I am currently going through a series of experiments based on the use of Sonicators-Ultrasonic Homogenizers for any quantifiable improvements in culinary process. The equipment is essentially composed of 2 parts, the generator and the processor which has a sonotrode attached to it.Sonotrodes are often referred to as the horn. The sonotrode transfers the oscillations into the medium to be sonified. We will publish some of the avenues we have explored but initial experiments with basic emulsions are flawless. Sonicated flavor transfer is also spectacular. While there are several manufacturers on the market we formed a partnership with HIELSCHER ULTRASONICS of Germany who are solely dedicated to the field of Ultrasonic Processing.

This model above is the UIP 1000-hd which is capable of being operated 24 hrs/day. 1000Watts @24Khz. Below is the actual trasnducer and sonotrode.

There is a video here at STARCHEFS.COM of Chef Sang-Hoon Degeimbre using this  exact set-up to make shrimp stock. We will be updating next week with some of the results of our experiments.

Centrifuges are one of the best unintended tools used for modern cooking applications. There is always the question of Whether a particular tool is worth having based on the cost versus practical use scale. While that logic makes sense unfortunately there are certain things you can do with a centrifuge that cannot be achieved by any other devices so the question becomes what to buy and why.

Justifiably they are expensive and one can be very tempted to go searching for a used unit in one of countless laboratory equipment recyclers on the internet. That however does come with some risk as most laboratory equipment has in fact been used for scientific research which generally includes lots of toxic pathogens and biohazards. It is certainly possible to decontaminate a used centrifuge but even with that I personally find it to be an unacceptable risk to use such a device for culinary use. The only sensible option is to buy new. 

The main decision then becomes what to buy. In terms of footprint,cost and practicality the best option appears to be a general purpose benchtop centrifuge with a high capacity. The only variation you may want to consider is constant temperature (20C) as opposed to a variable temperature refrigerated unit. Unfortunately it is absolutely not a toy and costs about the same as 4 Pacojets.

We decided to work in collaboration with  BECKMAN-COULTER , one of the premier manufacturers of centrifuge technology. We chose the Allegra X-14R with a rotor capacity of 4-750ml bottles. It is also a fully refrigerated unit and built to the highest standards of safety. There is an excellent interactive tutorial on the specifications HERE. Although the tutorial is for the Allegra X-15R, it is essentially identical to an X-14 but we opted for the practicality of a 120 volt machine for standard household outlets.

We are very excited about  new adventures of discovery and applying some of the techniques in Modernist Cuisine. Beckman basically insists the rotor be checked and installed by their technicians. More to come after it is safely installed and we get trained to use it properly. Now there is a new and much better reason to use that annoying term old school New York French chefs are always yelling in the kitchen..........Allez ...Allez...Allez !