Guest guest Posted October 5, 2007 Report Share Posted October 5, 2007 Hi Mark, I feel so very grateful that you published this post. So often, people jump to conclusions and offer " advice " , without asking any questions, not even attempting to understand someone's motivation, the real issues someone is facing, etc. I appreciate the opportunity to understand your motivation and intention!! Bravo! Elchanan _____ mstrong56 [mstrong] Friday, October 05, 2007 2:54 AM rawfood [Raw Food] Re: Question about Saladacco Hi Erica, I'm not bashing it to sell mine. I'm in the electronics manufacturing business. I just make raw food kitchen stuff when I can't find something reasonable that I personally want to use. Maybe Saladacco works fine for your needs. I'm a bit of a nut when it comes to kitchen stuff. For example i think Vita Mix is wimpy and have a 5 HP Waring with a 1 gallon stainless container. I think Cusineart food processors are wimpy and I have a RoboCoupe R2Dice. I have a giant ultrasonic tank to clean my veggies, etc. Were I primarily interested selling my stuff, certainly I would have made a web site to do so. In fact please contact me privately with your mailing address and I'll send you few for yourself and your frinds to try out, free. I think I have made something much better and that you guys will prefer it. You decide. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 2007 Report Share Posted October 5, 2007 Well thank you, It is common to make snap assumptions about the motivations of others. Unfortunately assuming others are acting out of 100% self interest is usually (but not always) correct. I'm not the least bit offended, as it isn't about me and I don't take anything personally, because it never has anything to do with me. When I went raw (mostly) I came from being a pretty serious amatuer cook. I love gadgets and devices (I'm an engineer). I was unhappy with most of my new kitchen tools for raw stuff. I decided I would collect the best, become a dealer for them and manufacture the missing links, where there was nothing good available. I would then sell them dirt cheap to my raw buddies. I think I was overly ambitious in deciding to do that, as I'm already WAY overloaded with my successful electronics manufacturing business. So anyway, I am comfortable enough that sometimes I just manufacture stuff because I feel like it and I want one, personally. That was the case with the spiral slicer. Now I have a pile of them and I find myself too busy to sell them. In fooling around in the kitchen, I have bought every single known version of all common veg/raw kitchen tools and tested all of them. Here is a report that I hope will save people time and steer them to stuff that works the best: Spiral Sclicer, the Benriner, or my improved version of it. Peeler, the OXO good grips one with the replaceable blades (gray part opposite the blade). I have literally tested ALL of them, the ceramic ones, the Swiss and French ones, the Zyliss, etc. and yes the commonly available OXO is the best. Julienne Peeler, this is a cool time saving item. Get nice julienne shreds with a peeler that cleans up in seconds. Again OXO wins. Zyliss and Kyocera are OK too, I just don't like the harp designs, I find the traditional straight ones way faster. Knives, Kyocera ceramic knives work best, brittle, don't pry with them or they will snap, but for slicing they are like razor blades. You want (I prefer) the 7 " chef knife (I see no advantage to the popular Santuko - too short), the micro serrated tomato knife, the paring knife. Intersting info on these, they come in black and in white, the black cost about 10% more and is worth it. They are black because they go through the sintering process a second time making them a lot harder and they hold the edge about a year longer - same process they use on their way too expensive damascus knoves for way less $$$. These things dull after a few YEARS, you send them back and they diamond sharpen them for free. You can't beat these for slicing, BUT you will also want a BIG steel chef's knife for heavy duty hacking. DO NOT use ceramic knives on anything but wood chopping blocks. For the big steel chef's knife I find Tramontina to be identical to German knives for a fraction of the $$$ Mandolins, ARGHH, I have several thousand dollars worth and the winner was the one I already owned from a food show 20 years ago!!! I have Zyliss, Bron, OXO, Kyocera ceramic and MANY others. Long story short, ones that have a single straight blade suck because the food smashes into the blade and doesn't cut well (tomatos are hopeless), single slant blade, poor performance as well. You NEED a V shaped blade to actually cut. Next item most of these have PATHETIC food holders, you will chop your fingers off without a good holder. The Borner V slicer is hands down the way to go. The food holder has metal tines that securely hold the food and a plunger with holes in it to push the food off the metal times as you are slicing, safe, fast and simple, not too expensive either. This thing will give you a LOT of interesting and attractive cuts without cutting yourself. Other interesting stuff: Evert Fresh Storage bags, these keep fresh produce fresh twice as long. Organic produce isn't cheap. Salad spinners: Zyliss pull type vs. OXO plunger type. OXO is better. I have a Ditto Dean, sweet, but most folks don't want one that big (5 gal) - what do you expect from someone that thinks if an appliance isn't 3 phase 220V.... well I digress Coring Tool, some folks like to eat cores, I don't, OXO is nice My favorite hand tool? a butter curler shaped like a question mark, rips bell pepper veins out in seconds, use it at least daily For the excessive (like me) check out Nemco for SERIOUS hand operated slicers, dicers and the like. BIG but way more precision control than a food processor. Food processor: RoboCoupe R2 has continuous side discharge, no stopping to empty the container. Fill a tub of shredded veggies in seconds. I have the R2Dice becuase I make tons of salsa in seconds, also the Dice model is 2 HP (more power Tim). Well, maybe I'm nuts, but there are few that can crank out 20-30 lbs of beautiful, attractive looking raw dishes in minutes the way I can... hey gotta fill all those Rubbermaid Commercial 8 qt food containers for the week in 15 minutes tops. I want it perfect, I want a ton and I want it FAST so I can get back to my Zen sitting and chill. My wife told me that if my excessive kitchen prep equipment wasn't kept out of sight in cabinets she would leave. I'm going to miss her (I'm not kidding). PS - I have yet to find a satisfactory cutting board. It needs to be end grain wood, full counter depth, not warp, about 2 x 3 feet and have the ability to keep the water from wet vegetables from flowing all over the counter, maybe I'll work on that next. rawfood , " Elchanan " <Elchanan wrote: > > Hi Mark, > > I feel so very grateful that you published this post. So often, people jump > to conclusions and offer " advice " , without asking any questions, not even > attempting to understand someone's motivation, the real issues someone is > facing, etc. I appreciate the opportunity to understand your motivation and > intention!! > > Bravo! > > Elchanan > _____ > > mstrong56 [mstrong] > Friday, October 05, 2007 2:54 AM > rawfood > [Raw Food] Re: Question about Saladacco > > > Hi Erica, > > I'm not bashing it to sell mine. I'm in the electronics manufacturing > business. I just make raw food kitchen stuff when I can't find something > reasonable that I personally want to use. > > Maybe Saladacco works fine for your needs. I'm a bit of a nut when it comes > to kitchen stuff. For example i think Vita Mix is wimpy and have a 5 HP > Waring with a 1 gallon stainless container. I think Cusineart food > processors are wimpy and I have a RoboCoupe R2Dice. I have a giant > ultrasonic tank to clean my veggies, etc. > > Were I primarily interested selling my stuff, certainly I would have made a > web site to do so. In fact please contact me privately with your mailing > address and I'll send you few for yourself and your frinds to try out, free. > I think I have made something much better and that you guys will prefer it. > You decide. > > Mark > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 2007 Report Share Posted October 5, 2007 thanks for the report. i tend to be a pretty hardcore gadget collector myself but am no where near your level. i'm a grad student now but doubt that even when i am employed (history professors don't make that much) i'll be able to afford some of those items. but some of them i can and your tips (like the one about the mandolin and ceramic knives) are much appreciated. hope you find a way to keep the wife and the gadgets -keda On 10/5/07, mstrong56 <mstrong wrote: > > Well thank you, > > It is common to make snap assumptions about the motivations of > others. Unfortunately assuming others are acting out of 100% self > interest is usually (but not always) correct. > > I'm not the least bit offended, as it isn't about me and I don't take > anything personally, because it never has anything to do with me. > > When I went raw (mostly) I came from being a pretty serious amatuer > cook. I love gadgets and devices (I'm an engineer). I was unhappy > with most of my new kitchen tools for raw stuff. I decided I would > collect the best, become a dealer for them and manufacture the > missing links, where there was nothing good available. I would then > sell them dirt cheap to my raw buddies. I think I was overly > ambitious in deciding to do that, as I'm already WAY overloaded with > my successful electronics manufacturing business. > > So anyway, I am comfortable enough that sometimes I just manufacture > stuff because I feel like it and I want one, personally. That was > the case with the spiral slicer. Now I have a pile of them and I > find myself too busy to sell them. > > In fooling around in the kitchen, I have bought every single known > version of all common veg/raw kitchen tools and tested all of them. > > Here is a report that I hope will save people time and steer them to > stuff that works the best: > > Spiral Sclicer, the Benriner, or my improved version of it. > > Peeler, the OXO good grips one with the replaceable blades (gray part > opposite the blade). I have literally tested ALL of them, the > ceramic ones, the Swiss and French ones, the Zyliss, etc. and yes the > commonly available OXO is the best. > > Julienne Peeler, this is a cool time saving item. Get nice julienne > shreds with a peeler that cleans up in seconds. Again OXO wins. > Zyliss and Kyocera are OK too, I just don't like the harp designs, I > find the traditional straight ones way faster. > > Knives, Kyocera ceramic knives work best, brittle, don't pry with > them or they will snap, but for slicing they are like razor blades. > You want (I prefer) the 7 " chef knife (I see no advantage to the > popular Santuko - too short), the micro serrated tomato knife, the > paring knife. > Intersting info on these, they come in black and in white, the black > cost about 10% more and is worth it. They are black because they go > through the sintering process a second time making them a lot harder > and they hold the edge about a year longer - same process they use on > their way too expensive damascus knoves for way less $$$. These > things dull after a few YEARS, you send them back and they diamond > sharpen them for free. You can't beat these for slicing, BUT you > will also want a BIG steel chef's knife for heavy duty hacking. DO > NOT use ceramic knives on anything but wood chopping blocks. For the > big steel chef's knife I find Tramontina to be identical to German > knives for a fraction of the $$$ > > Mandolins, ARGHH, I have several thousand dollars worth and the > winner was the one I already owned from a food show 20 years ago!!! > I have Zyliss, Bron, OXO, Kyocera ceramic and MANY others. Long > story short, ones that have a single straight blade suck because the > food smashes into the blade and doesn't cut well (tomatos are > hopeless), single slant blade, poor performance as well. You NEED a > V shaped blade to actually cut. Next item most of these have > PATHETIC food holders, you will chop your fingers off without a good > holder. The Borner V slicer is hands down the way to go. The food > holder has metal tines that securely hold the food and a plunger with > holes in it to push the food off the metal times as you are slicing, > safe, fast and simple, not too expensive either. This thing will > give you a LOT of interesting and attractive cuts without cutting > yourself. > > Other interesting stuff: > > Evert Fresh Storage bags, these keep fresh produce fresh twice as > long. Organic produce isn't cheap. > > Salad spinners: Zyliss pull type vs. OXO plunger type. OXO is > better. I have a Ditto Dean, sweet, but most folks don't want one > that big (5 gal) - what do you expect from someone that thinks if an > appliance isn't 3 phase 220V.... well I digress > > Coring Tool, some folks like to eat cores, I don't, OXO is nice > > My favorite hand tool? a butter curler shaped like a question mark, > rips bell pepper veins out in seconds, use it at least daily > > For the excessive (like me) check out Nemco for SERIOUS hand operated > slicers, dicers and the like. BIG but way more precision control > than a food processor. > > Food processor: RoboCoupe R2 has continuous side discharge, no > stopping to empty the container. Fill a tub of shredded veggies in > seconds. I have the R2Dice becuase I make tons of salsa in seconds, > also the Dice model is 2 HP (more power Tim). > > Well, maybe I'm nuts, but there are few that can crank out 20-30 lbs > of beautiful, attractive looking raw dishes in minutes the way I > can... hey gotta fill all those Rubbermaid Commercial 8 qt food > containers for the week in 15 minutes tops. I want it perfect, I > want a ton and I want it FAST so I can get back to my Zen sitting and > chill. > > My wife told me that if my excessive kitchen prep equipment wasn't > kept out of sight in cabinets she would leave. I'm going to miss her > (I'm not kidding). > > PS - I have yet to find a satisfactory cutting board. It needs to be > end grain wood, full counter depth, not warp, about 2 x 3 feet and > have the ability to keep the water from wet vegetables from flowing > all over the counter, maybe I'll work on that next. > > rawfood <rawfood%40>, " Elchanan " > <Elchanan wrote: > > > > Hi Mark, > > > > I feel so very grateful that you published this post. So often, > people jump > > to conclusions and offer " advice " , without asking any questions, > not even > > attempting to understand someone's motivation, the real issues > someone is > > facing, etc. I appreciate the opportunity to understand your > motivation and > > intention!! > > > > Bravo! > > > > Elchanan > > _____ > > > > mstrong56 [mstrong] > > Friday, October 05, 2007 2:54 AM > > rawfood <rawfood%40> > > [Raw Food] Re: Question about Saladacco > > > > > > Hi Erica, > > > > I'm not bashing it to sell mine. I'm in the electronics > manufacturing > > business. I just make raw food kitchen stuff when I can't find > something > > reasonable that I personally want to use. > > > > Maybe Saladacco works fine for your needs. I'm a bit of a nut when > it comes > > to kitchen stuff. For example i think Vita Mix is wimpy and have a > 5 HP > > Waring with a 1 gallon stainless container. I think Cusineart food > > processors are wimpy and I have a RoboCoupe R2Dice. I have a giant > > ultrasonic tank to clean my veggies, etc. > > > > Were I primarily interested selling my stuff, certainly I would > have made a > > web site to do so. In fact please contact me privately with your > mailing > > address and I'll send you few for yourself and your frinds to try > out, free. > > I think I have made something much better and that you guys will > prefer it. > > You decide. > > > > Mark > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 6, 2007 Report Share Posted October 6, 2007 > My wife told me that if my excessive kitchen prep equipment wasn't > kept out of sight in cabinets she would leave. I'm going to miss her > (I'm not kidding). I love you! You're energy is fabulous. Thanks again. Erica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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