Solution? Cooking a LOT of soup in a domestic kitchen... [General]
2009 May 26
Hmmm, I'm not familiar with the turkey roaster - do you have a link?
40 litres on a regular stove top won't ruin it - been there, done that. But it will take forever to heat up. But if you get a large canning kettle with a huge diameter, it may span several burners depending on the size of your stove. This improves performance SIGNIFICANTLY. You can use mason jar rings as spacers on the stove top as they are about the same height as the average electric burner.
And of course I am naturally inclined to think of my own electric kettle :-) It is 58L and plugs into a stove outlet. The only downside might be that I have electric elements inside the kettle which are directly exposed to the liquid inside. This is not an issue for beer wort - not sure if it would be for soup. I've used it to boil down maple sap with no issues.
You could have one of these made for a few hundred dollars in whatever size vessel you can get your hands on. I've got a huge stainless steel drum used for collecting maple sap, that I want to convert real soon now. They aren't hard to make at all if you know someone who can weld stainless steel. I can help you along the way if you like.
I don't think I have any shots looking down into my kettle, but here is a buddy's system. This also shows off the much less expensive controller made from the stove controllers, vs the computer-controlled controller that I have.
barleyment.wort.ca
40 litres on a regular stove top won't ruin it - been there, done that. But it will take forever to heat up. But if you get a large canning kettle with a huge diameter, it may span several burners depending on the size of your stove. This improves performance SIGNIFICANTLY. You can use mason jar rings as spacers on the stove top as they are about the same height as the average electric burner.
And of course I am naturally inclined to think of my own electric kettle :-) It is 58L and plugs into a stove outlet. The only downside might be that I have electric elements inside the kettle which are directly exposed to the liquid inside. This is not an issue for beer wort - not sure if it would be for soup. I've used it to boil down maple sap with no issues.
You could have one of these made for a few hundred dollars in whatever size vessel you can get your hands on. I've got a huge stainless steel drum used for collecting maple sap, that I want to convert real soon now. They aren't hard to make at all if you know someone who can weld stainless steel. I can help you along the way if you like.
I don't think I have any shots looking down into my kettle, but here is a buddy's system. This also shows off the much less expensive controller made from the stove controllers, vs the computer-controlled controller that I have.
barleyment.wort.ca
2009 May 26
Sap boilers are a completely different kettle of fish. I actually saw one for sale really cheaply recently but don't recall where it was because it really is not of any use for anything but boiling down sap. They are sort of the opposite of a cold plate chiller and they have a series of fins all through them. Very bizarre looking thing, designed very specifically for evaporating water.
2009 May 26
off the Rival web site
www.rivalproducts.com
Zy you would love one of these. The first time I used it was for a chili cook-off in Peterborough (which I won!). I didn't have a pot big enough and consistency was an issue for something like that so I thought I'd dig the old Xmas present out of the basement and see it it worked. I bought a second one last thanksgiving when they were on sale.
It is funny you mentioned building one. My boyfriend has been talking about making one. He can weld and is a self taught mechanical genius. I like the look of that set up. He is thinking up a plan that would keep the element out of the liquid but still generate heat. I'd like to be able to remove the insert for cleaning, he wants to get fancy and have it tilt. Actually he really wants to put it on a DickyDee cart and hawk soup lol!
www.rivalproducts.com
Zy you would love one of these. The first time I used it was for a chili cook-off in Peterborough (which I won!). I didn't have a pot big enough and consistency was an issue for something like that so I thought I'd dig the old Xmas present out of the basement and see it it worked. I bought a second one last thanksgiving when they were on sale.
It is funny you mentioned building one. My boyfriend has been talking about making one. He can weld and is a self taught mechanical genius. I like the look of that set up. He is thinking up a plan that would keep the element out of the liquid but still generate heat. I'd like to be able to remove the insert for cleaning, he wants to get fancy and have it tilt. Actually he really wants to put it on a DickyDee cart and hawk soup lol!
OliversRock
Until now 20 litres in one go has been enough so I have been using my electric turkey roaster oven. You know the ones they sell at Thanksgiving for between $60 and $100. This has worked out really well, the liner is easy to clean, and I can brown my mirepoix first and get the liquid to boil within an hour. Running a silicon spatula around the liquid level line when I stir has made clean up a breeze.
Now I have graduated to 40 litre batches. I really hate making two batches, they are never exactly the same and it is twice as much work! I figure a 40 litre stock pot is gonna wreck my electric stove element and also take for ever and ever to heat. (Would it even fit in a domestic sink?)
Do they make soup kettles (like the ones in Tim Horton's) that you can cook directly in and that would hold 40 litres?
I've looked through the restaurant supply and I could get a massive tilt kettle for a few grand (NOT!)!
So, I am looking for a 40 litre turkey roaster or it's equal.
Anyone have an idea?