If you’re an Alexa house and only need a tiny nuker, check out the Amazon Microwave. Otherwise go with the Wirecutter.
Yeah, these days I tend to start with the Wirecutter articles. The recommended Toshiba EM925A5A is currently discontinued on Amazon and out of stock elsewhere, but the EM131A5C, whose only downside compared to the EM925A5A is the higher price, is still available.
The Amazon microwave looks interesting and I’m considering it. I was little skeptical, and concerned about the proximity to my kitchen Echo (thought the wake word would confuse the two devices), but reading the fine print it turns out that the microwave actually utilizes a separate Echo device for voice activation. That might work out fine. It also boasts that it can determine defrost times based on weight with simple commands, which means no more looking up conversion from ounces to pounds, etc. Although, to be honest, asking Alexa to do the conversion only takes a few seconds.
Still, the more I think about it, the more I think I might actually go for the Amazon microwave. That price is pretty great – half the cost of the Toshiba – and I just bought an expensive Pixel 2 to replace my dead Nexus 5x. Plus I assume the return option has me covered.
I like my Breville, which has a smart sensor that it uses to determine how long to reheat things that is very handy. Also a few other nice design features. Other than that and Amazon’s voice control nonsense I think microwaves remain pretty much microwaves.
Yeah, if you don’t need a big one, why not get the Alexa one? I mean it’s probably not super useful, but what the hell? These things are cheap.
Yup. Thanks for pointing that out, stusser. Even though I’d glanced at it in the past, I would not have really considered the Amazon microwave today otherwise. Decided to pull the trigger because I’m on a super tight budget now due to my phone issues, have very minimal microwave requirements, and feel comforted by the generous return policy. The Alexa feature is a mere potential perk.
Also added the Breville to my kitchen long-term shopping list, malkav11, thanks for mentioning it. (Although honestly, if I ever buy another microwave simply because this one feels inadequate, it’ll probably be the Toshiba because it’s cheaper and I don’t need much out of a microwave.)
The only feature I want in a microwave is a clear remaining time when door opens because people here are lazy and always leave remaining time in the microwave, which means I have to clear it before entering my own stuff.
That sounds like a terrible feature.
Yeah, I wouldn’t want it to clear on door-open, but maybe after 5 minutes of sitting idle. I have the same issue, where I’ll put in my food and start to punch in the time and nothing will happen, and it turns out that somebody got impatient and pulled their food out with 10 seconds left.
Okay, so I got this as a semi-gag gift, because I fail pretty hard at the flippy tong based taco making that my girlfriend does so well. I mean, this would work, if you had about a 4 inch deep deep fryer. In fact, if any of you want it, let me know. As it stands, you can fry one side really, really well. Or both sides, if you waste a ton of oil frying. But the placement angle of the handle is horrible, making you use it from the side instead of downward. Due to that, I can’t even use it in the actual deep fryer I have.
Now I’m in search of something better that works in a much smaller frying skillet or my fryer.
Are the tortillas not still pliable at all, immediately after they come out of the pan? You could use that to shape them.
They are but they are hot and oily, hard to do much. Basically though that’s the method my girlfriend uses, and her father owned a Mexican eatery for a while, though I think she’s using the method he did at the house.
Using tongs she will hold the tortilla shell halfway in the oil at angle. As it starts to harden from frying, she will push the angle part down in the oil, setting the angle she wants. To finish, she flips it and holds the already fried side up. Once also slightly hardened and fried, she pulls it out and sets it to dry and dry with the open side facing down.
It sounds complicated, but she has it down to a science. Me? I completely ruin shells attempting it.
A man’s got to know his limitations. Especially when the GF wants to cook. :)
Whaaaaaaat?
Instant Pot 8 Qt Aura Pro Multi-Use Programmable Multicooker with Sous Vide, Silver https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07GB8C52S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NfdlCb1XA6BEE
Whaaaaaaat what? Is it somehow crazy?
Wait, nevermind.
I had thought the thing was like the normal pressure cooker instant pots, but also with a sous vide function, which would be cool.
But it’s not. It doesn’t function as a pressure cooker.
It’s still a pretty amazing deal, since it is an immersion sous vide, PLUS all the other functions. That’s pretty flipping nice. Can you imagine if it was also a pressure cooker? Man. Instant Pot is knocking it out of the park lately.
One of the things I love about my anova is how compact the unit is and how it can work with anything from a small container to a giant pot. I wouldn’t want a fixed volume sous vide device that takes up a lot of space.
Also, it looks like that thing doesn’t have active water circulation?
Speaking of containers for Sous Vide - over the holidays I had to cook 26 lbs of Brisket for 48 hours. I had this plastic container which I cut a perfect hole in for the Anova - it worked great. I liked the container because it wasn’t too deep. So many potential containers are just too deep & you end up having to put a ton of water in it to cover up the circulation mechanism.
We typically just use our pots for smaller dishes for the family, but when you need to go big, you don’t need a new sous vide. The Anova handled it fine. Funny story is I put this on our Granite countertop and nearby butter started to melt after about 12 hours as the granite heated up.
here’s the pic of me using my CNC to cut out the hole ;-)
I stick a towel under (and even one on top) my sous vide container for longer sessions.
I’ve done similar for both brisket and pork shoulder at this point. It works really well. I just smoke it afterward for a short time. For me, I sous vide it upstairs, well away from the kitchen. It’s really nice having that option.