The food thread

"retired" egg laying hens to the stores. Great food.
Referred to as 'Stewing hens' in these parts. Inexpensive and full of flavour.
There appears to be more variety to cleavers than I imagined.
I give them my own names. They vary in the thickness of blade, overall weight and bevel of the cutting edge. The thinner the blade, the less the angle.

The Slicer is the thin flexy one. It has a nice 'ping' when you tap the blade. Veggies and flesh.

Combo is the next thickness up. If you have only one, this is it. Can do it all but somewhat limited.

Boner which can slice a bit but is better for bone joints and smaller bones.

Bonecrusher destroys the bones you intend to use for stock. Larger bones.

Beyond Bonecrusher you use a saw.
 
We have an OTR combi unit and to be honest we rarely use it for anything other than the microwave. The oven function is slow to heat and seems to be cooler than what you set it at. We also have not had much luck doing the combi method of cooking.

Ours was bought as a Kenmore Elite so it's likely either a Samsung or LG.

:confused: Yes, very mixed reviews on a number of sites. My SO is not very into technology so maybe the whole idea is too optimistic.
 
Then get some if you ever have the chance ;)

We may be a ways off for that. There may only be one publicly accessible tree here and it's close to an hour drive. I also don't see any place to buy the fruit. Lots of nurseries selling saplings or cuttings or seed stock but no markets selling the that I can find.
 
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A friend of mine who is a jeweler and knows a thing or two about metal, does the opposite. He "pulls" the blade across the surface to deliberately create a wire along the edge, the with a series of alternating strokes breaks off the wire leaving a very sharp edge, which is also what a strop does. He start with, say, ten strokes on one side then ten on the other, then nine each side, then eight, etc, then once each side for ten repetitions.

I have tried it both ways and prefer my way to set an edge, and his way to finish it.

When learning to sharpen woodworking chisels and plane blades, I always heard that breaking off a wire edge left a ragged and weak cutting edge that would not hold up under use. The idea was to hone the blade until a slight burr was formed on the back side, then to flip the blade and polish that burr off leaving a clean, sharp edge. This was repeated with progressively finer grit stones to polish the edge. Sharp meant sharp enough to cleanly shave the hair on the back of your hand.
 
^BettermusicianthanI -- that was how I've learned as well (for both!), but going only to a pull stroke on the finest stone and strop (at an oh so slightly shallower angle).

And wherever it needs to be said, I do try to move my hands and wrists the least amount possible while sharpening and do most of the movement in elbows and shoulders. That keeps the angle much more consistent.
 
Leaving a wire edge and finishing off depends on the steel alloy. Chisels are usually used with force and thus use an alloy that does not chip easily so those are usually ground on one edge and then the back to finish off the resulting burr. Knives tend to be more flexible so some of their alloys tend to form a wire that can be polished off leaving an edge.

If you are really good you can sharpen an axe well enough to shave!

Needless to say I have a lot of sharpening tools as I have a lot of tools! (Still looking for a few more sharpening gizmos!)
 
We may be a ways off for that. There may only be one publicly accessible tree here and it's close to an hour drive. I also don't see any place to buy the fruit. Lots of nurseries selling saplings or cuttings or seed stock but no markets selling the fruit that I can find.

It was a bit tongue in cheek, sorry. Honestly, it's good but a robust, spicy pear compote would be just as nice.
 
Tonight such a simple meal. Chicken wings, a couple dipping sauces, bitter melon and the real bacon. Eight days in the brine then one day drying in the fridge. I will do the same vinegar treatment for the skin, start it in the air fryer, then slice and pan fry. It's only a small piece as I am experimenting again. I am hoping it's not too salty. I don't want to use this bacon in a one-pot...





...again.