Episode 96: Circulation and Clarification

Dave Arnold and Nastassia Lopez are back from Harvard to help you in the kitchen on this week’s Cooking Issues! Dave is gearing up to visit some world-class orchards across the pond with Harold McGee, but not before answering some listener questions. Hear Dave talk about the differences between the Nomiku and the PolyScience immersion circulators. Learn why Dave is a “margarine hater”, and why butter has no set melting point. Later, tune in for some centrifugal talk, why clarification always leads to flavor loss. Finally, get schooled on hydrocolloids! Dave discusses t the different variations of Dow methylcellulose and their applications in creating gels. This episode has been brought to you by The International Culinary Center.

“The pump output is usually not the limit on your capacity. Usually the limit on your capacity is the wattage [of the immersion circulator]. That said, when judging capacity, it’s not about how many liters of liquid- it’s how many liters of liquid, plus product, at what temperature? In a vessel with what kind of insulation?”

— Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues