Sous Vide Steeping

I heard that people had good results with $15 milk frothers. It won’t be as good as industrial strength homogenizer, but it can help for sure. and then you can take the arm it comes with, and stick it in the dremel :slight_smile:

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I’ve been using an electric knife for almost two years. (Sawzall method) with great results. 30 seconds and the mix is completely shaken up.

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IMO frothers are the worst possible tool you can use to mix with. The problem with them in particular is there is no way to control the air that’s invariably being added (forcibly injected) directly into the liquid.

That’s part of the point in using the homogenizer that SmilingOgre uses (it does its mixing below the surface of the liquid). It’s also the point of an ultrasonic (mixing via sound waves in a sealed glass container). It’s also why a sealed bag is referenced in regards to using the Sous-Vide process. All are to mitigate (or limit rather) the amount of air induced into the process. :wink:

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I use to use this little Dremel type tool to blend mixes, but I just shake by hand now.

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I just shook my juices at first and have since been using a hand mixer. My juices do steep faster now and my elbows no longer hurt. Whether this has to with air or more complete blending I don’t know.

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One question about preparing food with a sous vide system. From what I’ve read it talks about low and accurate temp cooking. I’m just wondering the average temp and cooking time for say like a steak? Also what is the max cooking temp with the sous vide?

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I like to do Portorhouse at 140°F (medium rare-ish) for four hours. Further cooking time will not “cook” it more but will break down more tendon tissue. I find four hours the sweet spot for the texture I like best. After cooking Souse Vide a 1.5 minute sear on each side will finish the steak very nicely. I cut my steaks at 1", and end up with about 1/16 of an inch seared and the rest of the inside is done uniformly. Serve with horseradish cream and sides. Wonderful!!! I’ll put them against Ruth’s Chris steak house any day of the week.

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I’m reading all messages (24) and will answer each one tomorrow!!!

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I think there’s much appreciation for the low-and-slow non-frothing “blending” you can achieve with a mag stirrer, but can you put raw cows milk on the mag stirrer and get an equivalent to homogenized milk? Now I am comparing homogenizing liquids and fats (raw milk), but the notion that comparison highlights (and the question it begs) is the molecular level at which we can or cannot achieve with our current toolbox.

“Steeping” is a simple Rate Reaction, and there are factors which affect that timeframe all of which are in this discussion …concentration (steeping as “One Shot” type bases?), temperature, and pressure. Getting real answers …like what temp is too high, or at what hour/minute would homogenizing or heat steeping be time wasted? An actual study sounds like a huge undertaking. Imagine all that testing …daunting but compelling …and likely already done …and someone else’s Intellectual Property

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Well encapsulated. Great question per the homogenizing and one I ask as well. In juices there is no tissue or “solids” to “grind” down to smaller particle size which is one of the beatitudes of the homogenizing.

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From the way I understand it homogenizing is done by breaking down components to a uniform size along the line of a grinding mill for example. the difference would be like stirring a bunch of different sized marbles or grinding them all to near the same size and mixing. so no i do not think so

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Milk’s homogenized by forcing it at high speed through a small screen. This breaks down the fats and emulsifies it so it does not separate. As opposed to pasteurizing, which is another word altogether.

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This is going to be the last update unless something comes up that is significantly different. Third batch came out of the hopper this morning and it is much the same as the first two. This one is a “side by side” as I had about 30ml left of a batch made a couple of months ago. Flavor is stronger than the one that sat and “better” per my pallet. I did get some rubber stoppers for the flasks and drilled one for the homogenizer probe, thus further limiting airing time. I wouldn’t be surprised if the flavor diminished over time as the bottle is opened up for filling atties. Time will tell. This was a simple recipe of coconut, two strawberries, watermelon, and some sweetener.

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I had a problem and unfortunately I could not respond to the messages at the end of the week. I have some updates on the method :slight_smile: Wait!

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I think 99% of all process in the world can be accelerated, but sometimes you cannot expect the same results. In e-liquid, for example, the results are very near, maybe the same for some people. But for some juice makers, there are some diferences in flavors notes, texture and things like that.

I like to compare steeping with some cooking process, which are pretty much the same. As degassing, evaporation, heating, stir, etc.

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One thing that many find is that the main function of steeping is to mix the “main ingredients”, the bases. But that’s not how it works. With some tests I’ve done, I’ve noticed that glycerin and propylene blend relatively quickly, but the great goal of steeping is to give the flavors time to lose their acidity, that bad feeling we feel in the mouth and take their due place to get the desired flavor. I’ve seen a lot of people making clone recipe and complaining about being bad … The secret is not in the essence, but in what you do to bring the notes of taste

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One thing I would like to save here for you who are following the topic. Is that the application of ANOVA (brand of my sous vide), allows you to create and save your own recipes (I do not know if others also have). The interesting thing is that I’m calculating the exact maturation time of each e-liquid and saving in the application. So when I need to do more, just click on the recipe and leave it there for some time. This makes the job more automated and easy for us to do in bulk

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Thanks to all who helped in this doubt of steeping with sous vide. The process is really functional and practical, since we have the application of ANOVA that gives a little more convenience when it comes to maturing the e-liquids. I apologize for the time I was off, I opened my own e-liquid mark and I’m using this method to mature. As already mentioned above, 1 hour on sous vide = a week of regular steeping. It’s not exactly that account, but it’s very close.

One tip I give you that you want to test is: Start with lower temperatures (40 ° C ~ 45 ° C) to “protect” the simpler molecules like mentholated and fruity ones and increase and test to see the best temperature 55 ° C). Place the e-liquid jars in the water inside a plastic bag to prevent direct contact of the plastic with the hot water and only when the water reaches the desired temperature. Putting it on first will make you lose some control of time.

Lately I have preferred to keep temperatures lower (42.5 ° C) for a longer amount of time (6 ~ 7 hours) in order not to give that very rapid “temperature” shock. After all we want to accelerate steeping. From 1 month to 1 day I think it is a very satisfactory result, we do not have to try in 2 or 4 hours.

Anyway, thanks to all who helped with tips or even doubts that made me delve deeper into the topic. Any doubt I am available

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Have you seen this ratio with all the types of flavors, i.e. creams, fruits, custards, etc?

I know I was a Negative Nelly earlier in the thread, but if your research does indicate such results, I am not going to try to debate that. Thanks for updating the thread. Very interesting! Of course, I have to ask, what machine are you using?

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No one will take your fun away testing different methods. But I just warm a final mix , shake, and let it sit, covered. Nothing else - it works good for me.

Not saying this guys video is the truth but comparing different methods has been done before. - Below, Different Steep Methods Uncovered Video.

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