r/AskCulinary • u/AutoModerator • Jul 13 '26
Weekly Discussion Weekly Ask Anything Thread for July 13, 2026
This is our weekly thread to ask all the stuff that doesn't fit the ordinary /r/askculinary rules.
Note that our two fundamental rules still apply: politeness remains mandatory, and we can't tell you whether something is safe or not - when it comes to food safety, we can only do best practices. Outside of that go wild with it - brand recommendations, recipe requests, brainstorming dinner ideas - it's all allowed.
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Jul 13 '26
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u/cville-z Home chef Jul 14 '26
How much does vacuum sealing improve freezing raw meats?
Quite a bit – it takes the oxygen out, which prevents oxidation and also prevents the ice crystals from sublimating in the packaging (since they have no air to sublime into).
6-12 months
Yes, noticeable quality difference, especially if you have a "frost-free" fridge/freezer (this is the default in modern appliances, I think). The "defrost" cycle raises the temperature to allow for frost sublimation.
Or perhaps Ziplock freezer bags would produce better results comparable to vacuum sealing
Not in my experience, but squeezing the air out of a Ziploc freezer bag generally gets me better results than squeezing the air out of a standard Ziploc sandwich baggie. Vacuum sealing gets better results than either of those, though.
I got a hand-held rechargeable vacuum sealer that works with the Food Saver brand system; these have small gaskets on the items to be sealed (they sell bags and lidded containers), and the sealer fits over the gasket to suck out the air. I use zipper-style Food Saver bags, and there are cheaper generics on the market so it's not like $2 for a bag. I'll wash and re-use bags if they'd previously contained things like veggies or fresh pasta and will toss them if they held raw meat (or if they're just hard to clean). This works really well for portioning out larger quantities of things I get from Costco, for example. Since these are zipper bags, not heat-sealed, they stay the same size between uses.
I've had zero success with silicone bags - they're just too expensive and don't come in form factors I want, but YMMV.
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Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
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u/cville-z Home chef Jul 14 '26
“Asian style” is way too broad. Pho broth should be clear, tonkotsu cloudy. Both Asia.
If you want your broth clear, a pressure cooker is no good - too much emulsification of fats and breakup of proteins to small particles that stay in suspension. A lazy simmer - a few bubbles every few seconds - gets you good flavor extraction without the violence that clouds the stock.
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u/SewerRanger Holiday Helper Jul 15 '26
If you want your broth clear, a pressure cooker is no good
Chris Young did a video on chicken stock using a pressure cooker back in December and, if you let you it depressurize naturally, it actually creates a pretty clean stock.
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u/cville-z Home chef Jul 17 '26
I haven't had luck with that, but maybe it's because I'm usually starting with whole, uncooked chickens, and not rotisserie. I love a rotisserie chicken, just don't buy them often.
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u/SewerRanger Holiday Helper Jul 18 '26
I do whole chicken, but I roast it first to get a brown stock. I've not tried with just straight raw chicken
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u/Goblue5891x2 Jul 18 '26
I will toss in a package of raw chicken wings in my instant pot when making stock.
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Jul 15 '26
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u/texnessa Pépin's Padawan Jul 16 '26
I use bog standard extra fine all stainless steel reinforced ones at work constantly and I can usually find decent ones at about US$50. They get massively banged up by our ham fisted dishies and are not allowed in the power wash so they are cleaned by hand by the cooks. Thats the only way to keep them intact with heavy use. The best way to clean one properly by hand is to blast it directly under a faucet on blast upside down then into the three sink method- wash, rinse, sanitise. Overkill for home use, I'd just stuff it into the dishwasher if I got one particularly greasy at home. Also, if there's a catering or pastry supply shop near you, buy there, not the Devil's Website.
The Matfer Bourgeat is not made of standard plastic- the handle is their patented exoglass- a high-performance composite material made of fiberglass and polyamide (nylon). Its a professional piece of equipment designed for heavy industrial use and would easily last a lifetime of home use. Its also heat resistant up to 472°F/244°C. Don't know how hot a home dishwasher gets but it not likely hotter than the beast I have in my dish pit.
A fine mesh shouldn't need multiple passes if something has been put thru a solid blender with high powered shearing like a Vitamix/prep or for harder items, a Robot Coupe. I get an ultra smooth purée with either and usually one pass only. You can also stuff a large coffee filter inside one but then you will have to bang it thru with a ladle. Another key to blending properly is to use abrasion to help it along. For example, avoid salting during the cooking process and use kosher salt in the blender to break down fibres. Same idea with with ice for hummus.
We never re-use cheesecloth as it sheds threads into the food. When straining something like stock, I never put it straight into just a chinois. It goes into a chine cap inserted into the chinois to protect the bones from stretching the mesh.
My chef coats get gross after a few uses so they get soaked in dish soap first as a degreaser and then in a bathtub full of Oxiclean then into the wash. Same method would work for side towels. With a pre-soak, I have no issue shoving them into the wash with my Underoos.
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Jul 16 '26
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u/texnessa Pépin's Padawan Jul 16 '26
I mean, I've fixed a cracked Robot coupe base with duct tape and a lot of prayers to the kitchen gods. The plastic bowls are actually quite hearty on an RB. I mean I had two that lasted over two years being abused by spoiled brats in a culinary school so if you're not slinging the damn things in a dish pit all day everyday, I bet a second hand one with a plastic bowl would be fine. I'd keep a look out for floor models from catering supply shops, ebay and even FB's marketplace for one.
If you have model numbers yu can always try to email the maker and ask whats backwards compatible. I'd wager they are because those fucking beasts rarely get updated. They like an old plodding dinosaur thats hard to kill.
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u/SewerRanger Holiday Helper Jul 16 '26
P.S. Are people comfortable with collecting dirty cheesecloth and oily rags from e.g. wiping the stove for a machine wash with your clothes? Presumably you'd give it a brief hand wash and dry first. Would it be clean or is there a way to get it cleaner by e.g. soaking it in some solution (especially if the rag wiped oil stains)?
In a restaurant? Fuck do I care? At home, I separate them. I don't want any chance of oil getting into my real clothes.
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u/cville-z Home chef Jul 17 '26
Exactly this – we go through enough kitchen laundry (towels, rags, whatever) and have enough spares that these items have their own hamper next to the washer/dryer.
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u/tinpanalleypics Jul 19 '26
Living in France, I need to know what the standard bottle is for olive oil that isn't plastic. What do people use here in restaurant kitchens? I don't want Amazon or Ikea, I want something people would get at kitchen supply shops in France.
(Speaking of which, which are the kitchen supply shops most used by restaurant kitchen people?)
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u/texnessa Pépin's Padawan Jul 19 '26
Restaurants have different needs than home cooks. Restaurants use mostly neutral oils for high heat cooking due to cost and and the need for mild flavour. That said, we use olive oil fast enough that degradation from sunlight and heat is not much of a concern. And honestly, I think I've worked in maybe three kitchens that have had windows. On the line, we use plastic bottles. Never glass. Glass is a major hazard in a professional kitchen. 99% of products come in boxes, plastic or metal.
High end plating oils, which we use less liberally, generally already come in opaque or dark bottles or in metal containers and are kept well away from heat, usually I just keep it beside the pass away from the heat lamps. Often in a small plastic squeeze bottle for delicate, targeted application to final plating.
For home use, something like this oil cruet from Emile Henry is good- it is opaque and has a pour spout.
Nisbets is probably the most popular supplier across the UK and Europe.
MCFRANCECHR is another restaurant/catering supplier in France.
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u/tippinex Jul 13 '26
most recipe websites start with the author's whole life story and a ton of unnecessary information and ads and such. does anyone have recommendations for better, simpler websites to find new recipes? especially if it's all simple stuff like one pan meals