My love for Sous Vide started in December of 2008 while i was on my co-op at Little Palm Island Resort and Spa in the Florida Keys. There I learned the most I have ever learned in my culinary career. At the resort I learned how to slow cook Pork Belly for 24hrs with an Immersion Circulator. I also learned how to cook Lamb Shank, Short Ribs, Lobster and even vegetables. This is where I was first exposed to the technique and just now realized how lucky I was to have experienced that. My experience developed into a passion, that is why I wrote this piece.
Vacuum Packed
By Chris deJesus
Sous vide is a cooking and storage technique that dates back to the 1970’s but is now being used by many renowned chefs around the world in very innovative ways. The technique is currently being used by many of our top chefs including: Thomas Keller, Paul Bocuse, Joël Robuchon, Charlie Trotter, Wylie Dufresne and Heston Blumenthal. Sous vide is French for "under vacuum”. It is a technique where raw ingredients are put in a vacuum-sealed plastic pouch, usually for a long time and cooked at a low temperature (usually around 60°C = 140°F). In some cases food is cooked for 24 hours or more. This history of Sous Vide dates back to the mid 1970’s when it was developed George Pralus for Pierre and Michel Troigros of Restaurante Troisgros in Roanne, France. It was developed when the brothers were trying to find a new way to cook foie gras since it sheds 30-50 percent of its original weight when cooked. After trial and error Pralus discovered that when the foie gras was cooked by the sous vide method it didn’t lose much of its original weight and has a better texture as well.
Sous vide has many health benefits and food cost benefits. Vacuum packaging prevents evaporative losses of flavor and moisture during cooking and inhibits off-flavors from oxidation. Vacuum sealing also reduces aerobic bacterial growth and allows for the very efficient transfer of thermal energy from the water (or steam) to the food. When comparing sous vide to confit, marinades or poaching it uses a lot less liquid therefore reducing the costs and keeping your efficiency high. All that is needed is a little bit of liquid to cover then amount of food in the pouch. New textures also seems to be a result of vacuum sealing and seem to create new angles to even the most simple foods such as watermelon. It also brightens the foods colors and holds the shape of the food better than any cooking method. The most obvious benefit and probably the best benefit is the even cooking results you get. When cooking meat or fish continuously at the desired temperature for hours the results have been mind blowing. The tenderness, flavor and temperature outshine any other traditional cooking method. To add texture the meat can even be seared after it is fully cooked.
Sous vide is not just for 5 star or Michelin rated restaurants but has now been made accessible for the home cook. Sous vide can be done the traditional way with an Immersion circulator submerged in water which would run you from nearly 1000 dollars. Sur La Table also sells a water over which also is highly effective and will run about 500 dollars. The least expensive method is Precision temperature controllers which can be used in a rice cooker or crock pot to create a sous vide meal. These readily available solutions make it simple for any cook to become a 5 star cook at home. From the 1970’s until now sous vide has come a long way and traveled many miles around the world to what is had become now a cooking phenomenon to be reckoned with.
Vacuum Packed
By Chris deJesus
Sous vide is a cooking and storage technique that dates back to the 1970’s but is now being used by many renowned chefs around the world in very innovative ways. The technique is currently being used by many of our top chefs including: Thomas Keller, Paul Bocuse, Joël Robuchon, Charlie Trotter, Wylie Dufresne and Heston Blumenthal. Sous vide is French for "under vacuum”. It is a technique where raw ingredients are put in a vacuum-sealed plastic pouch, usually for a long time and cooked at a low temperature (usually around 60°C = 140°F). In some cases food is cooked for 24 hours or more. This history of Sous Vide dates back to the mid 1970’s when it was developed George Pralus for Pierre and Michel Troigros of Restaurante Troisgros in Roanne, France. It was developed when the brothers were trying to find a new way to cook foie gras since it sheds 30-50 percent of its original weight when cooked. After trial and error Pralus discovered that when the foie gras was cooked by the sous vide method it didn’t lose much of its original weight and has a better texture as well.
Sous vide has many health benefits and food cost benefits. Vacuum packaging prevents evaporative losses of flavor and moisture during cooking and inhibits off-flavors from oxidation. Vacuum sealing also reduces aerobic bacterial growth and allows for the very efficient transfer of thermal energy from the water (or steam) to the food. When comparing sous vide to confit, marinades or poaching it uses a lot less liquid therefore reducing the costs and keeping your efficiency high. All that is needed is a little bit of liquid to cover then amount of food in the pouch. New textures also seems to be a result of vacuum sealing and seem to create new angles to even the most simple foods such as watermelon. It also brightens the foods colors and holds the shape of the food better than any cooking method. The most obvious benefit and probably the best benefit is the even cooking results you get. When cooking meat or fish continuously at the desired temperature for hours the results have been mind blowing. The tenderness, flavor and temperature outshine any other traditional cooking method. To add texture the meat can even be seared after it is fully cooked.
Sous vide is not just for 5 star or Michelin rated restaurants but has now been made accessible for the home cook. Sous vide can be done the traditional way with an Immersion circulator submerged in water which would run you from nearly 1000 dollars. Sur La Table also sells a water over which also is highly effective and will run about 500 dollars. The least expensive method is Precision temperature controllers which can be used in a rice cooker or crock pot to create a sous vide meal. These readily available solutions make it simple for any cook to become a 5 star cook at home. From the 1970’s until now sous vide has come a long way and traveled many miles around the world to what is had become now a cooking phenomenon to be reckoned with.
I work at Eos at he Viceroy Hotel and we use sous vide for many of our foods. We braise artichokes and white asparagus for two seperate appetizers. We also use it to compress fruit. This is perfect for extracting some of the moisture from the fruit and allowing for more exact cuts. We store most of our foods in these vacuum packed bags as well which is great for freshness and longetivity of quality.
ReplyDeleteJosh Elliott