Mellow, the robotic sous-chef • Hacker News Board

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#161

Post by alexhutcheson » Thu, Apr 24, 2014, 7:09 PM UTC

Tyr42 wrote: post #117

alexhutcheson wrote: post #108

This looks really cool! I've been interested in getting into sous-vide for a while, but I'm not sure where to start. Could anyone point me to some introductory resources? (websites, maybe cookbooks?) I'm interested in learning the difference between different equipment setups, and also understanding what works well for sous-vide and what doesn't.

I enjoyed the sous-vide section of Cooking for Geeks, (and the rest of the book is great too!) That's enough to get started.

Thanks! I'll check it out.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#162

Post by tptacek » Fri, Apr 25, 2014, 4:51 PM UTC

eric_the_read wrote: post #158

tptacek wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you cook the rice at ~150f or so, then cool it, then cook it a second time in boiling stock on a stovetop.

So that first time, the rice is dry? I would not have thought to try that at all.

Actually, in the IiF technique, no: you bundle the rice in cheesecloth and cook it in direct contact with the water (this is one of the rare cases (other than eggs) where you deliberately expose the heating medium to the food).

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#163

Post by tptacek » Fri, Apr 25, 2014, 4:54 PM UTC

lifeformed wrote: post #144

zemvpferreira wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

What is auto retrograding potatoes?

Retrograding potatoes means raising them to a temperature where the starches are liberated from their initial structural networks, and then allowed to cool so that they recrystallize in a stabler network. Autoretrogradation means having a process that does this without needing human intervention somewhere in the middle.

An example of something you can do with a retrograded potato is tossing it into a stand mixer and beating the hell out of it without them turning gluey, which happens the starches get mechanically freed up and then crosslink.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#164

Post by mapt » Sat, Apr 26, 2014, 11:11 PM UTC

mattmaroon wrote: post #17

lupin_sansei wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That may be the case for some theoretical level of foodborne pathogen... but in reality we're all leaving our chinese food / pizza out until it gets cold on the counter, then putting it into the fridge and eating it a few days later for lunch. We're dumping hot soups into containers and putting them in the fridge. We're eating anything that doesn't have mold on it regardless of the sell-by-date. Cooking, I think I've managed to genuinely give myself food poisoning only once, trying to refrigerate a gallon and a half of chicken noodle soup. This happens far more often with takeout, an accepted cultural institution.

If the water can be rapidly adjusted in temperature (through a cold water hookup or otherwise), this represents a major safety improvement in the production of the 'leftovers' genre of our cuisine over the status quo, as well as the few dishes we have that are cooked and eaten cold.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#165

Post by mapt » Sat, Apr 26, 2014, 11:14 PM UTC

zemvpferreira wrote: post #28

mapt wrote: post #5

The 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.

Hey mapt, The water bath's double-walled, so that power consumption isn't heinous. We're looking at nonofficial steady-state heat losses/gains of 15-30 Watt at the most common temperatures.

Fantastic.

I do have a suggestion on the thermodynamically disfavored process of changing the water temperature rapidly though. Could you simply hook up one or two other reservoirs? Drain the 'cold' tank to one of those, preheat the other, then pump the other in and suddenly you're cooking.

Or just accept hot/cold faucets with a once-through system for rapid changeovers, followed by precision temp control on recirculation.

Re: Mellow, the robotic sous-chef

#166

Post by mattmaroon » Mon, Apr 28, 2014, 8:24 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #157

mattmaroon wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh man, I love the 75°C egg. You don't have to peel it, just crack it. (If you use crappy eggs though, the outer white does stick to the shell.)

75C is a hard-set yolk, right? Blech. :)

No, you don't poach to equilibrium. You leave it in for 11-13 mins. The yolk is runny but the white is a little more firm than you'd get equilibrium poaching at a lower temp.