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Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

nytimes.com

21–30 of 62 posts

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fish is absolutely great with Pantelligent; in fact, salmon is probably my #1 favorite. Eggs (not specifically hard boiled -- huh?) are really excellent too. Low temperature scrambled eggs, omelettes, higher temperature fried eggs. It's a pan -- really versatile.

i guess you didnt understand my point. you do not obtain the same result in a pan as you do via sous vide. one does not replace the other. have you ever used a sous vide machine? if you had, you'd probably better understand the point im making.

Yup, I have a sous vide setup. I don't use it. It's neat to do the eggs once or twice. I don't find it to be practical.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#22

My perfect Sous Vide machine would be a Mellow[0] with an API. I want to throw some eggs (or other breakfast items) in the Mellow at night, it flips to a refrigerate option, and then hooks up with my alarm (physical or on phone) to make sure the eggs start cooking a few minutes before I wake up, so they're perfect when I roll out of bed. Then I'll empty the machine, throw dinner in, and it'll automatically be ready b…

It is somewhat fascinating how much the tech community seems to strive to try to solve non-problems. In this case, poaching or hard boiling an egg is so utterly simple, done in mere minutes, that it is simply impossible that this device could make it easier. And the grotesque proposed waste of energy borders on the absurd.

And then, after you've had your perfectly cooked eggs that you presumably had to hop out of bed and rush to retrieve before they overcooked, in your busy morning you're going to vacuum pack a steak? Seriously?

Or you can turn your oven to 200F. Toss a cast iron pan on your grilltop and sear at high heat, then move the whole thing to the oven. You'll quickly have a perfect steak without blowtorches or extended water bath time.

As with the soylent thing, it's like basic skills are now lacking so people looking for a lot of menial work to replace trivial undertakings.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i guess you didnt understand my point. you do not obtain the same result in a pan as you do via sous vide. one does not replace the other. have you ever used a sous vide machine? if you had, you'd probably better understand the point im making.

Yup, I have a sous vide setup. I don't use it. It's neat to do the eggs once or twice. I don't find it to be practical.

@compumike impractical... kinda like crapping up the posts comments about a completely different product.

please tell me how the product you're hocking can 'practically' cook a rack of ribs, brisket, or a roast.

or how about cooking/holding more than one serving at once? it cant.

we get it, you want your pantelligent product to take off. but saying it can do everything the sous vide does, just better/faster, is not accurate and comes off extremely biased.

you dont need to reply. you seem to like avoiding response to pertinent points and instead fall back to how great everything is re: pantelligent.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#24
post #22

My perfect Sous Vide machine would be a Mellow[0] with an API. I want to throw some eggs (or other breakfast items) in the Mellow at night, it flips to a refrigerate option, and then hooks up with my alarm (physical or on phone) to make sure the eggs start cooking a few minutes before I wake up, so they're perfect when I roll out of bed. Then I'll empty the machine, throw dinner in, and it'll automatically be ready b…

It is somewhat fascinating how much the tech community seems to strive to try to solve non-problems. In this case, poaching or hard boiling an egg is so utterly simple, done in mere minutes, that it is simply impossible that this device could make it easier. And the grotesque proposed waste of energy borders on the absurd. And then, after you've had your perfectly cooked eggs that you presumably had to hop out of bed…

"In this case, poaching or hard boiling an egg is so utterly simple, done in mere minutes, that it is simply impossible that this device could make it easier. And the grotesque proposed waste of energy borders on the absurd."

said like someone who has never used the sous vide cooking method. this is about precise cooking, which yeilds very specific results; it's very different than your 'toss a bunch of eggs into boiling water for 10 minutes! duhhh' method.

you cant get these results with your 'utterly simple' method(s): http://www.cookingissues.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/eggc...

and we're just talking eggs here. your steak wont look like this either: https://d3awvtnmmsvyot.cloudfront.net/api/file/clFhHJTkRraOg...

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#25

If you'd like your perfectly-cooked steak in 20 minutes, not 2 hours, try Pantelligent (note: co-founder). Video here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hevans/pantelligent-int... Unlike sous-vide cooking, Pantelligent is not limited to things you can cook in a plastic bag, doesn't take forever to get to steady-state temperature equilibrium, and most sous-vide recipes encourage you to finish in a pan anyway! Inste…

Do you have a patent on this? Hopefully! I can see a big brand wanting to have a stove top that auto regulates the temperature for you so it stays at the perfect temperature exactly leaving your job only to place and flip

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#26
post #22

My perfect Sous Vide machine would be a Mellow[0] with an API. I want to throw some eggs (or other breakfast items) in the Mellow at night, it flips to a refrigerate option, and then hooks up with my alarm (physical or on phone) to make sure the eggs start cooking a few minutes before I wake up, so they're perfect when I roll out of bed. Then I'll empty the machine, throw dinner in, and it'll automatically be ready b…

It is somewhat fascinating how much the tech community seems to strive to try to solve non-problems. In this case, poaching or hard boiling an egg is so utterly simple, done in mere minutes, that it is simply impossible that this device could make it easier. And the grotesque proposed waste of energy borders on the absurd. And then, after you've had your perfectly cooked eggs that you presumably had to hop out of bed…

[deleted]

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#27
post #26
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is somewhat fascinating how much the tech community seems to strive to try to solve non-problems. In this case, poaching or hard boiling an egg is so utterly simple, done in mere minutes, that it is simply impossible that this device could make it easier. And the grotesque proposed waste of energy borders on the absurd. And then, after you've had your perfectly cooked eggs that you presumably had to hop out of bed…

[deleted]

For the maillard reaction, obviously. I assume you were hoping I say something asinine like "sealing in the juices", to which you could tut tut, but sorry, searing has a very important culinary taste purpose.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#28
post #25

If you'd like your perfectly-cooked steak in 20 minutes, not 2 hours, try Pantelligent (note: co-founder). Video here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hevans/pantelligent-int... Unlike sous-vide cooking, Pantelligent is not limited to things you can cook in a plastic bag, doesn't take forever to get to steady-state temperature equilibrium, and most sous-vide recipes encourage you to finish in a pan anyway! Inste…

Do you have a patent on this? Hopefully! I can see a big brand wanting to have a stove top that auto regulates the temperature for you so it stays at the perfect temperature exactly leaving your job only to place and flip

Patent pending. Thanks!

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#29
post #25

If you'd like your perfectly-cooked steak in 20 minutes, not 2 hours, try Pantelligent (note: co-founder). Video here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hevans/pantelligent-int... Unlike sous-vide cooking, Pantelligent is not limited to things you can cook in a plastic bag, doesn't take forever to get to steady-state temperature equilibrium, and most sous-vide recipes encourage you to finish in a pan anyway! Inste…

Do you have a patent on this? Hopefully! I can see a big brand wanting to have a stove top that auto regulates the temperature for you so it stays at the perfect temperature exactly leaving your job only to place and flip

s/big brand/consumer ftfy

the technology should be in the stovetop/hotplate burner, not the pan, IMO.

Re: Bringing Sous Vide to the Home Cook

#30
You can also use a beer cooler or other thermo-isolated container, filled with hot water at the correct temperature (kitchen thermometer), and a bunch of plastic baggies (plus something clever with tape).

It's not quite as set-and-forget as a real sous-vide machine, you need to readjust the temperature (measure, adding more hot water, and stir a little, measure) about every 20 minutes or so (depending on the volume of water, obviously).

You need to know what you're doing, but I've gotten really great results with this DIY method :)

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