What is “Sous Vide”?
Sous vide cooking is a method in which food is sealed in a bag, submerged in a water bath, and gradually brought to a specific temperature in order to ensure perfectly reliable results. There are many advantages to sous vide cooking, the most obvious is that it is virtually impossible to overcook your food!
Modern sous vide cooking relies on a specialized kitchen tool called a sous vide circulator: basically a sophisticated heating element that also circulates water to keep the water temperature even. The circulator makes sure the water is always set to the exact temperature that you desire, the food in the water bath will never rise above or fall below that temperature, so you never run the risk of over or undercooking anything.
Other than maintaining a constant temperature, the other important feature of sous vide cooking is the “vide” or vacuum. In order for your food to cook evenly, it needs to have even contact with the water bath. For this reason, you will need to use a method for sealing the food in a plastic bag. Simple food sealing devices like the FoodSaver (or any other brand) make the process fast, easy, and reliable. But if you don’t feel like purchasing another piece of equipment, you can achieve a good seal using the water displacement method. Simply place your food in a BPA-free Ziploc bag and seal all but a small corner of the Ziploc. Then, slowly submerge the bag in the water bath (make sure the water isn’t too hot when you do this). As you submerge the bag, the air will be forced out through the unsealed corner of the bag. When only this corner is above the surface of the water, pinch the Ziploc shut and all of the air will be removed.
Benefits of Sous Vide Cooking
Everyone is concerned about getting proper nutrition, but what you may not know is that certain cooking methods can actually destroy some of the vital nutrients that our bodies need. Many types of food, including meats and vegetables can lose a great deal of their nutrients while being cooked over high heat. Some fat based nutrients can simply break down and become less beneficial, while others are lost as the juices cook out of the food. With sous vide cooking, however, you don’t have to worry about losing those precious nutrients. Because sous vide uses much lower temperatures, the nutrients remain intact. And since the juices are all contained within the vacuum sealed bag, they don’t have anywhere to go.
Are you interested in sous vide? Then you’ll love our new book!
Sous-Vide book launch in summer 2019.
