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This is my 3rd roast with my early 20th century German makeshift cast iron roasting ‘pan’, which was designed for roasting on a coal/wood ‘Aga’ type stove. Cost to date: roaster $65 + camp type gas stove $40 + colander $10 = $115
My question is this: Is there something peculiar to roasting on a fire? What I mean is the following:
-I started roasting with a popper. Max 40 gram, in effect roasting on a fluid bed of hot air. I guess since corn pops at 350 F, that was the temperature pretty much from the start. The beans roll about in the hot air and all is very uniform. No slow heating up, no profile of temperature, just even heat and the roast was done in 12 or so minutes.
-then (lucky me) I got the Hottop roaster. 250g, ability to try roast profiles, and repeat them. Roasts take 21-23minutes, VERY even beans. The beans are not in direct contract with heat, tumbling in the drum. Rapid cooling in the tray. Lovely. But I could not take the Hottop to Cyprus.
-Now the Cast iron pot. The last roast took 23 minutes. I had washed the beans, and dried them a bit in a towel. At 8min they started browning, C1 from 15-19 min, C2 starts at 22 min, all beans out in the winnowing colander at 23 min. What I get is this:
>small number of spoiled burned beans
>maybe 2% of beans that are burned on the outside but NOT inside
>a really nice tasting roast. Possibly as nice as with the Hottop.
So, can I possibly expect to achieve ‘evenly roasted’ beans or is this just how it works out with roasting on fire? After all, the heat transfer is by direct contact of the beans with the heated cast iron pot. With the best of even agitation it may not be possible to prevent some beans getting externally scorched. And, the small number of burned beans is probably ok.
Any suggestions on how to improve the evenness of the roast?
Here are some photos of the last roast:
My question is this: Is there something peculiar to roasting on a fire? What I mean is the following:
-I started roasting with a popper. Max 40 gram, in effect roasting on a fluid bed of hot air. I guess since corn pops at 350 F, that was the temperature pretty much from the start. The beans roll about in the hot air and all is very uniform. No slow heating up, no profile of temperature, just even heat and the roast was done in 12 or so minutes.
-then (lucky me) I got the Hottop roaster. 250g, ability to try roast profiles, and repeat them. Roasts take 21-23minutes, VERY even beans. The beans are not in direct contract with heat, tumbling in the drum. Rapid cooling in the tray. Lovely. But I could not take the Hottop to Cyprus.
-Now the Cast iron pot. The last roast took 23 minutes. I had washed the beans, and dried them a bit in a towel. At 8min they started browning, C1 from 15-19 min, C2 starts at 22 min, all beans out in the winnowing colander at 23 min. What I get is this:
>small number of spoiled burned beans
>maybe 2% of beans that are burned on the outside but NOT inside
>a really nice tasting roast. Possibly as nice as with the Hottop.
So, can I possibly expect to achieve ‘evenly roasted’ beans or is this just how it works out with roasting on fire? After all, the heat transfer is by direct contact of the beans with the heated cast iron pot. With the best of even agitation it may not be possible to prevent some beans getting externally scorched. And, the small number of burned beans is probably ok.
Any suggestions on how to improve the evenness of the roast?
Here are some photos of the last roast:
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