OT as hell: ready meals

Discussion in 'UK Motorcycles' started by The Older Gentleman, Jan 11, 2007.

  1. The Older Gentleman

    TOG Guest

    simonk wrote:

    I bow to your superior scientific knowledge. How do they make that
    inside-out Baked Alaska, then? I thought that was done in the MW
    because it was the only way of cooking the meringue inside before the
    ice cream outside melted. Or is that another Urban Miff?

    Yebbut MW ready meals aren't plated - they're in plastic or board tubs.
    Flattish tubs, now I think about it, so yeah, that would make sense.
     
    TOG, Jan 12, 2007
    #81
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  2. The Older Gentleman

    simonk Guest

    TOG@toil, ,
    Umm, baked alaska has the ice cream on the inside...

    I know what you're getting at though. The example I gave assumed a
    food which was fairly uniform in terms of its composition - chicken
    curry is a watery, oily goop that (I expect) absorbs microwaves fairly
    uniformly, at least when liquid.

    An example of something heating up in the middle and staying cool
    outside would be a fruit pie - dry pastry doesn't absorb microwaves
    anywhere near as well as waterier, sugarier fruit compote. So the
    relatively transparent (to microwaves) pastry allows the filling to get
    hot very quickly, while the pie feels barely warm to the touch on the
    outside (flaky pastry is probably a good thermal insulator too, rather
    like loft insulation, but less chewy). Anyone who came round for a
    mince pie before christmas will have discovered this to their cost.

    An analogy here with visible light is your dad's old cortina parked in
    the sun. The windows of the car are cool to touch because they let the
    light through, but when you sit on the black vinyl seats in your
    swimming trunks ...
    I sometimes make chilli etc. and freeze it in plastic bags. That
    always ends up as a near-sphere, which is a right arse to get defrosted
    in the microwave.
     
    simonk, Jan 12, 2007
    #82
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  3. The Older Gentleman

    fish Guest

    message
    I buy ASDA "good for you" range, at last count they were 6 for either 4 or
    five quid. You can probably guess what they are like for that price.

    I only eat them at work when I am on nights as they are better than a donner
    kebab and I have no cooking equipment at work just a microwave.

    Overall slightly better than sandwiches every day and at least they are warm
    when its blowing a gale.
     
    fish, Jan 12, 2007
    #83
  4. The Older Gentleman

    Eddie Guest

    Put the plastic bag in a Flora margarine tub or something until the
    contents have frozen, then you can remove the tub and be left with a
    disc-shaped frozen lump, which makes much more efficient use of your
    freezer space.
     
    Eddie, Jan 12, 2007
    #84
  5. The Older Gentleman

    Ace Guest

    On 12 Jan 2007 06:49:27 -0800, TOG@toil,
    Not one I've ever heard, but it certainly wouldn't be true. The only
    way you could try to mimic this would be to put some shielding all
    round the edge and bottom wher you've got Ice cream and leave just the
    meringue top open, but I doubt if that'd work either.

    Anyway, given your job, I'm astonished at your lack of knowledge in
    this area - just try it, FFS, it's not rocket science.

    --
    _______
    ..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
    \`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3 (slightly broken, currently missing)
    `\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
    `\|/`
    `
     
    Ace, Jan 12, 2007
    #85
  6. Suet keeps forever, thobbut. One nice thing to do with dumplings of any
    variety: add the zest and juice of a lemon, rather than using water to mix
    them. Yum.

    Ali
     
    Alison Hopkins, Jan 12, 2007
    #86
  7. Lack of artificial treatment as well, I think - organic bananas seem to stay
    good for far longer than ordinary ones.

    Ali
     
    Alison Hopkins, Jan 12, 2007
    #87
  8. The Older Gentleman

    simonk Guest

    Ah. Doh.

    If I was making that, though, I'd just make a meringue and then lob
    some ice cream around it...

    Guessing here because I've never heard of it, but still, the frozen ice
    cream on the outside presumably lets more microwave energy through to
    the liquid egg and sugar centre than it absorbs itself. Frozen ready
    meals, or chilli, or whatever, are frozen right through, eventually
    warm up and melt on the outside, and this molten layer then shields the
    inside.
     
    simonk, Jan 12, 2007
    #88
  9. Hm. How hot do you have your fat?

    Ali
     
    Alison Hopkins, Jan 12, 2007
    #89
  10. Salivating? I'm bloody starving! <heads for kitchen>

    The jelly is rather fine on hot toast, too.

    Ali
     
    Alison Hopkins, Jan 12, 2007
    #90
  11. The Older Gentleman

    Lozzo Guest

    Alison Hopkins says...
    <jiggles oversized tummy>

    About body temperature
     
    Lozzo, Jan 12, 2007
    #91
  12. The Older Gentleman

    Krusty Guest

    Do international drug smuggler cum used bike dealers normally have an
    in depth knowledge of microwaves then?

    --
    Krusty
    www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
    Off-Road Classifieds

    '02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250
     
    Krusty, Jan 12, 2007
    #92
  13. The Older Gentleman

    Krusty Guest

    <snort>

    --
    Krusty
    www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
    Off-Road Classifieds

    '02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250
     
    Krusty, Jan 12, 2007
    #93
  14. I've eaten live clams, still wriggling. Does that count as eww?

    Ali
     
    Alison Hopkins, Jan 12, 2007
    #94
  15. I was waiting for *someone* to take that feed line. <snort>

    Ali
     
    Alison Hopkins, Jan 12, 2007
    #95
  16. The Older Gentleman

    Krusty Guest

     
    Krusty, Jan 12, 2007
    #96
  17.  
    Alison Hopkins, Jan 12, 2007
    #97
  18. The Older Gentleman

    Lozzo Guest

    Alison Hopkins says...
     
    Lozzo, Jan 12, 2007
    #98

  19. "In support of "Aunt Bessie's"."

    The Yorkshire Puddings cases filled with good quality meat that's been
    stewing all day with lots of wonderful goodies added takes a lot to
    beat.
     
    Mick Whittingham, Jan 12, 2007
    #99
  20.  
    Alison Hopkins, Jan 12, 2007
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