Forum home The potting shed
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Unexpected gadgets?

1111214161724

Posts

  • ErgatesErgates Posts: 2,953
    I bought a meat thermometer a year ago, and have found it invaluable. It’s got quite a long probe as it was designed for barbecues. I feel a lot more confident that I’m not accidentally poisoning anyone by undercooking things.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I too find the silicone cake 'tins' a faddle to use. I tend to heat up stuff in them, more than use them for baking.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Silicone cups for fairy cakes etc are good - they're too small to collapse when you're using them for baking, and the cake comes out clean.  No paper to throw away...
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Those silicone lids are wonderful.  My DIL gave me a range of sizes as a birthday present, and they're a great replacement for cling film for covering a bowl of something in the fridge, or using in the oven on my favourite Pyrex casserole dish (the one with the broken lid...).
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I've got a silicone loaf tin. I never use it. Too wobbly. It sounds like silicone needs to have a detachable metal shell.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Silicone cups for fairy cakes etc are good - they're too small to collapse when you're using them for baking, and the cake comes out clean.  No paper to throw away...
    I wouldn't be without my silicone bun 'tin' for making Yorkshire puds, the Yorkshires come out really clean. No matter how expensive the tins I'd buy for Yorkshires, they always stuck and was quite a bother to clean.

    There is a negative though to using the silicone; you can't add fat to the 'tin' ie that lovely juice from the roasting tin that flavours the puds. I just cover the puds with gravy therefore no flavour is lost.


    Trying to be the person my dog thinks I am! 

    Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited January 2022
    I use this most days to check the carbon use levels of electricity production, so I can use the minimum carbon (like burnt coal) possible while using a dishwasher or washing machine. By choosing your time, you can use up to 90% less carbon (coal, imported gas etc). Periods are divided into times that are low, moderate, high and very high usage. It's devised by partners including University of Oxford, WWF and National Grid.

     I find it super helpful. Thanks to @LG_ for the lead.


    about:


  • Fire said:
    I use this most days to check the carbon use levels of electricity production, so I can use the minimum carbon (like burnt coal) possible while using a dishwasher or washing machine. By choosing your time, you can use up to 90% less carbon (coal, imported gas etc). Periods are divided into times that are low, moderate, high and very high usage. It's devised by partners including University of Oxford, WWF and National Grid.

     I find it super helpful. Thanks to @LG_ for the lead.


    about:


    Interesting. 50% of us should go back to the 'old days' when dinner was midday. 
    Trying to be the person my dog thinks I am! 

    Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited January 2022
    @Jenny_Aster Would that help?

    Carbon use for creating electricity is related (in England, at least) to wind speed, partly. Weekends, the early hours, holiday periods don't necessarily have lower carbon usage. Following the site (and others) for the last few months, it seems carbon intensity meansures per Kwh is more connected to supply provision (mix) than the variations in demand.

    Renewable energy sources are cheapest and therefore used first, with coal etc more as back up. When renewables flag (like at times of low wind) then more expensive lec is imported from the continent, more nuclear is harnessed. The power mix changes all day, every day. So the idea is to pick your moment.

    Type thing.
  • Fire said:
    @Jenny_Aster Would that help?
    For my post code re https://whento.info/ dinner at noon would be cooked in the 'green' zone. Wonder how accurate it is...
    Trying to be the person my dog thinks I am! 

    Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
Sign In or Register to comment.