Team-BHP - The Home Appliance thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 3844082)

Actually, all you "Rightist" people goaded me into trying out an OTG:

In celebrating our pig-headedness, I solemnly record my observations:

OTG was supposed to be 'preheated' (already disqualified?!) for 10 min.
Did not preheat, but set temp to 155 deg C and timer about 5 min and placed the bread slices for a little stiffening up to apply butter. (4 slices at one go)
Removed hardened slices of bread, buttered them up both sides
Replaced on grill, restarted timer (this OTG has top and bottom heaters)
Watched the slices for a bit, no change, increase temp to 180
Saw it turn a nice brown, hurriedly switched off - 2 burnt, 2 in the front were browned.

Total time nearly 25 mins - may be with experience 15 minutes? for toasting

4 slices. This was a cooking project! Not a toast and tea and get going thing.

My biased report: A toaster is best suited to toasting - quick, and once timed correctly, it will stop toasting and save your toast from burning and if not golden, another short cycle and its done.

The OTG is best for those gourmet cooks making something exotic with bread or baking something really delicious, umm...

Don't get me started on the energy consumption of the OTG vs toaster...

QED - Buttered bread MUST be turned into perfect golden toast in a toaster.

I can't give any comparative figures, because, even if it is going to end up as cheese-on-toast, I make the toast first, in a toaster.

Way back then, though, I used to have a stand-alone cooker with a separate grill, and I think it was fairly quick. It would have been gas, not electric, and some gas grills work but others are dreadful.

The worse problem with grill toasting is... burnt toast.

For my taste, toast will be buttered after toasting. I like the butter to melt in, but with some left on the surface. If you apply the heat to bread and butter, then you are cooking the butter and, partly frying the bread. I think there will be quite a difference, and I can understand that you have a strong preference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 3844082)

mvadg, I wish I could thank posts in this thread: I love that you are "pig headed" in insisting on getting results from your toaster that you want, whether it is right use or not.

Wishing you many happy rounds of buttered toast --- made for you, just the way you like it :)

Yes, I'll be much more careful with my new grinder, when I get one. The dead one was only a few weeks old. I am now fed up with crushing a pinch of mustard seeds in a mortar. I want them powdered in a second, like that grinder did. and I'm pig-headed enough to spend another 2.5K or more getting this exact same grinder again.

Let's celebrate our stubbornness! :D

I would not advise using a power dry grinder for mustard seeds. The chemical which gives the mustard its characteristic flavour is destroyed when heated, that is why traditional wet grinding of mustard seeds is preferred. In fact seeds ground dry in a mortar, then mixed with water and strained to get rid of the skin is what is used in all our Mustard Fish preparations.

That's interesting, thanks. The thing is, I am generally grinding for a fairly dry mixture like cheese-on-toast.

I had wondered if mustard seeds should be toasted (but not in a bread toaster :uncontrol ) but, from what you say, that would be a no-no.

I use yellow mustard seeds, by the way: I prefer the flavour to the more usual black.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 3845530)

Mustard releases a chemical that has that characteristic mustard taste when the powder comes in contact with water. There is a slight difference between various varieties of mustard - sarso (smaller size), rai (larger size) and yellow. For Fish we use sarso and for dip the yellow one. For Kashondi I think it is rai. For Achar and Kanji I mix both in equal proportions.

Mustard is fried for tadka both for normal cooking and for Dhokla, never heard of it being toasted.

Need some advice - deciding between Samsung Side by side 580+L gross and 538 nett capacity vs Samsung two door 555L gross. The first one costs 76500 and the second one 54500. First one is fancy and is http://www.samsung.com/in/consumer/h...RS554NRUA1J/TL while the second one is traditional and here http://www.samsung.com/in/consumer/h...RT56H667ESL/TL
Any thoughts/experiences with these or similar models? I have two Samsung 320L ones at the moment and thought would replace one with this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diyguy (Post 3846476)

If you have the space for it, keep two. I have two and found them much more useful than one large one. All that I know of the larger sizes is that they are fully imported and that their spares cost a bomb, hence smaller sized which have much better spares inventory (due to larger numbers sold) and cheaper repairs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aroy (Post 3846596)

All that I know of the larger sizes is that they are fully imported and that their spares cost a bomb, hence smaller sized which have much better spares inventory (due to larger numbers sold) and cheaper repairs.

Thank you for the reply. I have two and intend keeping two yet. Just getting the 17 year old one out for a better looking one and hopefully more efficient one. I am hoping I won't need repairs as both my fridges so far haven't needed any :) (touch wood). The 17 year old is actually a made in Korea import and was the first frost-free from Samsung when we purchased it...

The cold, clammy weather that has persisted for more than a week has gotten under my skin by now. Plus its been a week since my solar water heater gave hot water. Driven to despair, I am seriously thinking of buying a geyser for the first time in my 10 years at Bangalore.

Can someone suggest some good brands/models to look into?

Since I expect the solar water heater to start working once there is some sunshine, I am looking for a long lasting, reliable model that would last for years even if used for only up to a month every year.

While in this situation, I am also wondering whether I should buy a room heater or leg warmer. Any tips would be appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 3848241)

However, it is a very short season, here in sunny Chennai, during which it does not give hot water.

Actually I was in Yelagiri from the 8th to the 12th and was surprised that it was giving us boiling hot water. They had solar panels and in muggy and rainy conditions it was still working well! In fact this made me think I should be getting one for our home :)
The staff confirmed that it is only a solar heater for each building in the resort! It rained nonstop from the 9th to the 12th.