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Croatoan posted:Alternatively you can make a cornstarch slurry with 1 tbsp cornstarch 3 tbsp cold water, mix it up and then add to the liquid and simmer for a few minutes. This. I would say on average two nights a week I toss together some random veggies and a protein in a skillet with some kind of flavorings and liquid without a set recipe and sometimes have to compensate with some cornstarch. I am not a good cook, so having cornstarch on hand has dramatically improved the consistency of my sauce consistency.
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Jun 25, 2018 21:26
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Any recommendations for a good multi-tier steamer? Mainly for doing dumplings and that like. Also how about grilling utensil sets? I definitely need a real big metal spatula, long tongs, and some kebab skewers. Or should I just buy them all separately?
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Jun 30, 2018 23:22
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So I'm old and out of touch, but I keep hearing about Instant Pots and how they are god's gift to cooking. I don't know a drat thing about them except that every other post in the GWS threads I read seems to be "do it in your Instant Pot!" They do seem pretty cool based on posts here, but what should I be looking for if I actually had enough money to buy one? I have a cheapo Rival rice cooker, and a stove top pressure cooker (an ancient one that I don't use very often except for canning hot sauce and apple butter, because it's loving monstrous and barely fits on my tiny range). Do I need one? And suggestions on what kind?
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Jul 1, 2018 00:02
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Instapot is a brand which popularize electric pressure cookers but really most all of then will have identical function. Grab whatever you can find cheap unless you have need of a desired function on a model i.e. yogurt.
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Jul 1, 2018 00:30
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Gwyrgyn Blood posted:Any recommendations for a good multi-tier steamer? Mainly for doing dumplings and that like. I just have stackable bamboo baskets, and I can get them 3 vertically in my wok under a lid. I’d buy somewhat shorter ones if I could find them.
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Jul 1, 2018 01:19
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Submarine Sandpaper posted:Instapot is a brand which popularize electric pressure cookers but really most all of then will have identical function. Grab whatever you can find cheap unless you have need of a desired function on a model i.e. yogurt. Heard, thank you! The idea of an electric cooker is really appealing since just cooking stock or chili on my range massively heats up my small apartment kitchen during the dog days we've been enjoying here in VA, and if it can do it faster and with less excess heat, I'm all about it. As I said, I'm an old fart who's very low-tech, so I don't need fancy schmancy Bluetooth options or anything. Just wondering if there's any brands I should steer clear of (eg., my Black & Decker coffee maker does just fine at making coffee good enough for me, but the clock died about 2 weeks in, so it kinda defeated the purpose of having a pot that would make coffee before I wake up at 4am everyday. :/ )
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Jul 1, 2018 02:41
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JacquelineDempsey posted:...any brands I should steer clear of (eg., my Black & Decker coffee maker does just fine at making coffee good enough for me, but the clock died about 2 weeks in, so it kinda defeated the purpose of having a pot that would make coffee before I wake up at 4am everyday. :/ ) I would just buy the Instant Pot. rear end tons of people buy them and bad experiences seems to be rare compared to most kitchen appliances. Most of the negative stuff I've read was about the version with all the extra bluetooth poo poo. Mine has some buttons but all I ever do is hit manual and up or down for the # of minutes.
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Jul 1, 2018 04:09
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I have the cheapest no brand electric pressure cooker walmart sold 4+ years ago and I use it all the time and it's never let me down. It has no bells or whistles to speak of at all and I love it for that.
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Jul 1, 2018 04:11
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It’s not like Instant Pots are so overpriced that you need to hunt a generic. They work, warranty is fine, lots of recipes on the web with details. Just go.
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Jul 1, 2018 04:11
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If you have a ceramic/glasstop stove I would also lean towards the instapot. Needing to be a jedi about guessing temp cycles to avoid scorching less-liquidy recipes is a pain in my rear end that makes me want an instapot despite having a fissler.
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Jul 1, 2018 04:11
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Sextro posted:If you have a ceramic/glasstop stove I would also lean towards the instapot. Needing to be a jedi about guessing temp cycles to avoid scorching less-liquidy recipes is a pain in my rear end that makes me want an instapot despite having a fissler. Firstly, there is no such thing, as far as I am aware, called instapot. You’re like the third person today to call it that. Hell, my wife does too. No biggie, just sayin’. Secondly, they were talking about Instant Pot vs other electric pressure cookers. No one was talking about actual stovetop models, I don’t think. 
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Jul 1, 2018 04:25
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Subjunctive posted:I just have stackable bamboo baskets, and I can get them 3 vertically in my wok under a lid. I’d buy somewhat shorter ones if I could find them. I was looking at that but sometimes I'm using my wok at the same time. I wonder if I have any other pans laying around that might work, but I usually make pretty big dumplings so space might be an issue.
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Jul 1, 2018 17:11
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Gwyrgyn Blood posted:I was looking at that but sometimes I'm using my wok at the same time. I wonder if I have any other pans laying around that might work, but I usually make pretty big dumplings so space might be an issue. i also like the stackable bamboo style because the standard size (10 inch I think) fits perfectly over an instant pot, which is really convenient to me since you can put it wherever and not have even more things on/around your stove
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Jul 1, 2018 17:20
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ekeog posted:i also like the stackable bamboo style because the standard size (10 inch I think) fits perfectly over an instant pot, which is really convenient to me since you can put it wherever and not have even more things on/around your stove Yeah, I do more in the IP than the wok these days, truth be told. E: how often do people oil their cutting boards?
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Jul 1, 2018 18:16
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Never. Plastic 4 lyfe.
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Jul 4, 2018 20:49
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Moved to a new place and looking to get a rice cooker. Is it worth getting an instant pot and just using that? I was going to get a pressure cooker anyway and I feel like I can kill two birds with one stone. But I also really love good quality rice and don’t want to get something that makes sub par rice.
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Jul 4, 2018 21:29
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Verisimilidude posted:Moved to a new place and looking to get a rice cooker. Is it worth getting an instant pot and just using that? I was going to get a pressure cooker anyway and I feel like I can kill two birds with one stone. But I also really love good quality rice and don’t want to get something that makes sub par rice. The Instant Pot makes perfectly good rice but I still use my rice cooker because it does a slightly better job and more importantly it's much easier to clean than the IP.
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Jul 4, 2018 21:32
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Verisimilidude posted:Moved to a new place and looking to get a rice cooker. Is it worth getting an instant pot and just using that? I was going to get a pressure cooker anyway and I feel like I can kill two birds with one stone. But I also really love good quality rice and don’t want to get something that makes sub par rice. if you love rice get a zojirushi
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Jul 4, 2018 21:36
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Verisimilidude posted:Moved to a new place and looking to get a rice cooker. Is it worth getting an instant pot and just using that? I was going to get a pressure cooker anyway and I feel like I can kill two birds with one stone. But I also really love good quality rice and don’t want to get something that makes sub par rice. in my experience it makes MUCH better rice than the cheap 'bowl sitting on a heating element' style rice cookers I've owned, so it's great, but i'm sure it doesn't compare for anyone used to using $100+ zojirushis
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Jul 4, 2018 23:18
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Subjunctive posted:
Never. Well, I did once but the next trip through the dishwasher and you couldn't tell.
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Jul 5, 2018 00:33
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Subjunctive posted:Yeah, I do more in the IP than the wok these days, truth be told. I guess I’m in the minority. If I’m just cutting something that isn’t a protein or onion/garlic, I’ll usually just wipe it down with a wet paper towel. But if I cut a protein or onion/garlic on it, then I wash it with soap and water. Anytime I wash it immediately begins to look really dried out so I slap a coating of mineral oil on it.
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Jul 5, 2018 00:43
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My wife is a woodworker who worked at a high-end custom woodshop for years before finishing her degree and she made all of our cutting boards. We use soap and water, and she only oils them about once a month. HTH.
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Jul 5, 2018 02:40
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Thanks, all. I’ve been doing it about monthly, and it seems like it’s working, so I’ll stick with that.
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Jul 5, 2018 02:54
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I've been a hobbyist woodworker for 30some years, the oil is only for looks. Wood is dead. The oil provides nearly zero protection against moisture and odors.
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Jul 5, 2018 09:18
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wormil posted:I've been a hobbyist woodworker for 30some years, the oil is only for looks. Wood is dead. The oil provides nearly zero protection against moisture and odors. I oil because I’m worried about the wood drying and cracking/splitting. Is that wrong?
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Jul 5, 2018 11:21
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Hmm even end pieces/lots of glue?
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Jul 5, 2018 11:23
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How could oil not repel moisture? Do you mean that it doesn’t penetrate effectively? Everything I can find says that you want to oil them to prevent cracking due to moisture incursion. I’d love to know more about the physics of what you’re talking about. (My dad was s hobbyist and professional woodworker, so maybe he can explain it to me too.) It certainly has nothing to do with the wood being alive!
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Jul 5, 2018 13:05
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My stepmom points out that dad might not know, since he mostly does indoor pieces that don’t have onions and garlic chopped on them, heh.
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Jul 5, 2018 13:26
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nwin posted:I oil because I’m worried about the wood drying and cracking/splitting. Is that wrong? Oil will not prevent wood from splitting or cracking. End grain checking comes from uneven moisture gain or loss. Wood movement is hydraulic, moisture causes swelling and loss of moisture causes shrinking. I can't explain it in engineering terms because I'm not an engineer but basically the two woods (dry and moist) are moving at different rates and inbetween is a stress point. If the stress builds up too fast or becomes too much, the wood cracks or warps. It's actually a little more complicated but that doesn't matter for this discussion. Mineral oil will provide some minor moisture barrier, roughly equivalent to lotion on your skin, but will not stop water penetration entirely. Wax is much better at preventing moisture penetration and paraffin is best of all. As for odors, I suspect that is more complicated as oils or fats from the foods could maybe mingle with the mineral oil and actually linger while others may be repelled or indifferent. I think washing the cutting board is a better defense against odors. Subjunctive posted:I’d love to know more about the physics of what you’re talking about. I can't explain it in terms of physics and I don't have any ready online resources. Bob Flexner among others have done experiments with finishing oils and written about them. A layer of fresh oil will provide the most protection but once it soaks in, water will be also be able to penetrate. You can test it yourself with a board, mineral oil, and a waterbase dye. Let oil soak into a board, apply dye and see if it stains the wood, it will. There are oils that will cure to a solid film and provide more protection (like tung oil) but those aren't normally used on cutting boards and probably wouldn't survive a wash with soap and warm water.
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Jul 5, 2018 21:14
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You can test without dye just by seeing if water beads, no? Kenji recommends oiling to that point, and that reoiling about monthly will maintain it (given his level of use). I’m going to try to get it to that point when I get home next week and see how well it holds. Also if it makes food or my hands oily!
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Jul 5, 2018 21:44
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I always believed mineral oil evaporates because no matter how many coats I apply, in days or weeks it appears dry again. (on stuff like bowls that are just sitting around) I'm told it doesn't evaporate but I don't know where it goes. Witchcraft maybe. People have done tests where they puddle oil on the surface of a board for 24 hours then cut the board in half and it doesn't penetrate very far. I think in the end that oil, especially mineral oil, is primarily for looks and does about as much to protect wood as lotion protects our skin. Sometimes people mix it with beeswax which no doubt is more protection, probably akin to chapstick.
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Jul 5, 2018 22:11
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wormil posted:There are oils that will cure to a solid film and provide more protection (like tung oil) but those aren't normally used on cutting boards and probably wouldn't survive a wash with soap and warm water. Subjunctive posted:Kenji recommends oiling to that point, and that reoiling about monthly will maintain it (given his level of use).
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Jul 5, 2018 22:16
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SubG posted:Once cured, drying oils like tung aren't water soluble... I believe regular washing will remove the tung oil before it can build into a thick enough layer to resist warm soapy water. Tung oil takes forever to dry.
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Jul 5, 2018 22:45
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wormil posted:I believe regular washing will remove the tung oil before it can build into a thick enough layer to resist warm soapy water. Tung oil takes forever to dry.
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Jul 5, 2018 23:26
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I'm posting this in a few threads so I can get as many ideas as possible. I want to bake bread that's shaped like a cruise ship. What's my best bet for making an oven safe, food safe mold? It doesn't have to be super intricate or detailed, but I want the basic shape, at least.
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Jul 6, 2018 21:35
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I would just bake a bunch of focaccia and layer it and cut it to shape.
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Jul 6, 2018 23:42
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If I'm eating more fish now, is it worth getting a fillet knife to cut off the skin and such easier? If so, Victorinox (like the chef/pairing knife from them thanks to the OP rec) has like 7 different kinds, so uh how do I decide?
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Jul 7, 2018 02:21
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I just had the brain wave of using my induction burner to make ice cream. It worked great except that when you clip a digital thermometer/alarm probe to a pan being heated by induction, it freaks the main thermometer device right out. I grabbed my silicone pot holder as an improvised shield, but has anyone got a really clever solution for this problem? Current notions rattling around my brain are wrapping the pot clip in tape, or putting one of those flimsy rubber jar lid grabbers between the clip and the pot.
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Jul 8, 2018 02:53
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Zorak of Michigan posted:I just had the brain wave of using my induction burner to make ice cream. It worked great except that when you clip a digital thermometer/alarm probe to a pan being heated by induction, it freaks the main thermometer device right out. I grabbed my silicone pot holder as an improvised shield, but has anyone got a really clever solution for this problem? Current notions rattling around my brain are wrapping the pot clip in tape, or putting one of those flimsy rubber jar lid grabbers between the clip and the pot. Not sure if this is a solution, but maybe a laser thermometer?
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Jul 8, 2018 03:02
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Verisimilidude posted:Not sure if this is a solution, but maybe a laser thermometer? I've never seen one with a temp alert, and I'm not sure how reliable they are for something like ice cream.
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Jul 8, 2018 04:06
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