Review of AquaChef & PerfectChop

Have you ever bought a cutting board and found that it was badly stained by the end of the month or that your knives caused cutting streaks through it? I hate that. It is one of biggest pet peeves. So I was really excited when I was offered the opportunity to review a PerfectChop Cutting board plus an Aqua Chef cooking system. I have to admit though, I did not have high hopes for the PerfectChop because every other cutting board I have used has stained. Why would this one be any different. Read on to find out if the PerfectChop held up to it’s claim that it does not stain, does not dull knives or retain any orders.

 

The PerfectChop and Aqua Chef arrived the same day and I immediately tested both during dinner. I was at first disappointed at the size of the cutting board. I am used to a full counter top cutting board so when I saw this I did not think it would be large enough for my needs. After using it a few times I got used to it and it is actually perfect size.

You’re also able to flip it over and the bottom of the cutting board holds up to two cups of liquid. I am still not sure why having an area for  liquid would be needed in a cutting board. What I did find is it held up very well to blood from steak, tomato juice, chili sauce, and even cranberry juice that my son spilled on it. The board did not dull my knives but the cutting board does not seem to have much resistance to it and my knives easily left cut marks after 3 uses. It could be that the knives I have are commercial grade and the cutting board is not designed for these types of blades as they aren’t sold to the main stream public, so a cutting board for home use would not need that resistance. Over all I do like the board a lot and would recommend it.

You can purchase the PerfectChopper for $19.99 here

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you boiled food in a vacuum sealed bag? You will find out with the AquaChef,  a cheaper way to go about sous vide cooking.  The Aquachef is a great affordable product and I have enjoyed cooking with it.

Positives: less messy, food comes out moist and succulent.

Negatives: reusable bags hard to clean, can be tricky to cook good meals in it, bags are very small.

To use

Fill the reusable bag with food and suck out the air suing the suction tool provided.

Fill the Aqua chef with cold water and add vacuum sealed food bag to the basket.

Turn Aqua Chef on and wait for the blue light like the picture above. Then put basket into AquaChef and set the timer according to the cook time in the included book.

To me the AquaChef is like a slow cooker, you put food in it and you leave it until it’s cooked. If done right the food comes out perfect but if you don’t know what you are doing or don’t follow the right temperature requirements then it won’t be fully cooked. I did have some issues with undercooked food and getting the temperature right was tricky because it’s different then oven temp. So just be aware of that and make sure to read the recipe book the cooker comes with.

You can purchase the AquaChef Sous Vide Water Oven