A stirring tribute
June 9, 2012 12:13 PM Subscribe
A solution to a problem you didn't know you had: The Self-Stirring Pot.
That's nice if you like cleaning a cone-shaped chunk of black burned crud out of the middle after every use.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:17 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:17 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
Colorful demo.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:19 PM on June 9, 2012
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:19 PM on June 9, 2012
A spoonful of beads help the medicine go down.
Wasn't there a built in stirrer in some microwave ovens?
posted by Cranberry at 12:23 PM on June 9, 2012
Wasn't there a built in stirrer in some microwave ovens?
posted by Cranberry at 12:23 PM on June 9, 2012
MetaFilter: The Self-Stirring Pot
I'm so sorry
posted by likeso at 12:26 PM on June 9, 2012 [35 favorites]
I'm so sorry
posted by likeso at 12:26 PM on June 9, 2012 [35 favorites]
Here is another demo, using real food.
This is amazing.
posted by strixus at 12:29 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
This is amazing.
posted by strixus at 12:29 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
Will this help me caramelize onions? No. Will this help me make risotto? No.
This will only help me stir things that don't really need to be constantly stirred to begin with. And it will be a bitch to clean.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:33 PM on June 9, 2012 [26 favorites]
This will only help me stir things that don't really need to be constantly stirred to begin with. And it will be a bitch to clean.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:33 PM on June 9, 2012 [26 favorites]
Yet another entry in a long line of useless kitchen gadgets that tons of people will buy and never use.
posted by sonic meat machine at 12:37 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by sonic meat machine at 12:37 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
After the introduction of the self-stirring pot, millions of trolls were left unemployed.
posted by elwoodwiles at 12:38 PM on June 9, 2012 [10 favorites]
posted by elwoodwiles at 12:38 PM on June 9, 2012 [10 favorites]
I'm with BitterOldPunk on this one. My first thought was "will this help me make a roux?" No.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 12:39 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by MaryDellamorte at 12:39 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
On my phone, I read this as "self-stirring pets," and I was thinking "cats are awfully sluggish, but all pets stir occasionally, that is the point of having pets rather than taxidermy specimins, then I read a little closer....
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:47 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:47 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
Yep, I'm in line behind MaryDellamorte who's behind BitterOldPunk. Only not with caramelized onions or risotto, nor with roux, but holding peanut sauce, pasta sauce, soups and stews.
posted by likeso at 12:48 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by likeso at 12:48 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
And I already knew the word "nabe" from "Neko nabe."
posted by Obscure Reference at 12:50 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Obscure Reference at 12:50 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
It looks like it probably needs a brisk boil for the self-stirring effect to work well, which means it probably won't work for anything thick, like oatmeal, as Ardiril points out.
Seems to me that in cases when you'd be likely to use one, the watery substance you'd be not stirring wouldn't need that much stirring anyway.
posted by Malor at 12:58 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
Seems to me that in cases when you'd be likely to use one, the watery substance you'd be not stirring wouldn't need that much stirring anyway.
posted by Malor at 12:58 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
That pot is as useless as this stupid kitchen gadget.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 12:58 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by MaryDellamorte at 12:58 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
Could this help me improve hops utilization when making beer? Yes.
Could this help me achieve better results when working with dyes? Maybe.
Is this just very cool in principle and something I have to DIY ASAP? Yes.
posted by Ayn Rand and God at 1:06 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
Could this help me achieve better results when working with dyes? Maybe.
Is this just very cool in principle and something I have to DIY ASAP? Yes.
posted by Ayn Rand and God at 1:06 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
I am currently making spaghetti sauce. I feel as though this pot might be REALLY GOOD for making spaghetti sauce.
Also: chili.
posted by kafziel at 1:11 PM on June 9, 2012
Also: chili.
posted by kafziel at 1:11 PM on June 9, 2012
Do you really need to stir a handful of carrots in a big boiling pot of water?
I don't understand why someone hasn't built a stovetop with a built in Magnetic Stirrer. This is standard chem lab equipment.
posted by charlie don't surf at 1:12 PM on June 9, 2012 [22 favorites]
I don't understand why someone hasn't built a stovetop with a built in Magnetic Stirrer. This is standard chem lab equipment.
posted by charlie don't surf at 1:12 PM on June 9, 2012 [22 favorites]
I feel as though this pot might be REALLY GOOD for making spaghetti sauce
The water is really boiling - not something I'd use for marinara.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:16 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
The water is really boiling - not something I'd use for marinara.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:16 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
That pot is as useless as this stupid kitchen gadget
The banana cutter is awesome because you can knock one out on a 3d printer really easily.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:17 PM on June 9, 2012
The banana cutter is awesome because you can knock one out on a 3d printer really easily.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:17 PM on June 9, 2012
It probably only works well with thin liquids, thicker stuff will bog down. Certain explosives manufacturing requires constant stirring which can cause it to blow up, so this would be nice, if your into that.
posted by stbalbach at 1:17 PM on June 9, 2012
posted by stbalbach at 1:17 PM on June 9, 2012
This is new? My pots already self-stir if I keep the water at a rolling boil (at least when I'm making macaroni), no special contraption required.
posted by cosmic.osmo at 1:18 PM on June 9, 2012
posted by cosmic.osmo at 1:18 PM on June 9, 2012
It's not clear to me that it has to be boiling for it to work, it's just more dramatic that way. I would guess the rotation speed is linear to the temperature of the water.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:18 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:18 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
c'mon haters. i have five or six pots of about the same size in my kitchen. This one is obviously for boiling things like rice and pasta. It won't be a bitch to clean because nothing will get stuck to the bottom and cook on. This is a cool an useful pot.
posted by es_de_bah at 1:37 PM on June 9, 2012
posted by es_de_bah at 1:37 PM on June 9, 2012
Ask me about my recipe for Yankee Bead Soup.
posted by Splunge at 1:39 PM on June 9, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 1:39 PM on June 9, 2012 [5 favorites]
Couldn't you design an egg-poaching device with this system?
posted by das1969 at 2:09 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by das1969 at 2:09 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
*begins furiously working on self-stirring hot tub*
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:38 PM on June 9, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:38 PM on June 9, 2012 [4 favorites]
I wasn't sure if this was going to be in English or not, so being hearing-impaired, I turned on the captions. It's pretty good absurdist poetry.
is not going to second guess
banking what was the best economic
today too
that seems on the missile sequence keeping my staff
ms dot u_k_ it doesn't fit the bill
commodity genetics last
skipping
meeting the math
seeking custody of the
banking was kidnapped
soto angle
asking them to articulate
we thank you explicitly
in fact the woman you killing mice
kalish demigod pani
skype statements that yes the taking you know double helix
posted by desjardins at 2:55 PM on June 9, 2012 [9 favorites]
is not going to second guess
banking what was the best economic
today too
that seems on the missile sequence keeping my staff
ms dot u_k_ it doesn't fit the bill
commodity genetics last
skipping
meeting the math
seeking custody of the
banking was kidnapped
soto angle
asking them to articulate
we thank you explicitly
in fact the woman you killing mice
kalish demigod pani
skype statements that yes the taking you know double helix
posted by desjardins at 2:55 PM on June 9, 2012 [9 favorites]
This will be a terrific perpetually-circulating wedding gift for not-so-close relatives. Since the boxes of those fondue pots and George Foreman devices have deteriorated from the endless wrapping and unwrapping, a new Useless Device was needed, and this looks like just the thing.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:56 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:56 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
That pot is as useless as this stupid kitchen gadget .
Oh dear god, that is the most awful gadget demonstration ever.
posted by SLC Mom at 2:59 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
Oh dear god, that is the most awful gadget demonstration ever.
posted by SLC Mom at 2:59 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
"This one is obviously for boiling things like rice and pasta."
Rice and pasta do not require stirring.
posted by Ardiril at 3:20 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
Rice and pasta do not require stirring.
posted by Ardiril at 3:20 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
I thought it was the magnetic stirring pot of my dreams. Like CDS, I was disappointed.
posted by arcticseal at 3:22 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by arcticseal at 3:22 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
I wonder if they make a clockwise version for cooking in the southern hemisphere.
posted by Flashman at 3:25 PM on June 9, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by Flashman at 3:25 PM on June 9, 2012 [4 favorites]
That pot is as useless as this stupid kitchen gadget .
I love that they needed a minute and fifty-two seconds of video to explain a concept that was clear from the still shot at the intro.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:17 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
I love that they needed a minute and fifty-two seconds of video to explain a concept that was clear from the still shot at the intro.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:17 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
That pot is as useless as this stupid kitchen gadget .
The banana slicer appears to have been designed for EU maximum curvature standards.
I was thinking that the self-stirring pot might be useful for stirring fettuccine to prevent it from sticking together, but after watching the video I think the pasta would just clump up in the middle and stick together anyway. Sad.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 4:43 PM on June 9, 2012
The banana slicer appears to have been designed for EU maximum curvature standards.
I was thinking that the self-stirring pot might be useful for stirring fettuccine to prevent it from sticking together, but after watching the video I think the pasta would just clump up in the middle and stick together anyway. Sad.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 4:43 PM on June 9, 2012
Magnetic stir plates don't work well for large volumes, which is why chemists use motorized stirrers for 2L+. The magnetic field needed to keep a stir bar spinning when a pound of fettuccine is pushing down is immense.
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 6:20 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 6:20 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
The Kitchen Tornado looks a little better and sounds MUCH more exciting.
posted by orme at 6:32 PM on June 9, 2012
posted by orme at 6:32 PM on June 9, 2012
Yes, I was thinking: who cooks their food on a rolling boil, other than pasta? and that won't stir anything like a cream sauce or my chilli, both of which need to be made on low heat.
posted by jb at 7:22 PM on June 9, 2012
posted by jb at 7:22 PM on June 9, 2012
The machine we all want, but can't have, is this one. Some of us because it's too damned expensive, some of us because it's not sold in our countries of residence, and most of us (I suspect) for both reasons. But gods, is it a lustful piece of kit.
posted by 1adam12 at 7:31 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by 1adam12 at 7:31 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
Will this help me make risotto?
They do sell motorized self-stirring risotto pots in Italy. I have no idea whether they work at all, or how well they work if they do work, because I only cook risotto over here in the US.
The Largely Mythological Husband and I have to switch shifts when making risotto, because the stirring makes my joints hurt, and he gets too bored. It's like a very localized relay race, only smelling a lot better.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:41 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
They do sell motorized self-stirring risotto pots in Italy. I have no idea whether they work at all, or how well they work if they do work, because I only cook risotto over here in the US.
The Largely Mythological Husband and I have to switch shifts when making risotto, because the stirring makes my joints hurt, and he gets too bored. It's like a very localized relay race, only smelling a lot better.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:41 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
OMG the self-stirring risotto pot is now available in the US. For $100 US.
See, the Thermomix is something I would only get if I won the lottery or whatever. A $100 risottobot, on the other hand, is just cheap enough to tempt me.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:43 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
See, the Thermomix is something I would only get if I won the lottery or whatever. A $100 risottobot, on the other hand, is just cheap enough to tempt me.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:43 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
I wasn't sure if this was going to be in English or not, so being hearing-impaired, I turned on the captions. It's pretty good absurdist poetry.
Self-stirring poet.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:55 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
Self-stirring poet.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:55 PM on June 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
I resent the implication that I wasn't aware of this need. Although to be honest, I have a more urgent need for an alarm that goes off when the pasta has boiled dry.
posted by jacalata at 9:26 PM on June 9, 2012
posted by jacalata at 9:26 PM on June 9, 2012
I'm my house that's called a smoke alarm.
Or, on one occasion, the burglar alarm. First people on our street to discover our burglar alarms had smoke detectors in them. Go us!
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 3:12 AM on June 10, 2012 [2 favorites]
Or, on one occasion, the burglar alarm. First people on our street to discover our burglar alarms had smoke detectors in them. Go us!
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 3:12 AM on June 10, 2012 [2 favorites]
My aunt has RoboStir™. She has trouble standing for long periods and walking back and forth to the kitchen every few minutes so it's helpful to her and seems to work pretty well with canned soups and chili. When I saw it I had to glue googly eyes to it which makes it look hilarious as it spins round and round.
People with smoke detectors in them?
posted by XMLicious at 4:10 AM on June 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
People with smoke detectors in them?
posted by XMLicious at 4:10 AM on June 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
"I feel as though this pot might be REALLY GOOD for making spaghetti sauce"
Maybe, but all I see is an after-cooking clean-up time that has just been multiplied by 12. (Unless the Nakamura Nook-n-Cranny Scrubber is waiting in the wings, of course, to be offered as a "BUT WAIT! THAT'S NOT ALL! IF YOU ORDER NOW, WE'LL ALSO GIVE YOU..." value-added hook.)
posted by Mike D at 4:24 AM on June 10, 2012
Maybe, but all I see is an after-cooking clean-up time that has just been multiplied by 12. (Unless the Nakamura Nook-n-Cranny Scrubber is waiting in the wings, of course, to be offered as a "BUT WAIT! THAT'S NOT ALL! IF YOU ORDER NOW, WE'LL ALSO GIVE YOU..." value-added hook.)
posted by Mike D at 4:24 AM on June 10, 2012
> Magnetic stir plates don't work well for large volumes, which is why chemists use
> motorized stirrers for 2L+.
Also I don't think they would work very well for solid-phase solute X that is not meant to dissolve completely in liquid solvent Y. Fettuccine for instance.
But I have not performed this experiment so I can't know for sure.
posted by jfuller at 7:42 AM on June 10, 2012
> motorized stirrers for 2L+.
Also I don't think they would work very well for solid-phase solute X that is not meant to dissolve completely in liquid solvent Y. Fettuccine for instance.
But I have not performed this experiment so I can't know for sure.
posted by jfuller at 7:42 AM on June 10, 2012
I'll be impressed if they ever manage to invent a self-stirring pothead.
posted by Decani at 10:27 AM on June 10, 2012
posted by Decani at 10:27 AM on June 10, 2012
The magnetic field needed to keep a stir bar spinning when a pound of fettuccine is pushing down is immense
That's why this summer's gift for the space-conscious molecular gastronome is the combined magnetic stirrer cooktop and kitchen NMR! Keep your sauces perfectly stirred, then switch to static-field NMR mode and get a realtime readout of their molecular composition. Also serves as a CRT degausser. Call now!
posted by hattifattener at 7:28 PM on June 10, 2012 [2 favorites]
That's why this summer's gift for the space-conscious molecular gastronome is the combined magnetic stirrer cooktop and kitchen NMR! Keep your sauces perfectly stirred, then switch to static-field NMR mode and get a realtime readout of their molecular composition. Also serves as a CRT degausser. Call now!
posted by hattifattener at 7:28 PM on June 10, 2012 [2 favorites]
Sidhedevil: "OMG the self-stirring risotto pot is now available in the US. For $100 US.
See, the Thermomix is something I would only get if I won the lottery or whatever. A $100 risottobot, on the other hand, is just cheap enough to tempt me."
Oh man, that is so on my wishlist. Out of curiosity, anyone know what the thermomix costs? I couldn't find a price on their site. Is it really so expensive that if you have to ask, you can't afford it?
posted by dejah420 at 8:33 PM on June 12, 2012
See, the Thermomix is something I would only get if I won the lottery or whatever. A $100 risottobot, on the other hand, is just cheap enough to tempt me."
Oh man, that is so on my wishlist. Out of curiosity, anyone know what the thermomix costs? I couldn't find a price on their site. Is it really so expensive that if you have to ask, you can't afford it?
posted by dejah420 at 8:33 PM on June 12, 2012
Some googling suggests its list price is around $1400 and that possibly with some cajoling you can get a Canadian company to ship one to you in the US.
posted by hattifattener at 9:19 PM on June 12, 2012
posted by hattifattener at 9:19 PM on June 12, 2012
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posted by trip and a half at 12:17 PM on June 9, 2012