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Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

cookmellow.com

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Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#61

Post by zemvpferreira »

tptacek wrote: post #46
zemvpferreira wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey joezdeco, I'm one of Mellow's founders/designers. I'd debate that "the end doesn't matter"; I've eaten a lot of drastically overcooked sous-vide over the past years. But still, overcooking is not the point, peace of mind is the point. Take 10 seconds to put something in a bag and plop it inside Mellow. Act on the notification when you want to, tell Mellow to have it ready whenever's convenient, and you're sure to…

I'm still not following. It's definitely still prep. You're just doing the prep a day or two earlier. But you can do that with any water bath by prepping, stashing in zips, and sticking them in the fridge. I think I see the value of being able to start a cook at 2PM as opposed to sticking to things that can run all day. Most of the things that work really well in a water bath also hold really well for a day at temper…

I wouldn't let a fillet steak (or a hanger, for that matter) in a water bath for 12 hours, either. Or consider chicken thighs: We cook the best thighs in the world by taking them through a temperature curve. When we have the time, we cook them at 57C for 12-18 hours, and finish them at 63C for 1-2 hours. The end result is silky, sublime, but still firm.

On prep: It's not prep if you don't to put yourself up to it. It's not a chore, it's 10 seconds while the coffee machine heats up. Our idea is that reducing the need to do things, the friction, you'll end up doing them more often.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#62

Post by pcl »

jadence wrote: post #47

What temperature-safe bags are out there? I did some digging into this a few months ago and couldn't find anything conclusive. All I found were blogs, quotes, etc by wannabe scientists. Of note: • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222987/ Nearly all plastics (even the BPA-free ones) leach estrogenic activity chemicals • http://pprc.org/index.php/2013/networking/p2-rapid/do-plasti... Basically said that the…

Right now I'm very intrigued by sous-vide but am too paranoid about the plastics to make the jump.

FYI, immersion circulators are fairly common in restaurant kitchens, since it's so much easier to get predictable results with them compared to traditional means of cooking meat. So if you dine out, it wouldn't be surprising if you're already unwittingly exposing yourself to the plastics risk.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#63

Post by zemvpferreira »

pcl wrote: post #59
zemvpferreira wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crap, that's happened for some people and we can't find out why. Could I ask you to try out the direct link? Sorry about that: https://www.trycelery.com/shop/mellow

Happened to me too, on Chrome 35.0.1916.47 beta. I've seen the same issue with other sites using Celery as well.

Sorry about that, I'm on Celery's case about it. hopefully they'll fix it soon enough.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#64

Post by tptacek »

timtadh wrote: post #60
zemvpferreira wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey jadence, The bottom line: No one knows how safe HDPE sous-vide is in the long run. There's nothing conclusive out there, though what little evidence there is points to it being safe. Nathan seems so think so, too: http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/01/why-cook-sous-vide/ In the end you have to make a personal call. For me, the risk of undiscovered effects is vastly outweighed by the awesome food I serve. I respect…

I don't know a lot about sous-vide, I am more of a wood fire and smoking kinda person, but what would prevent you from using a stainless steel canister? That would eliminate the risks from plastic. Perhaps, a ceramic would also work?

You still need to put the food in something that keeps it out of direct contact with the water while not leaving enough space for air to insulate the food.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#65

Post by dang »

jack-r-abbit wrote: post #16

Already posted yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7622369 Edit: I always love when people get offended by facts.

When a story hasn't yet gotten significant attention, a small number of reposts (2 or 3) is ok. Otherwise, many more good stories would get lost to randomness and churn.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#66

Post by robotresearcher »

zemvpferreira wrote: post #30
andrewljohnson wrote: post #8

For some definition of robotic... I guess networked crockpot doesn't have the same ring.

Hey andrew, It fits! I think defining robot as an anthropomorphic thing that moves around is too constricting. Mellow is an electromechanical machine that performs complex actions, based on natural language requests, taking into account its environment and context. I think that's pretty robotic, but I welcome the debate. Didn't mean to be at all misleading, sorry if it seemed so.

I think people expect a robot to be able to move at least part of its body. South Africans excepted [1]

[1] http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2378730

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#67

Post by kyleblarson »

jadence wrote: post #47

What temperature-safe bags are out there? I did some digging into this a few months ago and couldn't find anything conclusive. All I found were blogs, quotes, etc by wannabe scientists. Of note: • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222987/ Nearly all plastics (even the BPA-free ones) leach estrogenic activity chemicals • http://pprc.org/index.php/2013/networking/p2-rapid/do-plasti... Basically said that the…

Awesome dinner out tonight with a great sous vide duck breast or a 1 in a billion chance I will die from the plastic in the bag in which it was cooked? I choose duck.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#68

Post by hanley »

WiseWeasel wrote: post #41
zemvpferreira wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey andrew, It fits! I think defining robot as an anthropomorphic thing that moves around is too constricting. Mellow is an electromechanical machine that performs complex actions, based on natural language requests, taking into account its environment and context. I think that's pretty robotic, but I welcome the debate. Didn't mean to be at all misleading, sorry if it seemed so.

I expect a "robotic sous-chef " to clean and chop ingredients for me, then prepare the food. This is much better described as a smart sous-vide cooker.

I clicked the link imaging a moving robot that chopped/prepped food. It was the sous-chef part that made me think that. I don't think I would have interpreted robotic sous-vide cooker the same way. That being said, I definitely think 'smart sous-vide cooker' is a better description and more useful tag-line.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#69

Post by zemvpferreira »

tptacek wrote: post #38
joezydeco wrote: post #35

10 years ago Whirlpool introduced the Polara, a range that could also refrigerate the oven cavity until a timer expired or it was commanded to cook over the internet. It was a huge flop. http://insights-2-ignite.com/2013/05/06/3-appliance-flops/ Obviously a refrigerated oven is a pretty complicated device - more than a cooled/heated water bath. The Polara had it's share of technical problems, but Whirlpool thought th…

Being able to come home from work with a protein ready to sear (Polyscience and hopefully soon Searzall represent) is definitely helpful. Also, have you held an egg overnight at 144f? That works well?

Proteins aside, auto retrograding potatoes is really nice. It's one of those techniques that makes a huge difference, but you'd never use on a regular day.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#70

Post by cfontes »

zemvpferreira wrote: post #48
tptacek wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Help me understand how the unsealed bag thing works, again? What kinds of bags are we talking about for what kinds of prep? (Sorry that I sound ready to debate; I shouldn't be. This is a neat looking device and you should be commended for bringing it to market.)

Please don't apologize, I'm happy to be challenged on these things. It's the way I learn to explain them. Look at the part in our video where Catarina (catv here) walks you through the use-case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiNmTI51GPw&t=1m17s If you notice, the bag she puts inside Mellow is a HDPE bag for vacuum sealing, unsealed. There's a jump cut or whatchamacallit, but that's how we cook using Mellow. Regular…

You are taking all the questions like a champ. Congrats on that.

All very polite, smart and yet giving real answers without slipping off when there is a problem/concern/issue/doubt/whatever.

Cheers.

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