Looks like a great improvement on the sous vide. Is there a prototype?
Did you watch the video?
Mellow, the robotic sous-chef
11–20 of 166 posts
Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef
#12I've been debating trying to make a sous vide machine that can chill and uses a smartphone/tablet for control for two years. I ultimately decided it just wasn't worth it because the only application I could think of for the chilling was egg poaching, and even sous vide I prefer to gradient poach rather than equilibrium. (75C for 12 mins gets a firmer white with a runny yolk than I could at equilibrium).
But I can't wait to see what they and their community come up with. The UI on a smartphone at least has to be better than the current state of the art. And I'd love to hear how they're cooling the water.
Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef
#13$400 is relatively expensive. You can get a 1100 watt Polyscience circulator for that much. No circulator or water bath I know of requires vacuum sealers; all of them work fine with zips. Also, not to nitpick, but duck confit only takes 8 hours or so; it's one of the easiest things to do with a water bath. It looks neat, though. It'll be interesting to see if the cooling feature is useful, or more of a gimmick. That…
It specifically says in the FAQ that it can't do cook-chill. I was debating trying to work on one that could awhile back but man is it hard to get that kinda cooling power economically, at least given my cursory exploration.
Also, I've never done duck confit sous vide. Maybe I'll try that next. I made some the good old fashioned way a couple months ago and wow.
Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef
#14The timed refrigerator -> cooking -> {refrigerator / warm} cycle alone makes this a really, really nice idea. The thin clear container and large volume of water is going to be a bit rough on power consumption for that use-case though.
I don't think it can go back to refrigerator once it's cooked as it's too hard to recool that volume of warm water.
Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef
#15$400 is relatively expensive. You can get a 1100 watt Polyscience circulator for that much. No circulator or water bath I know of requires vacuum sealers; all of them work fine with zips. Also, not to nitpick, but duck confit only takes 8 hours or so; it's one of the easiest things to do with a water bath. It looks neat, though. It'll be interesting to see if the cooling feature is useful, or more of a gimmick. That…
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Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef
#16Already posted yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7622369
Edit: I always love when people get offended by facts.
Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef
#17The timed refrigerator -> cooking -> {refrigerator / warm} cycle alone makes this a really, really nice idea. The thin clear container and large volume of water is going to be a bit rough on power consumption for that use-case though.
I don't think it can go back to refrigerator once it's cooked as it's too hard to recool that volume of warm water.
You also have to do it very quickly due to anaerobic pathogens like Clostridium botulinum and Listeria monocytogenes. I don't think it's possible for something that fits comfortably in a kitchen and runs on a 120v line.
Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef
#18Founder/designer/actor here, glad to see HN pick Mellow up! I tried to post it myself to little success earlier. Let me know if I can clarify anything.
Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef
#19I am curious since I have never cooked sous-vide. I see pieces of meat being cooked in the video, so does that mean I would have to come home and prepare the side dishes?
Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef
#20$400 is relatively expensive. You can get a 1100 watt Polyscience circulator for that much. No circulator or water bath I know of requires vacuum sealers; all of them work fine with zips. Also, not to nitpick, but duck confit only takes 8 hours or so; it's one of the easiest things to do with a water bath. It looks neat, though. It'll be interesting to see if the cooling feature is useful, or more of a gimmick. That…
It specifically says in the FAQ that it can't do cook-chill. I was debating trying to work on one that could awhile back but man is it hard to get that kinda cooling power economically, at least given my cursory exploration. Also, I've never done duck confit sous vide. Maybe I'll try that next. I made some the good old fashioned way a couple months ago and wow.
Must have run into the guy who made it. Three innocuous comments downvoted at once :)