Chemicalkinetics's Profile
What would you call the shape of this knife?
sbp,
I haven't been to Flushing or Manhattan.... I really need to go up there sometime. Good luck with your future wood block.
Did I ruin my wok trying to season it?
First, it is very difficult to ruin a wok. You may ruin the seasoning, but it is very tough to ruin a wok beyond repair.
Second, the wok looks fine from you photo. I couldn't tell there are little orange spots around the wok, but I take your words for it. These orange spots are most likely to be rust spots. Try to remove them whenever you see them. Once a wok is fully seasoned, then you will not ever see these rust spots. A gentle way to remove the rust spots is to use a paper towel, a bit of oil and scrub the rust spots until they are gone. The paper towel should be aggressive enough to take off minor rust spots, while preserving the rest of the seasoning surface. If the paper towel method is not working, then maybe you will need something more aggressive like steel wool or green scrotch pad:
http://www.theofficedealer.com/mm5/graphics/product_images/300/11965513.jpg
Dunkin Donuts's Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich
I haven't tried it. Maybe I will do so one day. The Dunkin Donut one is not that impressive.
Just for fun: the self-stirring pot!
Well, at minimal, the person does not know anything about stew. :)
Lodge enameled cast iron
Have you actually used these Lodge cookware? Are you saying that the Lodge Color cast iron cookware are so brittle that they cracked? I have not yet heard of any complaints of crack/shattered Lodge enameled cast iron cookware. Can you include photos of your cracked cookware?
looking for this frying pan, can you help??
Great link. It looks more like the "CHOC" pans on page 40 and 41 because of the white rim, dark interior.
Just for fun: the self-stirring pot!
That's what many comments were about. Difficult to clean. Also I am not at all convinced that it is really stirring the way we would like. Normally, convection is of simpler motion. Water circulates between hot and cold region:
http://www.hk-phy.org/contextual/heat/hea/conve/convection_e.gif
In this case, the screw thread shape of the pot allows the water to take on a radial motion as it rises. However, I bet you that the water around this threaded area is trapped and moved very slow. So if you have a semi-thick liquid, then it will burn around the threaded area. Thus, completely contradict the original idea of "stirring"
Just for fun: the self-stirring pot!
As water heats up, the water will circulate due to temperature gradient, and density changes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fGrbdq5NvE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xWWowXtuvA
Let's it be in a whirlpool motion or a convection motion, the content will get randomized. I don't see anything substantial here.
Cleaning Bamboo Steamer
Hi. I rarely steam fish, so my bamboo steamers do not smell like fish. I think your proposed method sounds fine. I have used dish detergent and brush to clean my bamboo steamers before, rinse with running water thoroughly, and then steam them again to clean.
If you worry about detergent, then you can do duo cleaning with baking soda solution first and then diluted white vinegar solution second, and then finally steam the steamers with diluted white vinegars. The two steps cleaning of baking soda and vinegar should cover both the basic and acidic cleaning. The final steaming with vinegar can get the vinegar to deep places where regular cleaning cannot penetrate. The steamer will smell like vinegar. If this bothers you, then you can rinse it with water and steam it with water to remove the vinegar residue.
What would you call the shape of this knife?
You can buy a wood block like this from many Chinatowns. They are commonly used in Chinese barbecue shops and other Chinese restaurants. Mine is much smaller (14 inch in diameter I think)
http://youtu.be/TkV4Z2wnd4o?t=1m4s
http://youtu.be/uiFZ_xnqYzA?t=15s
In my case, I couldn't find one from my local Chinatown, so I had it shipped from California via the wokshop.
http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/cleavers/chopping-block.html
This block literally came to me as a raw wood block (photo 1), so I sanded it with a sander (photo 2) and then add tung oil and beeswax (photo 3). Photo 4 was what it looks like after one year of usage.
http://www.chow.com/photos/532856
Professional Chinese barbecue shops do not do these steps. They just go straight using them because they cut nothing but barbecue meats on these blocks. They don't have to worry about a perfectly flat surface and they don't worry about excessive water penetration.
Nonreactive cookware
Coringware probably prone to hots spot WAY more than any metal pan.
Nonreactive cookware
Paulj,
You and I know PTFE is a thermoplastic. So for all we know it is Teflon coated too. Afterall, it only states that it is PFOA free, not PTFE free. You would think it would mention PTFE free if it is free of PTFE. Even if it is not PTFE, then are we sure it is any safer than PTFE?
Nonreactive cookware
For most people, they need to prioritize their fear and their efforts. Significantly more people harm themselves with the foods they eat as oppose to the cookware they use. I don't know any study can clearly claim that people dying from using Teflon/PTFE cookware, but I know millions of people harm themselves every single day because they eat foods which are too salty, too much fat, too much red meat, too much calories...etc.
Clean up what you eat first before worrying about the Teflon cookware. Our society has been using Teflon for decades and it is probably the most popular cookware in residential kitchens (providing a huge testing population). We have yet to clearly see a clear lethal harm from Teflon cookware.
Pointless or Silly Kitchen Gadgets - and the Ones That Worked for You. [Moved from General Topics]
Same here, but I see the pepper ball as something easy to use with one hand. Some time ago, there was a CHOWHOUND poster who were looking for a one-handed pepper grinder due to physical limitation, so I can see a pepper ball being potentially useful. However, if it broke in 4-5 usage, then it is no good.
Slap Chop is just silly to me because the unit is so small. You have to first prep the vegetables into the size which fit the Slap Chop in order to use. Look here, the carrot and the celery have already been cut to a size to fit in the Slap Chop:
http://youtu.be/rUbWjIKxrrs?t=19s
So why would I take my kitchen knife out and prep my vegetables to just that size but stop going all the way to the size I desire? There is very little control of the actual finished products. The cleaning look like a pain too.
Seeking Recommendation for Ramen (Japanese) in Philly
Thanks to this board recommendation. I have had nice Cuban foods in Philly. I am curious if you can give me a pointer for nice Ramen (ラーメン) in or near Philadelphia. I am not looking for super high end expensive restaurant to impress anyone, just a good decent bowl of Raman for myself. Now, if you happen to know good Ramen in New Jersey near Trenton/Princeton area, then that would be very cool too. Thanks.
Pointless or Silly Kitchen Gadgets - and the Ones That Worked for You. [Moved from General Topics]
What is wrong with pepper ball? It looks like a pepper grinder for one hand usage. In term of silly kitchen gadgets, there are so many. I say "Slap Chop" is certainly a big one.
My review: CCK KF1402 Cleaver
KF 13XX (桑刀) model is certainly much more useful on a daily basis. I have a KF 1303 and I can use it for slicing meat, chopping vegetable (even butternut squash), mincing garlic, ginger...etc. The only things which I do not use it for are the very heavy jobs and the very small jobs. For example, I use a real cleaver for cutting through coconuts, and a paring knife for peeling an apple. Technically speaking, I know I can use the KF 1303 for deboning a chicken too, but I rather preserve its very refine edge.
So if I have to project my frequency of using a KF1303 vs a KF 1402. I say about a ratio of 95 to 5. I just do not have that many heavy crushing jobs.
That looks very good too. It is for butchering pork or lamb...etc. The rounder tip makes it easier to open up a whole pig...etc. Let me find a video... Ok, I find the video, but it demonstrates a different knife.... Nevertheless, it is another one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkV4Z2wnd4o
I am pretty sure these knives are mostly made by machine, and finished by hand. In term of knife hardness, cowboyardee and I once guessed that they are about HRC 59-60 based on the way we felt during sharpening the knives and using the knives.
Nonreactive cookware
Aluminum is not all that bad. Most professional kitchens use pure aluminum cookware. In other words, whenever you ate you out, your foods were cooked in aluminum cookware.
Would a Robo coupe do more cell damage than a Knife?
Ah, thanks for the video.
In the video you have linked to, it looks like the foods are immediately ejected after being cut, kind of like an automated mandolin. As such, I am guessing the damage would be about the same as a kitchen knife for most vegetables
It depends what you mean by sharp. The faster speed and greater force will allow the blade to force through what would be difficult at slower speeds, and to some extends you are correct that the faster speed will result in cleaner cuts for certain foods like potatoes or carrots. On the other hand, a machine like this relies mostly on a push cutting motion, kind of like a mandolin: the food is forced against a blade, or the blade is forced against a food. Certain foods, however, are better cut with a slicing motion. For example, ripped soft tomatoes, meats, fish filets....etc.
Think about it. When you cut a piece of meat.... don't you usually slice the meat by using a large forward or backward with a knife? What would happen if you simply push the knife down on a meat?
My review: CCK KF1402 Cleaver
Just three more photos for illustrating the knife geometry.
The first one is a comparison between this KF1402 with Moritaka AS Honesuki. The KF1402 is slightly thicker.
The second photo shows the blade grind looking down from the front. It is uniformly thick on the top and then tapper down quickly and remains thin an inch above the edge.
The third photo shows the blade grind looking down from the heel side.
My review: CCK KF1402 Cleaver
Thank you in advance then. By the way, what cutting board did you finally get for yourself?
I only found out this in my recent trip a week ago which was way after you left for Japan. You should blame petek. He knew this for decades.
My review: CCK KF1402 Cleaver
Update: I have sharpened this KF1402 knife (a true cleaver) and segmented/deboned a chicken. The knife was roughly sharpened at 25° each side on a 1000 grit stone and lightly finished on a 2000 grit stone. It was sharp enough to slice paper, but not enough to push cut a paper. (I probably can get it to push cut paper, but I didn’t try. I will update later if I can get it to push cut paper. )
I used slightly different techniques to prepare the chicken to try to better suit the knife. For slicing, I held the knife very forward with at least three fingers and sometime all five fingers on the blade (first photo). This allowed very good control of a knife, and made this blade heavy knife felt much lighter. Since this is a cleaver, I have intentionally chopped through the chicken bones with it. For chopping, I move my fingers back on the handle. It worked extremely well. Because KF1402 has a heavy blade, a moderate swing speed was enough to create enough momentum to cleanly cut through the joints and bones. I have also chopped through the joints by simply placing the knife on the joints and tapped on the blade spine (second photo). For some reasons, it worked much better than my previous meat cleaver. There was no visible chip on the knife blade despite a few bone chopping. The edge remained sharp enough to slice paper.
Overall, I find the KF1402 very efficient both in speed and in effort for butchering the chicken. It is not as detail oriented as a honesuki knife. KF1402 was effective in removing large meats from the bones like the breast meat, but it lacked the finesses to remove smaller meat like the meat around the drumstick. It can be done, but not as easy or as clean as a honesuki knife. For chopping through bones and joints, the KF1402 is better than Moritaka honesuki. For cleaning removing meat around the bones and tight corner, the Moritaka honesuki wins. I like the knife a lot. Unfortunately, I don’t have a wood block which can fit it.
Dunkin Donuts's Angus Steak & Egg Sandwich
I just want to say that I went to a Tim Horton's at the Vancouver airport. I was full already, but I ordered a hot chocolate. Now I can tell everyone that I have been to Tim Horton's. Just saying.
Would a Robo coupe do more cell damage than a Knife?
Usually speaking, a food processor blade is not as sharp as that of a kitchen knife. Threee reasons. First, the blade steel of a vegetable prep machine is usually not as good than a high end to a medium grade kitchen knife. Second, people rarely sharpen the blade of a food processor, so it just get duller and duller. Third, the food processor blade get abused much more and degrade faster.
Yes -- for two reasons. First, as you have mentioned, the blade of a food processor is not as sharp. A dull edge does more damage than a sharp edge. Second, foods are cut against a solid support. They are being beaten and swung around like .... a pinata
My review: CCK KF1402 Cleaver
I was just thinking about our earlier conversation too. Apparently, there are very pretty women in Canada and Japan too..... Why don't I live in these countries?
What would you call the shape of this knife?
Yep, it is:
"Tung oil or China wood oil is a drying oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree ..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tung_oil
Most of the tung oil products on the market are not pure tung oil. I prefer pure tung oil. Just something to think about.
My review: CCK KF1402 Cleaver
Greedy? Now, that does not make any sense.... How many women do you need anyway? :D
My review: CCK KF1402 Cleaver
Why you... you didn't tell me for as long as we know each others ..... You could have told me earlier :D
By the way, I edited the above post. There is a link to another post.
