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As a student myself I’d appreciate all those recipe sites to have a filter by appliances. Seems half of recipes involving meat requires a stove I don’t have.

by Savely 3y ago

denkmoon 3y ago
https://www.amazon.com/NutriChef-Portable-Induction-Cooktop-Electronic-Flameless/dp/B08CHGPBW3 https://www.amazon.com/NutriChef-Portable-Induction-Cooktop-... Perhaps a single burner induction cooktop is in your budget, which you can use to brown/fry meat.
- SapporoChris 3y ago
  Thank you for posting this. It made me realize that with this very portable device I can eliminate a stove from dwelling requirements.
  - cinntaile 3y ago
    A lot of dishes would require more than one of these, at which point you might as well get an actual stove.
    - Eisenstein 3y ago
      With an Instant Pot, an induction burner, and a toaster oven you can make anything that would require a normal kitchen, just in smaller portions (as in, you aren't cooking a whole turkey or a giant casserole).
      - Scoundreller 3y ago
        Yeah, my “dream” kitchen that I’ll never have would have those instead of a range. And maybe a big slow cooker that could do a turkey. Edit: oh yeah, add an air fryer and bread machine. And kettle obvs. Preheats water for a pasta pot faster than the stove. Immersion >> conduction heating. The amount spent on a range buys a lot of gadgets. Not even wiring one up saves a circuit and dedicated run. I couldn’t live without a dishwasher though…
        Eisenstein 3y ago
        How many people are you cooking for? I find that a dishwasher when only used for one or two people is more of a nuisance than washing dishes as they are used, mostly because you have to basically use all of your dishes before running it.
        Scoundreller 3y ago
        Usually two, but I usually rinse plates if they have something that I know cakes on. When I empty it, I’ll let anything that needs another run in for the next run. Don’t need to run it every night.
        SergeAx 3y ago
        You cannot achieve a dishwasher quality with your hands only. Partially because of the temperature, partially because of chemicals. I will never even try to wash wine glasses by hands.
        cinntaile 3y ago
        If you wash by hand you create a lot of friction so I wouldn't underestimate it. You'll likely also have less detergent residue on your dishes if you wash by hand, which apparently could be good for keeping your gut lining intact.
        SergeAx 3y ago
        While all these are valid points, you just have to compare hand- and machine-washed glasses once and will never confuse them again. I believe that standard machine cycle includes enough rinsing to wash off detergent, but you may do another rinse just in case.
        cinntaile 3y ago
        If I want squeaky-clean glasses, I clean them by hand so I can't say that I relate to your experience. Perhaps the dishwashing detergent that you use contains different chemicals.
      - x3m157 3y ago
        If you can get one of those countertop convention ovens (typically marketed as an air fryer/toaster oven combo) you can do quite a bit of what an oven/range can do. I use mine more than my actual oven now, and with some creativity I could probably use it almost entirely if I didn't have a range.
      - TeMPOraL 3y ago
        On that note, I've been wondering about the recent hype about "air fryers", which - best I can tell, after looking into it repeatedly - are basically countertop, underpowered version of fan ovens that have been, in my life, a standard appliance in every kitchen I've ever seen. But maybe it's a sign of worsening economical prospects of the generation - people no longer own, only rent, increasingly worse quality apartments, so a basic kitchen with a fridge, a stove, an oven and maybe dishwasher and microwave, are things people no longer can rely on, or expect to have?
        Eisenstein 3y ago
        Maybe having modular devices that can do things as necessary and then be stowed are more practical than having large appliances bolted into counters taking space? I think that it is impractical for everyone in the world to have as much space as we currently think we need. We can get along just fine with smaller living spaces -- it is not a sign of poverty to be efficient.
        ericswpark 3y ago
        The one advantage that air fryers have over standard convection ovens (IMHO) is that you can make smaller portions, and because these products are designed to cook small portions they can direct a ton of heat at the food, cooking it very quickly. Prepackaged meals' instructions usually mirror my experience as well, saying that cooking in an air fryer will require less cook time compared to an oven, and a drastically lower temperature as the heating element is literally right next to the food as the air circulates the heat. Otherwise, if you already have a convection oven and don't mind waiting a bit longer, I don't see a good reason for purchasing an air fryer (other than the aforementioned advantage).
        diffeomorphism 3y ago
        Not so much underpowered, but rather faster heat, higher fan speed and smaller (so proportionally higher powered but only useful for smaller portions). That makes it more convenient for many people than a regular convection oven. Not to say they are not over hyped, but they have their niche.
        denkmoon 3y ago
- doctor_eval 3y ago
  Just want to second this. My family of four have been waiting for more than a year for our new kitchen (long and boring story) and we’ve managed fine after buying two of these to get by. And we enjoy cooking. So if you’re just starting out this is a great buy. A full size stove will have a larger element and better heat control but you won’t notice. And they are way better than a gas camp stove.
  - amluto 3y ago
    If you upgrade to a Breville Control Freak (not cheap, but cheaper than your new kitchen) and you get used to it (it require recalibrating your concept of how to use a stove a bit), you might find that you never use your new stove in your new kitchen. The Control Freak has: Better heat control. (That’s the entire point. It smokes essentially everything else in the market.) Painless preheating. Put on your pan, turn it on and set a temp, and go gather ingredients. Done. (Warning: it can substantially overshoot with cast iron, so be a bit careful.) Element size: it seems to produce more even heat on a 12” or even 14” pan than most gas ranges, even fancy ones. And you can use it with cheaper pans that have thick bottoms and thin sides without burning everything on the side. Your gas burner won’t be able to do this. Did I mention the heat control? You can cook pancakes without messing up the first batch (350F). You can do soft scrambled eggs pretty easily (240F or so and turn it off a bit before they look done). You can make chai easily (211F or so, then reduce to 185F before adding milk, then wait at least 20 min if not much longer). Perfect golden onions: 300F or so and stir occasionally — they won’t burn. Perfect chopped garlic: 230F or even cooler and be patient, although this is a matter of taste. Caution: the numbers are a bit different with different pans. It even doubles as a pretty good deep fryer if you’re careful. It caused me to change my opinion of cast iron skillets a bit: the high thermal may actually mostly be a crutch that compensates a bit for the lack of closed loop control in most stoves. Once you have closed-loop control, I suspect what you actually want is just enough thermal mass to get good control performance combined with enough thermal conductivity to maintain a decent temperature under inhomogeneous loads (pancakes, onions, etc) while those loads are busily sinking heat from the parts of the pan they’re on. Cast iron has under half the thermal conductivity of aluminum.
    - 3y ago
defrost 3y ago
Who needs a stove? https://youtu.be/lvVplicKlrc?t=185 https://youtu.be/lvVplicKlrc?t=185
b112 3y ago
My perspnal hotel/dorm microwave+toaster grilled cheese sandwich. Toast bread in toaster first, well toasted. Put cheese slices on toast and nuke until it melts. The result is not mushy, due to the bread already being warm, and the minimal time in the microwave.

As a student myself I’d appreciate all those recipe sites to have a filter by appliances. Seems half of recipes involving meat requires a stove I don’t have.

by Savely 3y ago

As a student myself I’d appreciate all those recipe sites to have a filter by appliances. Seems half of recipes involving meat requires a stove I don’t have.

denkmoon 3y ago

https://www.amazon.com/NutriChef-Portable-Induction-Cooktop-Electronic-Flameless/dp/B08CHGPBW3 https://www.amazon.com/NutriChef-Portable-Induction-Cooktop-... Perhaps a single burner induction cooktop is in your budget, which you can use to brown/fry meat.

SapporoChris 3y ago
Thank you for posting this. It made me realize that with this very portable device I can eliminate a stove from dwelling requirements.
- cinntaile 3y ago
  A lot of dishes would require more than one of these, at which point you might as well get an actual stove.
  - Eisenstein 3y ago
    With an Instant Pot, an induction burner, and a toaster oven you can make anything that would require a normal kitchen, just in smaller portions (as in, you aren't cooking a whole turkey or a giant casserole).
    - Scoundreller 3y ago
      Yeah, my “dream” kitchen that I’ll never have would have those instead of a range. And maybe a big slow cooker that could do a turkey. Edit: oh yeah, add an air fryer and bread machine. And kettle obvs. Preheats water for a pasta pot faster than the stove. Immersion >> conduction heating. The amount spent on a range buys a lot of gadgets. Not even wiring one up saves a circuit and dedicated run. I couldn’t live without a dishwasher though…
      - Eisenstein 3y ago
        How many people are you cooking for? I find that a dishwasher when only used for one or two people is more of a nuisance than washing dishes as they are used, mostly because you have to basically use all of your dishes before running it.
        Scoundreller 3y ago
        Usually two, but I usually rinse plates if they have something that I know cakes on. When I empty it, I’ll let anything that needs another run in for the next run. Don’t need to run it every night.
        SergeAx 3y ago
        You cannot achieve a dishwasher quality with your hands only. Partially because of the temperature, partially because of chemicals. I will never even try to wash wine glasses by hands.
        cinntaile 3y ago
        If you wash by hand you create a lot of friction so I wouldn't underestimate it. You'll likely also have less detergent residue on your dishes if you wash by hand, which apparently could be good for keeping your gut lining intact.
        SergeAx 3y ago
        While all these are valid points, you just have to compare hand- and machine-washed glasses once and will never confuse them again. I believe that standard machine cycle includes enough rinsing to wash off detergent, but you may do another rinse just in case.
        cinntaile 3y ago
        If I want squeaky-clean glasses, I clean them by hand so I can't say that I relate to your experience. Perhaps the dishwashing detergent that you use contains different chemicals.
    - x3m157 3y ago
      If you can get one of those countertop convention ovens (typically marketed as an air fryer/toaster oven combo) you can do quite a bit of what an oven/range can do. I use mine more than my actual oven now, and with some creativity I could probably use it almost entirely if I didn't have a range.
    - TeMPOraL 3y ago
      On that note, I've been wondering about the recent hype about "air fryers", which - best I can tell, after looking into it repeatedly - are basically countertop, underpowered version of fan ovens that have been, in my life, a standard appliance in every kitchen I've ever seen. But maybe it's a sign of worsening economical prospects of the generation - people no longer own, only rent, increasingly worse quality apartments, so a basic kitchen with a fridge, a stove, an oven and maybe dishwasher and microwave, are things people no longer can rely on, or expect to have?
      - Eisenstein 3y ago
        Maybe having modular devices that can do things as necessary and then be stowed are more practical than having large appliances bolted into counters taking space? I think that it is impractical for everyone in the world to have as much space as we currently think we need. We can get along just fine with smaller living spaces -- it is not a sign of poverty to be efficient.
      - ericswpark 3y ago
        The one advantage that air fryers have over standard convection ovens (IMHO) is that you can make smaller portions, and because these products are designed to cook small portions they can direct a ton of heat at the food, cooking it very quickly. Prepackaged meals' instructions usually mirror my experience as well, saying that cooking in an air fryer will require less cook time compared to an oven, and a drastically lower temperature as the heating element is literally right next to the food as the air circulates the heat. Otherwise, if you already have a convection oven and don't mind waiting a bit longer, I don't see a good reason for purchasing an air fryer (other than the aforementioned advantage).
      - diffeomorphism 3y ago
        Not so much underpowered, but rather faster heat, higher fan speed and smaller (so proportionally higher powered but only useful for smaller portions). That makes it more convenient for many people than a regular convection oven. Not to say they are not over hyped, but they have their niche.
      - denkmoon 3y ago
doctor_eval 3y ago
Just want to second this. My family of four have been waiting for more than a year for our new kitchen (long and boring story) and we’ve managed fine after buying two of these to get by. And we enjoy cooking. So if you’re just starting out this is a great buy. A full size stove will have a larger element and better heat control but you won’t notice. And they are way better than a gas camp stove.
- amluto 3y ago
  If you upgrade to a Breville Control Freak (not cheap, but cheaper than your new kitchen) and you get used to it (it require recalibrating your concept of how to use a stove a bit), you might find that you never use your new stove in your new kitchen. The Control Freak has: Better heat control. (That’s the entire point. It smokes essentially everything else in the market.) Painless preheating. Put on your pan, turn it on and set a temp, and go gather ingredients. Done. (Warning: it can substantially overshoot with cast iron, so be a bit careful.) Element size: it seems to produce more even heat on a 12” or even 14” pan than most gas ranges, even fancy ones. And you can use it with cheaper pans that have thick bottoms and thin sides without burning everything on the side. Your gas burner won’t be able to do this. Did I mention the heat control? You can cook pancakes without messing up the first batch (350F). You can do soft scrambled eggs pretty easily (240F or so and turn it off a bit before they look done). You can make chai easily (211F or so, then reduce to 185F before adding milk, then wait at least 20 min if not much longer). Perfect golden onions: 300F or so and stir occasionally — they won’t burn. Perfect chopped garlic: 230F or even cooler and be patient, although this is a matter of taste. Caution: the numbers are a bit different with different pans. It even doubles as a pretty good deep fryer if you’re careful. It caused me to change my opinion of cast iron skillets a bit: the high thermal may actually mostly be a crutch that compensates a bit for the lack of closed loop control in most stoves. Once you have closed-loop control, I suspect what you actually want is just enough thermal mass to get good control performance combined with enough thermal conductivity to maintain a decent temperature under inhomogeneous loads (pancakes, onions, etc) while those loads are busily sinking heat from the parts of the pan they’re on. Cast iron has under half the thermal conductivity of aluminum.
  - 3y ago

defrost 3y ago

Who needs a stove? https://youtu.be/lvVplicKlrc?t=185 https://youtu.be/lvVplicKlrc?t=185

b112 3y ago

My perspnal hotel/dorm microwave+toaster grilled cheese sandwich. Toast bread in toaster first, well toasted. Put cheese slices on toast and nuke until it melts. The result is not mushy, due to the bread already being warm, and the minimal time in the microwave.