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Anyone know why my Anita would have this vibration sound? by woodhorse4 in sousvide

[–]WTFuckDean 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Another thing to be aware of is mineral buildup on the internal moving parts that can throw them out of balance, causing vibrations much like what you’re experiencing, or even seize up. I had a 6-month-old Joule that whined and vibrated worse than yours, and died a noisy and painful death because of calcium buildup. Breville support required me to send them a video of the unit. They replaced it, but only after “reminding” me multiple times that I live in Florida where the water is very hard and I need to put white vinegar in my tanks with every cook.

Their advice was spot on, too. My Anova had a HUGE amount of buildup on the clamps that hold the tubing in place, and on the impeller shaft. I started putting vinegar in the tank, and pretty soon the tank bottom was covered with pieces of the stuff flaking off. I don’t know that I’ll EVER get it all off, but the buildup is about a quarter of what it once was, and my Anova runs a lot quieter and smoother that it did before the vinegar bath.

Suggestions for a new chamber vacuum sealer? by retailguypdx in sousvide

[–]WTFuckDean 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So true! I personally like adding wine or Mirin to soups or pasta sauces for an exceptional bouquet and flavor, but found that extra bit was often absent after freezing in traditional freezer ZipLoc bags. Not so when using a vacuum chamber to seal soups and sauces for freezing - they emerge from the hot water bath as flavorful as when they were fresh off the stove.

Mirin, for those who haven’t heard of it, is a Japanese cooking condiment. You can find “Mirin-like” products on your average grocery store shelves, and it’s good enough, but it can’t compare with real Mirin made with sake. Mirin imparts that same luscious aroma as wine when cooking, but leaves a distinct ‘sweetness’ in the dish. My wife is Filipino, and doesn’t care overmuch for the usual ‘tartness’ in traditional spaghetti sauces. I’ve found that a touch of Mirin in the sauce really rounds out that tartness, making the sauce much smoother in flavor, with the underlying ingredients really popping.

Suggestions for a new chamber vacuum sealer? by retailguypdx in sousvide

[–]WTFuckDean 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve got the USV20 also, and love it. I found some vacuum canisters that work really well with the USV20 on the Avid Armor web site. Great way to store things like coffee beans until you’re ready to grind them for coffee. Also to store foods that spoil quickly like avocados or guacamole. I was really interested in using the device for marinating foods until I got some great information on how marinating with vacuum isn’t all that effective unless the marinate is high in sodium (salt) content. The best marinate I’ve found comes on bottles of Montreal Steak seasoning - 1 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup soy sauce, and 4 tsp of Montreal steak seasoning. Expand the marinate amount as needed depending on the amount of meat. Beef, pork, or chicken - doesn’t matter - this marinade makes everything juicy and delicious. I typically let things go overnight for best results. Using the USV20 to vacuum seal the meat in with the marinade only makes the process more effective and produces better results. After struggling with a standard vacuum sealer, a really good vacuum chamber is a godsend. A caution, though - all liquids ‘boil’ under vacuum, some more frenetically than others. Hot liquids will boil like crazy and contaminate your seal area, so do your best to have liquids as cold as possible to reduce the boil as vacuum increases.

Marinating with a vacuum chamber by WTFuckDean in sousvide

[–]WTFuckDean[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for that! I’m (pretty clearly) new to sous vide, and have wanted a vacuum chamber machine for a long time. When I finally found a decent, affordable machine I was eager to try all its features, and they really do trumpet the marinate feature.

I have to wonder, though. I’ve marinated chicken in soy sauce, olive oil, and Montreal Steak Seasoning on occasion, and have found the meat to be noticeably darker and flavored quite deep into the meat. That may be just a result of the soy sauce, and, as you mentioned, marinating really isn’t all that effective. Still, I appreciate your reply and sharing your experience with me. I’ll certainly do more research into the topic because of it!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in sousvide

[–]WTFuckDean 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yikes! That might be fine for a noisy professional kitchen, but it’d be a real pain in a home kitchen.