Blenders!

Blink and you’ll miss it! The one in this ep might be the last teleportation effect fr a while, as it happens. With great power comes great responsibility, and all that.

I’m not sure of the efficacy of using a blender to mash spuds—-and not just because of the risk to one’s fingers. If you’re hard up for implements, you can always just use a fork.

Hmmm… soup isn’t quite as exciting as steak, but funny nonetheless.

One question: how did you make an entire episode about foams without referencing Foamy?

@Spud – Foamy?

@Mark – Thanks! We might well have a solution for you soon, actually – we’ve been considering adding a download link, and will probably be doing so in a week or so. It’ll allow you to download the .flv version of the episode (we really don’t have the spare time to author another format, I’m afraid), which you can then play through one of the many .flv players.

Does that work for you?

No, it shouldn’t increase the bandwidth use – we’re Creative Commons, so we’ll host over at the Internet Archive.

I’ll get it all sorted out.

At the restaurant where i work if we need to whip up a foam (which we do very often), we simply use a little device known as an Aerolatte (www.aerolatte.com) which can be had for as little as 20$ online, slightly more at brick and mortar shops. It’s original purpose was to froth milk for coffee drinks but it beats the pants off of anything i have used for making foams and it’s small size is perfect for a 9th pan or the like.

Also another small note that you didn’t cover in the episode, Lecithin is cold soluble in most liquids. Hence provided you simply give it enough time to dissolve then you could skip the heating step altogether which is handy if you want a very fresh uncooked taste, particularly with fruit juices.

Hi guys,

Nice work again! It’s a shame Paul does not want to use the force that much any more. If I had it, I would use it all the time, screw responsability ;o)

I though it was an interesting piece! I did not know how to “make foam”! I will probably experiment at Xmas time when the the whole French bunch comes over! I am quite excited by alginate as well. We plan to get a kit from France next time we visit. We did not find any in the UK… But then again we might not have looked hard enough!

I have a immersion/stab/stick blender at home, mainly for soups (when I am too lazy to wash the jug blender) and wiped cream (when I am too lazy to wash the whisk and the bowl of our cumbersome Kenwood Chef)! The only thing it is really good at is pesto (Carluccio’s stomach must clench now), it is much easier, faster and cleaner than using a pestle and mortar. It did not cost the earth and is OK as long as you use the proper speed… It is basically the brother of your electric whisk Hugh: a blender with speed variation. You did not really talk about speed variation. I guess, if you would have used your whisk at full speed you would have ended up with customising the front of your clothes as with the blenders.

I really enjoy your work! It must take quite some time and effort to put together!

I hope you get hold of some liquid nitrogen in the future!!!

Hola boyos!

Only just catching up on the last couple of episodes, and I have a couple of questions:

1)What’s a foam for/do? I asked my sister, but we know not.

2) The “stab” blender: is it Glaswegian by any chance?

Okay, I’m sold. :)

I liked this. One thing, though. Everywhere I’ve searched for the pronunciation of lecithin it says “less-uh-thin” but you pronounced it “leck-uh-thin”. Can you tell me your source?

4 things:

1.Alex is a Moron. Of course the fluid is going to splash about if you overfill the container, bring the hand blender out of the fluid and don’t hold it whilst you’re blending.

2.You take the piss out of Sleb Chefs for rubbish instructions and then let Paul give incomplete/rubbish instructions for making soup.

3.Do we need to put our e-mail, name etc? You don’t have a privacy policy/not showing e-mails that I can see

4.I’m loving your work.

I meant hold the container. Most of his splashing was caused by the container thrashing about. Admittedly to get the foam you do need to bring the Blender nearer the surface of the liquid, just don’t overfill the container. As with any tool there is a technique, I’m sure with a bit of practice you could master the Braun. I’m going out to buy one later today as it’s what we used to have at home so I know how to use it, and the cold weather has brought on an urge for soup.

Which brings me to… the rubbish soup instructions. Essentially true and good instructions, but hardly very informative for your ‘normal person’, as you caned the slebs for their hazy weights and measures and technique descriptions.

Just say you won’t spam us, and that our e-mail address won’t show. I’d hate for someone to turn up start posting under my name and bad mouthing etc. If I put my e-mail at least you’d know it was really me. Even if I was bad mouthing :)

…and finally how about you lot try to write a set of recipe instructions for ‘normal people’ I’ve heard that writing “How to make a cup of tea” is a classic CDT/graphic design homework project.

The cheaper varieties use spinning blades. Of course they’ll throw stuff around if you give them the chance. The liquid needs sufficient viscosity or lots of room to dissipate the kinetic energy imparted by the blender. The reciprocating action of the stabbing blender adds comparatively little motive energy, which is why it works much nicer in a low-viscosity, low-volume environment.

Why was this left unsaid in the video?

Love the show, but you need to step up the science-geekiness another notch!

I own some kind of braun stick thingy, with changeable bits, but I usually only use the whisk attachment or the blender-with-included-pot-and-lid. I’ve used the ice crusher a few times. I’ve never used the one that you’re meant to have attached when you stick it in the pan.

The perfect cup of tea episode sounds rather excellent. George Orwell wrote a rather good essay on this (“A Nice Cup of Tea”; easily Googleable), and I believe there’s something by Douglas Adams in The Salmon of Doubt. It’d be interesting to see if the various rituals stand up to and kind of scientific analysis (use boiling water, no reboiling water, milk first vs. tea first, etc.). I tend to follow rituals, within the limits of practicality, but then I like my ritualistic caffeine.