Sous vide cooking

Sous-vide is a cooking and preservation technique first elaborated by Benjamin Thompson at the end of the 18^th century and then perfected in the sixties. “Sous vide” means “under vacuum” in French. It consists in storing food in special plastic bags and extracting as much air as possible with a vacuum sealing machine.

Generally, the vacuumed bags are submerged in water that is kept at a stable temperature by a roner, a very popular instrument used by most chefs nowadays.

This procedure allows food to be preserved longer, avoiding bacterial proliferation.

When cooking at low temperatures in water (or steam), it allows a perfect monitoring. Keeping control of the temperature is the best way to having your food cooked just the way you want it.

In addition, cooking with low temperatures (50° to 85° degrees Celsius – 120° to 185° Fahrenheit) will help you cooking stress-free your expensive meat or fish cuts, and get the best out of those cheaper pieces.

Sous-vide cooking allows heat to be spread as evenly as possible throughout your food, enhancing its taste. This technique prevents flavor loss thanks to no oxidation or humidity dispersion, preventing all nutrients and juices to evaporate. Fats will melt and distribute, boosting the flavors for a super nutrient and tasty dish.

Pros of Sous Vide
– more control over the cooking of food than traditional methods;
– allows cooking without the use of added fat;
– prevents loss of flavor due to oxidation and moisture dispersion;
– prevents loss of nutritional properties due to evaporation of volatile substances during cooking;
– in restaurants helps to reduce waste and better plan the work.

Cons of Sous Vide
– long cooking times;
– considerable consumption of plastic bags;
– purchase of specific equipment;
– the risk that food, especially meat, will not be cooked sufficiently and bacterial proliferation will increase.