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When I saw this machine on Inventor Spot, I was truly amazed. I also thought it sounded too good to be true, but that remains to be seen.The Culinary Prep is a device that cleans food in an "all natural and very effective anti-microbial solution." The makers of the Culinary Prep claim that it removes 95% of bacteria from the raw meats and/or vegetables that you wash in it. It's also about $400, but I guess when it comes to food safety you get what you pay for.
In addition, the Culinary Prep makers say that it reduces spoilage (thus extending shelf life), improves flavor, and still reduces fat and sodium. I can see how this device can extend shelf life, reduce spoilage and all that, and even how that could have an effect on the flavor. It's that fat/sodium reduction claim in addition to everything else that sets off my "spidey sense." What do you think? Would you buy it?
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6-16-2008 @7:12PM Michael Schmitt said... Between your "spidey sense" and my food science degree I'm sure we'll find out the real answer.
Here's what I found: the machine uses a combo of vacuum, mechanical scrubbing (in this case, the rotation of the bin), vitamin C (an acid and an anti-oxidant), and salt (a preservative) to accomplish its claims. While it is true that it reduces bacteria ( I found a study in the Journal of Food Prot. 2000 Sep;63(9):1231-9 ), it doesn't compare the reduction against good ol' plain water washing. The reduction in spoilage claim comes from the reduction of bacteria, it improves flavor because it is a marinating machine (use the "natural solution" of ascorbic acid and salt or your own marinade), the reduction of fat comes from the fact that all that agitation scrapes a bit of the fat into the solution, of which you throw away (you'll cook more fat out of the product than you would using this machine), and I laugh that it'll reduce sodium because salt (sodium chloride) is in the natural solution (see the website FAQ).
In all, I think this is a great marinating machine, but I think you can do about the same at home by trimming the extra fat, marinating with citrus fruits, and practicing good sanitation at home.
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6-16-2008 @8:56PM Alex said... As a reporter who knows a little bit about this sort of stuff, I would just caution you to be very, very careful about this. The biggest warning sign for me is exactly what Michael said above -- the claim about the reduction of bacteria that it achieves is not compared to the reduction of bacteria achieved by, say, washing the meat, or by cooking it.
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6-16-2008 @9:56PM Adam Fields said... Or, you could buy food that's not contaminated in the first place. Somehow, we keep coming back to treating the symptoms instead of the problem.
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6-16-2008 @10:18PM christopher said... Thanks to Michael Schmitt for the comprehensive analysis. I wouldn't spend the money to buy this either because I think my $400 is put to better use on naturally leaner and healthier grass fed meat and more robust organic veggies. It is appealing to have cleaning and marinating combined into one step though.
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6-17-2008 @8:55AM Ed T said... A washing machine for meats -- what will they think of next -- LOL. IMO rinsing meats in plain ol' tap water eliminates most bacteria and processing dreck and it doesn't cost $400.
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6-19-2008 @2:11PM kim said... *cry*
Will people frickin' stop it with antibacterial everything?
Killing 95% of the bacteria means that the strongest 5% survive and go on to make things more difficult for the next grand antimicrobial scheme.
Life is a little risky, people. When are we gonna learn to just deal with that?
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