Brining

As you read about recently, my wife won me a Cisco Flip Ultra HD video camera for Christmas, and while my initial impressions were not great, I did promise to keep using it and let you know how my impressions evolve. And here I am keeping that promise. Incidentally, I found out from a subscriber on my Youtube channel that Windows 7 finally supports standard MP4 format - I'm still running an older version which is why it did not work for me. So that much is good.

Here is a quick comparison of my trusty old Canon A590 and the Ultra HD, in a typical scenario where people would be using it - a school play. I made several videos like this and posted the longest of them - just shy of 4 minutes. I held one camera in each hand so the two videos below capture the exact same scene. I held them snug up against each other almost as though they were taped together - so they moved as one unit, and any jostling that one experienced, so did the other. My initial impression of the comparison is that the Flip audio is clearly far superior to the Canon. As for video when comparing 480p on both videos (since I cannot even view the 720p on this 4 year old PC - way too choppy) - well - I won't tell you my impressions because I don't want to taint your mind. Have a look yourself and see what you think. Look for little jostles, as well as scenarios where I am panning the cameras back and forth - focus not on the action I'm following, but rather the background as I pan.

Brining meat takes us as humans right back to basics in terms of some of the first things we as a species learned both to store food, and ensure it was healthier to eat in terms of killing germs and other bugs which could not survive such a high saline solution. Basically here is what you want :

• 1 US/UK gallon water (4 liters)
• 1.5 cups non-iodized salt (kosher, pickling, sea)
• 1.0 cups white or brown sugar, maple syrup, honey or whatever (I always use honey from a local apiary)
• herbs and spices to your preference

You simply mix this ideally first in a pot on the stove and bring to near-boiling just for the sake of fully dissolving the sugars and salts.

Brining meat is really easy to do with a big bucket, and enough fridge space to hold it. The basic recipe is just :

• 2 litres water
• 3/4 cup non-iodized salt (kosher or pickling)
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon herbs (we used thyme and oregano combo)
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped

See below for a complete video