has to go through so much washing that causes it to deteriorate or something. Then again I’ve never had to lubricate one either.
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Dec 14, 2023 17:25
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Phil Moscowitz posted:I can see with my own eyes that it almost never does. If it did, it would be totally inconsequential to wipe and dry it with a paper towel, definitely nothing to remember much less say it has to go through so much washing that causes it to deteriorate or something. Then again I’ve never had to lubricate one either. SMDH if you’re not sending your can opener through an Autoclave after every use.
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Dec 14, 2023 17:41
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Doom Rooster posted:SMDH if you’re not sending your can opener through an Autoclave after every use. I bin mine and buy new ones each time, safer that way. Also anyone got a recommendation for a circulation sous vide. I have a full machine one but it's huge and showing its age so I was thinking of replacing it with a circulation one.
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Dec 14, 2023 18:07
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JoshGuitar posted:Pro tip: that "dose" is for use as a laxative - so while safe, don't swallow that much unless you want to poo poo yourself I was pretty sure Anne Whateley could figure that part out, but was pointing out that if you can ingest a tablespoon safely, the microscopic amounts that leech into your food from your wooden spoon aren't going to do anything harmful. anyone tried carnauba wax as a finish for wood cooking utensils? i found a home depot article that says it's food safe - seems like a more durable alternative to beeswax for stuff you would like to stay shiny and water resistant Aramoro posted:Also anyone got a recommendation for a circulation sous vide. I have a full machine one but it's huge and showing its age so I was thinking of replacing it with a circulation one. I have the cheapest anova on amazon, which works great for me. I've also seen recommendations for the joule but you need the app to control it which i don't care for. the anova has controls on the device.
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Dec 14, 2023 18:14
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Out of curiosity I looked at my can opener to see how filthy it is. I have the OXO one with the little bird beak for taking the lid off daintily and the only detritus on the opener appears to be on the guide wheel but not the tooth wheel at all. I wiped it off with a q-tip soaked in rubbing alcohol. Seemed to just be general grime of unknown provenance.
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Dec 14, 2023 18:15
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Get a sous vide that is water proof. I got the old kickstarter Anovas and it’s annoying that I have to be careful not to get any of their holes wet
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Dec 14, 2023 18:16
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Aramoro posted:I bin mine and buy new ones each time, safer that way. I’ve used Anovas and Sansaires at work before and they were both fine, but the Joule that I have at home is my favorite by far.
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Dec 14, 2023 18:27
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Steve Yun posted:Get a sous vide that is water proof. I got the old kickstarter Anovas and it’s annoying that I have to be careful not to get any of their holes wet I burned through two of those before getting a Joule. The first one was my fault. I was pre-grill cooking a shitload of unbagged brats for a party and was using beer as the circulation liquid. It was out of warranty but the guy I talked to was a gearhead cook and thought it was a worthy enough death for the thing that he replaced it anyway. The second one just had the impeller die after a year or two. The Joule has a much better circulation method and clamping system. I’m pretty happy with it despite the requisit IoT operation. The app is really nice and it connects perfectly every time but I still hate not having a manual option.
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Dec 14, 2023 22:02
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I will say Anova customer service was great too. When mine died out of warranty they replaced it anyways just because I kickstarted it
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Dec 14, 2023 22:41
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Re: cats, I have "owned" two cats who gave zero shits about foil (a not insignificant portion of the total number of cats I have What did work was a product called Ssscat, basically an air duster with a motion sensor on top. It's pricey but more effective and less annoying than a screeching alarm.
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Dec 14, 2023 22:46
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Discussion Quorum posted:Re: cats, I have "owned" two cats who gave zero shits about foil (a not insignificant portion of the total number of cats I have yeah the scat-can worked for me too. There are also some zap mats which sound cruel but with my cat I only had to leave it on for a week and then just laid it out turned off after that and it worked just as well.
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Dec 15, 2023 05:12
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I don't know how, but at my restaurant we've been through like four Anova units over the past couple years. They kept shutting off randomly, and the most recent one had its heat element crap out. I got us All-Clad's stainless steel circulator which features a knob, buttons and no Bluetooth or wi-fi and it kicks rear end. Very easy to use. I've also noticed that it pauses the timer when the temperature dips below the target temp, which is tight.
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Dec 15, 2023 05:41
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Thinking of getting a really good rice cooker and was looking at some of the induction ones because they seem to be the best. Should I do that or get an instant pot or something similar? Note that cooking rice, having it ready and sitting staying warm is the primary function I'm after rather than cooking other things so much but I'm sure people with instant pots could convince me as I know people do love them. Size/compactness is also important. I'm in the UK so induction zojirushi's are not available otherwise I'd just get that.
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Dec 15, 2023 16:32
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Fists Up posted:Thinking of getting a really good rice cooker and was looking at some of the induction ones because they seem to be the best. Should I do that or get an instant pot or something similar? Note that cooking rice, having it ready and sitting staying warm is the primary function I'm after rather than cooking other things so much but I'm sure people with instant pots could convince me as I know people do love them. Size/compactness is also important. I'm in the UK so induction zojirushi's are not available otherwise I'd just get that. Don’t get an Instant Pot if rice is your primary use. Get a Zojirushi. I’m in a very small kitchen now, so dropped my old Zoji for an Instant Pot because I really wanted a pressure cooker, and the internet seemed to mostly agree that the IP could make good rice too. It does not. I’ve tried every tip/trick/guide on IP rice that I could find, and the best I’ve made was just kinda okay-ish, and it won’t even stay on Warm for more than like 4 hours. I personally prefer having the IP because I use it a TON, I am currently making all rice on the stove. It’s almost as good as the Zoji in terms of quality, but obviously a huge step down in convenience. The Zoji is just incredible at what it does, which is make perfect rice every time, and keep it ready to eat for days. If that is what you want, get a Zoji. Edit: Sorry, just saw your size restriction comment re: induction Zoji. The Zoji that I had was not induction, and it was still fantastic.
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Dec 15, 2023 16:46
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Doom Rooster posted:Don’t get an Instant Pot if rice is your primary use. Get a Zojirushi. Thanks. This is the kind of info I'm after. I think I'll stick to a rice cooker and look into my options for the UK because I don't really use a slow cooker or pressure cooker much. I just read the reviews and whilst the non induction ones seem to do a great job the consensus is that induction ones make the best rice texture and flavour wise.
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Dec 15, 2023 19:22
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Fists Up posted:Thanks. This is the kind of info I'm after. I think I'll stick to a rice cooker and look into my options for the UK because I don't really use a slow cooker or pressure cooker much. I just read the reviews and whilst the non induction ones seem to do a great job the consensus is that induction ones make the best rice texture and flavour wise. Cuckoo rice cookers seem fairly comparable to Zojirushi and are more widely available in Europe. I've been happy with mine. They have a bewildering array of models, at least some of which are induction.
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Dec 15, 2023 20:12
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I have one of the smaller 3 cup max versions of the zojis and it slaps, barely takes any space up either if I'm honest. Fits in a kitchen drawer.
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Dec 15, 2023 20:21
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Fists Up posted:Thinking of getting a really good rice cooker and was looking at some of the induction ones because they seem to be the best. Should I do that or get an instant pot or something similar? Note that cooking rice, having it ready and sitting staying warm is the primary function I'm after rather than cooking other things so much but I'm sure people with instant pots could convince me as I know people do love them. Size/compactness is also important. I'm in the UK so induction zojirushi's are not available otherwise I'd just get that. The IP makes decent rice but I don’t think the keep warm is great, I’ve had some stickier rice after leaving it a while. Also it’s a bit hard to predict timings when you’re waiting for the pressure to drop if you are doing slow release. I’m UK based and when I was looking I came across these: https://yum-asia.com/uk/product-category/rice-cookers/1-4-cup-capacity/ The Tsuki and Panda look like they will do everything you want.
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Dec 15, 2023 20:32
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VelociBacon posted:I have one of the smaller 3 cup max versions of the zojis and it slaps, barely takes any space up either if I'm honest. Fits in a kitchen drawer. I should get one of these. Anything larger seems like a waste since I live alone, but I'd need to figure out counter space first since I have so little.
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Dec 15, 2023 20:40
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Thanks for the suggestions all. My cat historically has not cared much about aluminum foil but I'll give it one more shot before moving on to the spray deterrent. Worst case scenario I guess I could make a hole in a big cambro and turn it upside down.
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Dec 15, 2023 20:43
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yeah, a dedicated rice cooker will make better rice than an instant pot, which also has the problem of how the gently caress do you make rice to go with the curry you're making in the instant pot
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Dec 15, 2023 20:58
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Just want to add to the chorus that in my opinion an IP doesn't make the best rice. It's what we use and I'd love to get a rice cooker, I just can't justify having both. For the IP we turn off the keep warm function and remove the rice immediately. Either to eat or to put out on the counter on foil/paper to cool down and then store. I haven't ever used a rice cooker, but from the sound of it they handle it all much better.
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Dec 15, 2023 21:36
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Clark Nova posted:yeah, a dedicated rice cooker will make better rice than an instant pot, which also has the problem of how the gently caress do you make rice to go with the curry you're making in the instant pot
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Dec 15, 2023 22:36
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Internet Explorer posted:Just want to add to the chorus that in my opinion an IP doesn't make the best rice. It's what we use and I'd love to get a rice cooker, I just can't justify having both. For the IP we turn off the keep warm function and remove the rice immediately. Either to eat or to put out on the counter on foil/paper to cool down and then store. I haven't ever used a rice cooker, but from the sound of it they handle it all much better. Okay hear me out. The rice function sucks on IP Instead of using the rice function, do manual high pressure cook for 10 mins After it’s done cooking, let it sit for at least 10 minutes. It’s still cooking during this time. Then take the rice out
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Dec 15, 2023 23:03
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Steve Yun posted:Okay hear me out. The rice function sucks on IP Listen, I’ll trust you and try it, but most white rice is 13 minutes on the stove once boiled/turned to low. I cannot even imagine that 10 minutes at high pressure won’t result in insanely overcooked rice.
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Dec 15, 2023 23:09
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Yeah I do 3 minutes, turn off keep warm and let the pressure slow release.
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Dec 15, 2023 23:12
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I’ll try that
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Dec 15, 2023 23:26
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I've had the Zojirushi NS-TSC10 5-1/2-Cup for a while and it is absolutely amazing and for 2 cups usually says 60 min but then advances the time at the end so it's usually done in 45. I still do steel cut oats/brown rice in the InstaPot although I should give the Zoji a shot.
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Dec 16, 2023 01:41
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IP white rice sucks, but it ain’t too bad at making brown rice (and is a pretty good effort/timesaver); 15 mins on high, then let release steam naturally. Nevertheless, I would imagine a dedicated rice cooker would nonetheless be better. IP is a jack of all trades (master of none, but better than a master of one). Also, there was a crazy great deal on Vitamix 510 last night; $149 new from woot, fulfilled by Amazon. Any particularly good recipes people would recommend for a blender noob?
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Dec 16, 2023 02:54
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Steve Yun posted:Okay hear me out. The rice function sucks on IP Yeah, I appreciate the sentiment, but there's no way. I do Jasmine for 4 minutes and 10 minute release and Basmati for 5 minutes and 10 minute release. 10 and 10 has to be mush.
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Dec 16, 2023 03:01
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Even if it somehow worked doing 10 minutes in the pressure cooker doesn't make sense to me because the fast mode on my normal rice cooker takes like 25 minutes and the only way I"m going to use the pressure cooker for an inferior result is if I'm in such a hurry that I want it faster and once you include the time to heat up and depressurize, 10 minutes in the pressure cooker wouldn't be any faster
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Dec 16, 2023 03:15
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Maybe I'm not discerning enough but I've owned both a Zojirushi NS-TSC105 and an Instant Pot (unsure on model but was given it in 2015 or 2016) and I'd recommend either for making rice. The Zoji was better at keeping it warm and still tasty but the IP does a good enough job. It requires a little bit more planning and figuring out the right amount of water for the rice you are cooking. I was a little bummed to lose the Zoji in a break-up because I enjoyed playing with the congee setting and really enjoyed the device overall but if someone only could have one, I'd recommend the Instant Pot. I haven't replaced the Zoji because the IP does a good enough job and space is limited where I don't want a second large device sitting around. If you are only going to do rice and want to be able to just leave it out for a long time, then the Zoji would be better. But if you want to be able to do more, such as making delicious low effort soups, IP all the way.
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Dec 16, 2023 20:18
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Okay it occurred to me that I make short grain rice and I cook it longer because the rice mode on IP made short grain feel undercooked
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Dec 16, 2023 20:48
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Pantsmaster Bill posted:The IP makes decent rice but I don’t think the keep warm is great, I’ve had some stickier rice after leaving it a while. Also it’s a bit hard to predict timings when you’re waiting for the pressure to drop if you are doing slow release. I have the Panda one and it's great.
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Dec 16, 2023 22:05
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