Thanks for the, ah-hum, more mature response.
Just what I needed to know!
Michael
Quote:
Originally Posted by fr8tshaker
Michael,
Either the 1.5 l or the 4.5 with the insert that www.thermalcookware offers.
Amazon, Forum Appliances, etc do not offer the inserts or any other accessories for the cookers. The only seller that does is www.thermalcookware.com that I am aware of. The accessories will make anyone's cooker much more versatile.
The 1.5 l is great for soups, stews, chili and the like. It has a tall narrow shape liike a quart mason jar. You would not be able to brown a chicken breast for example.
The 4.5 with the inserts is would enable you to place boiling water in the bottom of the larger inner pot, then brown your meat, etc in the smaller insert and place it on top of the larger inner pot. As I stated in an earlier post, the cooker must be at least 80% full to retain the thermal mass effectively.These accessories would enable you to cook whole pieces of meat, a small corned beef, small roast, etc in the smaller inner insert. This woul keep you from eating the same dish for the next 3 days or so. Of course you could cook a smaller amount of beans, soups stew, etc by putting boiling water in the large inner pot and your meal in the smaller insert pot also.With the pudding tin you could bake a cake or quick bread such as cornbread, in the large inner pot and cook another dish in the smaller insert on top simultaneously. When you have company, attend a potluck , etc you could use the full 4.5 litre capacity.
So, depending on what you want to cook either the 1.5 l or the 4.5 with the inserts. IMHO, I think you would gain more cooking abilities with the 4.5 plus the inserts.
Also, remember that when you are boondocking the boiling water that will be placed in the large inner pot will not be wasted. It can be used to wash dishes with after your meal.
I have found that the more I use it the more I like it. Also, the more I use it makes me realize that I can do alot more with it than I realized at the time of purchase.
Hope this helps. Michelle
__________________
Airstream Posters & Tee's byMicheal Joseph Depraida WBCCI No 8892 | VAC | KC2TQU
The 4.5 with the inserts is would enable you to place boiling water in the bottom of the larger inner pot, then brown your meat, etc in the smaller insert and place it on top of the larger inner pot. As I stated in an earlier post, the cooker must be at least 80% full to retain the thermal mass effectively.These accessories would enable you to cook whole pieces of meat, a small corned beef, small roast, etc in the smaller inner insert. This woul keep you from eating the same dish for the next 3 days or so. Of course you could cook a smaller amount of beans, soups stew, etc by putting boiling water in the large inner pot and your meal in the smaller insert pot also.With the pudding tin you could bake a cake or quick bread such as cornbread, in the large inner pot and cook another dish in the smaller insert on top simultaneously. When you have company, attend a potluck , etc you could use the full 4.5 litre capacity.
Michael,
I realized I forget to mention that you could also place your food into the 4.5 l pot then fill the bain marie insert with boiling water on top. This would allow you to use approx. 3l of cooking capacity and meet the 80% criteria to retain the thermal mass.
This would be usefull for a roast or corned beef.
The bain marie insert holds about 1 to 1.5 l.
If the inserts has been available when I purchased my cooker, I would have bought the 4.5l with the bain marie and steamer inserts. The 3&3 is a great unit, but we usually have leftovers. 3l is more than the two of can eat.This is why I have concluded that the 4.5l with inserts is better for 1 or 2 people. I can deal with it since we usually have these leftovers for lunch the next day. Anymore than that would be a little too much of a good thing.
Switching to 4.5 L Thermal Cooker with Accessories
Just thought I would post an update on my thermal cooking experiences and hope others would share theirs.
I gave my 3&3 Shuttle Chef with optional 6L inner pot to my DH's cousin. It was just too large for us. Cuz uses it for all the charity events she participates in and is already loving it.
I will be ordering the 4.5 L with the inserts from www.thermalcookware.com as I suggested to others on the forum. 3l of beef burgundy and 3l of brown rice is just too much for 2 people. It is often too much when the 3l pot is filled oly 80% full when you add side dishes and rolls, etc. I do not like to eat the same thing when we are home. I get enough of the samo- samo while working on the road. ( no truck drivers do not eat where the food is good- they eat where they can park a 13 ft 6in high and 70ft long , 80K pound vehicle. )
The 1.5 insert will allow me to meet the 80% full criteria and not have to cook a mountain of food. The shape of the insert allows meats to be browned ,etc where the mason jar shape of the 1.5l cooker does not. Can still cook 2 separate items, or one item by filling the large inner pot or the smaller insert pot wth boiling water. Can also use the 4.5l pot and 1.5 l inner pots for regular stovetop cooking.
1.5 L Thermal Cooker
I still enjoy this unit for soups, stews and the like and can also use this units inner pot for regular stovetop cooking. Also use the outer thermal pot frequently for an ice bucket. This size is available at www.forumappliances.com in Canada.
This is an update of my previous post. As I stated earlier the Shuttle Chef 3&3 was just too big for our needs, although it would work well for a family of 4 or more IMHO.
I ordered the 4.5 l Shuttle Chef from www.forumappliances.com . At the current exchange rate it is $159.00 USD plus approx. $29.50 USD shipping.
I planned on ordering from Allan Rush at the www.thermalcookware.com website since I get alot of ideas for using my cooker there, but the shipping makes it prohibitive. I can't afford to support the seller when I added the higher price for the cooker plus extremely high shipping cost from AU to the US. I did order the Bain Marie pan for the cooker and the new lidded loaf pan. Allan offers terrific accessories that I have not been able to find anywhere else.
I like the idea of the latches for the cake pan and loaf pan so if I hit a bad bump in the road my pan won't end up filled with water ruining my dinner.
I will post more on the out come of my recipes with new cooker in November. I will be off work for 4 - 6 wks which will give me lots of time to try out the new setup, although I could think of better reasons to be off from work besides surgery. I plan on trying cooking 2 separate items with the bain marie insert, baking breads, cakes, meatloaf etc. The recipes for mulled wine on Allan's sound really delish, but I will have to hold off on the alcohol for a while.
I know several other forum members have purchased thermal cookers. I would enjoy hearing your experiences with the cooker and getting different ideas from you.
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