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The General Cooking Thread

Discussion in 'Cooking' started by Blue Dog, Oct 20, 2009.

  1. sisterkathlouise

    sisterkathlouise
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    Hah I have no idea what our fan is rated but I'm going to generously guess it's about 3CFM. It's one of the many garbage things about our kitchen (that we've been intending to do an overhaul of ever since we moved in 4 years ago).
     
  2. Nettdata

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    Yep... the default cheap range hoods are of the definite shit variety, and will do next to nothing when it comes to extracting shit from the kitchen. Just go cruise the online range hood selections at Home Depot or Lowes. They make it sound like 300 is a hurricane. HA.

    Getting a really high performance fan makes ALL the difference... and really opens up so much more cooking styles/techniques that I'd normally be afraid to do in the house.
     
  3. Fiveslide

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    Did you know that some of those cheap range hoods are not even vented to the outside?

    Here is an example. If it has those slits in the front, it just blows the air right back into your house after sucking it through that metal mesh filter. I had one of these in an old house and it's what was in every apartment I maintained.

    Screenshot_20210321-065909.png

    Perhaps that is your problem, @sisterkathlouise?
     
  4. sisterkathlouise

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    Oh 100% the ventilation is a huge part of the problem. I was curious/lamenting if everyone else had proper vent fans or if they just lived with the consequences of their cooking all the time. We’re in a crappy little 1960s townhouse and I suspect someone “updated” the kitchen in the mid 90s. It’s Not Great. But our plans for a kitchen reno that had finally come together got thwarted by covid last year. We’ll see if we ever fix it or if we just move.
     
  5. Fiveslide

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    Ooof, yeah, older multifamily is the most likely place to NOT have an outside vented range hood. Even if it we're originally built with one, whomever did the last update my not have put in the correct hood. They could have put in a vented hood beneath cabinets without a built-in vent pipe, I've seen that in an apartment. All the smells, grease and moisture sucked through the hood just collected between the hood and the bottom of the cabinet.

    Want to post a pic of the hood and inside the cabinet above? I can likely tell you if you're totally screwed or if it can be saved with proper parts.
     
  6. sisterkathlouise

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    I am well aware that it isn’t vented to the outside. It’s just a fan that recirculates the smelly air. Though it at least gets the air moving when it’s warm enough to have windows open. And it isn’t a fan that was ever intended to be vented outside. So at least it isn’t doing that horrible thing you’re talking about!
     
  7. Kubla Kahn

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    Yeah I begged for a range exhaust we could fit to the vent that is there and just get a counter top microwave. I was overruled and the venting on the mounted microwave didnt line up with the vent in the cabinet so it just vents to the bottom of a cabinet and partially out of the front like the one posted. We have a whole house fan we can run to clear it out but that sucks in the winter. Be nice to you know, not have to do that.
     
  8. Fiveslide

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    That's great!

    And, apologies if it sounded like I mansplained that to you. Believe me, I've seen enough idiot men men make improper choices regarding range hoods. Supposed pros, paid to maintain apartments, install the wrong hoods that I had to replace and had ordered a stack of them that we couldn't use because they didn't match the standard cabinets in the units, thus creating the gross space between hood and cabinet.
     
  9. sisterkathlouise

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    Hah no it’s fine, I’ve just spent a lot of time getting familiar with all the things that are wrong with my kitchen and the possibilities of how to hopefully make them less bad when we gut it and start over.
     
  10. GTE

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    There are so many angles to proper ventilation. We called them the "Four C's"
    Coverage - It needs to cover the entire work surface. Overlapping the sides by 3" is ideal if you do high heat cooking.
    CFM- Air flow
    Capacity - If you flipped the hood upside down, how much water would it hold before overfilling? The more the better.
    Closeness - Ideally a hood is 27-30" off the cooking surface.

    I've seen multi-million dollar homes have a 48-60" pro range located on the island and a thin glass style hood 36" off the cooking surface. That is going to vent dick regardless of the CFM's.

    There is also knowing how to use a vent system. Lot of people turn them once there is smoke/odor in the house. You've already lost the battle. If I'm going to stir fry, before I even turn a burner on, I get the hood going and crack a window an inch for make up air. I have 25,000 btu burners, 600 CFM, proper coverage and I can cook anything and not have an odor in the house.

    Lastly, where does the manufacture measure their air flow? Right out of the top you might have 600CFM, but once you had a duct transition, few 90* bends, 15' of duct length and a poor roof cap, you might have half of that.

    Damn, I use to nerd out on this stuff. This is the condensed version haha. I worked for www.ventahood.com as an outside sales rep / tech guy who'd go out to homes and help design ventilation systems for people.
     
  11. Nettdata

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    Yeah, well, like, that's just your opinion, man.
     
  12. bewildered

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    Dagum. Y'all got me thinking about kitchen vent upgrades now.
     
  13. sisterkathlouise

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    This is super helpful stuff to consider! Our kitchen will never be great, but I’m willing to sink a fair amount of money into making it better.
     
  14. joule_thief

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  15. bewildered

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    I never get tired of pizza.

    Screenshot_20210411-194530_Gallery.jpg
     
  16. Nettdata

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    I have never found such a thing, probably because I've never gone looking. I suffered through the 80's where we had "carab, it's better than chocolate!"

    Never again.


    That looks tasty as hell... do you have a dough recipe?

    I'm looking at doing some cast iron pan pizza at the end of this week, and am open to suggestions.
     
  17. bewildered

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    Screenshot_20210411-211302_Gallery.jpg

    Here's a pic of the recipe I use. Modifications penciled on the side, it can be challenging to handle at the written weighed amount. I ignore pretty much everything else in the recipe and just use the dough. Can usually make 2 large pizzas with this, bake at 425 for 20min and broil at 550 for 2min. I highly recommend cold proofing your dough at least a day. It improves the elasticity and gluten development and is a breeze to handle and stretch. If you leave it in the fridge for several days it will start to develop a little sourdough-y kind of taste that is quite nice.
     
  18. bewildered

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    Mousse pie. I love the stuff I can make with my stand mixer.

    [​IMG]
     
  19. bewildered

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    What's a party pleaser meal when one guest has been branded a meat and potatoes guy?

    My MiL and her husband are coming in for bebe's first birthday. I want to make something that will be palatable to all, and is something I can prep ahead of time with minimal active cooking. MiL is more of a health conscious eater so no absolute shit food. We eat a lot of bean and vegetable heavy dishes so I need ideas. Probably serve at least 2 meals.

    I'm thinking about making lentil curry and red beans n rice to have in the fridge as backup meals for MiL if it is wanted.

    Thinking I could marinate chicken thighs in a homemade teriyaki with coconut rice and a side vegetable. Burgers. Pizzas prepped ahead of time. Maybe a crockpot of meatballs and smokies for snacks?

    If you cook, what would some of your possibilities be? If you consider yourself a meat and potatoes guy, what would you love to be served?
     
  20. Nettdata

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    Scalloped potatoes is a great dish to do ahead of time. Only gets better with age.

    Like your idea of meatballs.