Induction hob

[Mr Gus]

What a quid & it has no pouring spout, ..youse were robbed! ,

I bloody well hope my daughter took a bottle opener with her to university on a keychain, God knows I've instilled the importance of it for her to open my beers for me since she was a ween.

[AE-NMidlands]

What a quid & it has no pouring spout, ..youse were robbed! ,

I bloody well hope my daughter took a bottle opener with her to university on a keychain, God knows I've instilled the importance of it for her to open my beers for me since she was a ween.

and no lid either!
We have 2 "universal" lids, the big one is perforated over half of it, which sort of defeats the object. I use the smaller one almost every day, boiled eggs for lunch, made in a stainless "milk" pan which came without a lid. It's Prestige - and crap. Burns anything other than water!

[Joeboy]

Absolutely ripped off, I know! The great re-panning is upcoming, there shall be spare lids I hope.

[Mr Gus]

AE, sous vide wand for those eggs (providing you want them in a low energy, no hurry kinda way, ..mine (I prefer in shell poached) take 45 mins at a low temp 63.3c -65c but can be left in stasis for hours, there is also a more traditional boiled egg version which if memory serves is 80 c for 14 mins.

Insulated base (celotex) & silicone lid & tea towel make it faster to heat, (the water stays for 7 days due to chlorination) ..helps us cut down on the go to of "meat, meat & more meat diet"
On the other foot wife test air fried some "needs eating" 2x pork steaks ..& salad) that had sat in the fridge sealed for 10 days @3c & has to go straight to bed after.

(I had previously just tried a chicken strips veggie alternative, but overcooked them) in salad wraps for supper ...& they were a winner with the dogs who has them as a treat with their supper (both dogs bulking up, bitch after 1st season, dog after bitch on heat nervous frenzy weight loss, dropped 3+ of his normal 16+ kg) ..would be nice if these were suitable for safe dog food partial meat substitutions. Fry's thick cut chicken style strips) ..The dogs enjoy a good egg, he it scotch, or poached, good proteins throughout.


This nation needs to remember eggs as a main in a meal is not skimping, especially in these times of scrimp or suffer.

[AE-NMidlands]

AE, sous vide wand for those eggs (providing you want them in a low energy, no hurry kinda way, ..mine (I prefer in shell poached) take 45 mins at a low temp 63.3c -65c but can be left in stasis for hours, there is also a more traditional boiled egg version which if memory serves is 80 c for 14 mins.

looking at https://www.seriouseats.com/sous-vide-soft-boiled-eggs they suggest 3 minutes boiling anyway, then 45 mins sous vide. Somehow I don't think we shall be paying £100 for a gadget and then still using 3 mins of gas!
Another suggestion is 13 mins at 75C. Again, one of the attractions of boiled eggs is that we can work until 10 mins before we eat and then produce the meal fairly quickly.
Another thing is that these temperatures are rather too close to incubation than pasteurisation for my liking!

When I have my own electricity my attitude might change, but currently it is around 4 times the price of gas...
A

[Oldgreybeard]

Thanks for the mention of sous vide. I got as far as buying a vacuum bag machine and some bags some time ago, but then got stuck when choosing from the vast array of different sous vide gadgets. Pretty sure one of the wand things would be easiest, don't really want something that takes up space. Have wondered it it would work in the slow cooker.

[Stinsy]

The gas disconnection aim is pretty much a carrot that I have held in front of myself over the last few years.

The reasons are multiple.

The pollution caused during the pursuit and capture of gas.
The pollution caused during the use of gas.
The whole Tom & Barbara aspect of being off gas (unless it is a bio digester in my own cellar).
The control aspect by our domestic power companies and politicians.

The above points have been in my mind for years.

Finally and long suspected, manifested this year in spectacularly horrifc fashion. The prick Putin. Weaponised gas.

Just got my bill from Octopus:


OUCH! That standing charge!

[Oldgreybeard]

The standing charge very much angers me. I do not mind paying a fair price for having a cable or pipe feeding our home, what I VERY strongly object to is the ALL of the standing charge increase is going to bail out the chancers that thought they could make a quick buck in the energy market, and have since gone bust. It is extremely annoying to know that we are all paying for the inability of a dozen or more companies to run their businesses in a prudent manner.

[Mr Gus]

My preference is for impeller driven wands over anything without claiming to be sous vide.
I have had my original since late 2015? ...runs a treat, & whether or not it's an annual thing I bought a spare for a little over £52 delivered as an Xmas day special on the same model, the app isn't great for connectivity but I use the website & App profile recipes (times) to set temps in seconds ...no worries.

Importantly, I use a spare s/steel 6 litre instantpot inner pan (sometimes 8 litre) on its own as it sits too high for short@rses in this house otherwise (wife, daughter) & sits on but grip is awkward if the clamp extends from outer of the instantpot across the birth of metal insulation et c & into the inner,..where the water is! ..just my preference & it could be tweaked to hold better, so it's firm hold on a pot, as long as it doesn't have to over reach.

OGB, to onto the anova (Electrolux bought em out) to get an idea, the guides of "doneness" is on the app & shows what a few degrees here & there can do, suffice to say home produced results off outstrip restaurants & pubs.
My biggest fail, Easter let of lamb on a 48 he beer cooler cook. ..can't win em all.

The forum has good science, solid advice ..& a single red neck retired nuclear industry tosser, everyone else is there to take advice from the more experienced.

So, it Might be worth checking out the above site on Xmas day, then boxing day (just in case I got it wrong) ..& The Costco UK sourced "bacofoil" brand 1 litre sous vide capable deigned bags are generally good enough to pack,...
2x decent size burgers.
Or
6+ fat sausages
Or
A big steak / several others
Or a decent wedge of chicken thighs, wings etc.

All times & temps allow for pasteurization, you have to learn to trust yourself, experiment & present blind..

My wife REFUSED "Salad chicken" time, temp, doneness ...tried it, now her favourite.
Ditto cook levels on sausages before pan finish.

We enjoy less meat more.

[Mr Gus]

Thanks for the mention of sous vide. I got as far as buying a vacuum bag machine and some bags some time ago, but then got stuck when choosing from the vast array of different sous vide gadgets. Pretty sure one of the wand things would be easiest, don't really want something that takes up space. Have wondered it it would work in the slow cooker.

How deep does it allow fill? Water, wand & bagged food, all impeller wands (far more temp accurate & less hotspots, ..low water sets off an alarm & cook is lost, ditto via evaporation which is another reason I use my instantpot inner, I cut to shape a dedicated silicone pot lid which completely stops vapour loss & increases water heating speed by around 33% & slows cool down massively, keeps water cleaner potentially too.

Whilst I try to reuse the bags elsewhere, & do own a vac sealer, the backroom bags are our go too preference, good value, tough for cooking & mountain use (my backpacks are full of bagged & sealed kit)
Small bags = 1litre
Medium bags = 3 litre / 3 kg of sugar.
(The bags are double colossal as standard, very little room for error)