Sandra Anderson - Sous Vide Cookbook: Modern Day Techniques for Flawlessly Cooked Meals (Under Pressure Cooking Sous Vide)

Sous Vide Cookbook

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Table of Contents

Introduction

I would like to thank you for choosing this book, Sous Vide Cookbook - Modern Day Techniques for Flawlessly Cooked Meals.

The term sous vide might seem very intimidating. Sous vide is a cooking technique that helps the cook to realize the different flavors and textures that can be extracted from ingredients like no other method of cooking. By sealing food in plastic bags, then submerging the same at particular temperatures, cooks can produce astonishing results. This is what sous vide is all about. In this book, you will learn everything that you need to know about sous vide. From the history of sous vide, its meaning, tips for getting it right, the pros and cons of using this technique and the different equipment that you will require. You can tenderize tough cuts of meat, cook lean meats and even cook vegetables. Anything and everything can be cooked using this technique.

By now, you may have realized that it isnt as intimidating as it seemed when you opened this introduction. In fact, with the right equipment, this technique can make cooking quite easy. You will be able to produce consistent results and the food will retain its natural flavor as well.

So, why dont we get started without further ado?

Chapter 1: What is Sous Vide?

The most obvious question that needs to be answered is What is sous vide?

Not many are aware of what sous vide is. Imagine this. You are at a posh restaurant, eating an incredible pork chop and it is the best you have ever eaten. It has got a really crispy outer texture, its full of flavor and has a slightly sweet crust and a really tender, juicy and pink center. You might be eager to recreate this dish at home. So, you ask the server how the pork chop was cooked. The answer The chef used the sous vide method and then it was seared in a pan with a little bit of butter Before the server has even managed to finish the sentence, you might be wondering what the sous vide method is.

Sous vide is pronounced as soo veed. This is quite an amazing technique of cooking and it will help you in achieving consistent, reliable and amazing results by following certain precise instructions that will deliver the same results every single time. This is a French term and it literally means under vacuum. The vacuum in this context means a space or even a container from which all the air has been fully removed. When you are cooking by using this technique, you need to place the food in a bag (one with a Ziploc), made of polyethylene, or a silicone pouch, removing as much air as you can out of it before it is sealed. You can do this by immersing it in water as well.

The pressure of water can help in displacing the air. This bag thats been vacuum-sealed needs to be submerged in a water bath at a specific temperature. The other containers that are made use of for cooking sous vide comprise of canning jars made of glass, when you are cooking with liquids. The ingredients will need to receive as much free contact as possible with the temperature-controlled water that is present in the bath. Air happens to be a poor conductor of heat. The molecules in the air are far apart and they keep on moving. Water tends to have a higher degree of thermal mass, which means that it can absorb and store heat easily.

Constant heat ensures that the food is cooked uniformly and consistent results will be produced. For instance, if you want to cook your steak medium rare, then you will need to make sure that the temperature of the water is set in a range that produces the right amount of cooking. It should be somewhere between 131 degrees F/ 155 degrees C. You should then drop the sealed bag into this water, and the constant heat will help in gently cooking the meat from within. When the core temperature of the meat reaches the desired temperature, the cooking will stop. It is definitely a more flexible cooking process when compared with other methods. However, this doesnt mean that you leave the food to cook for an indefinite period of time. Especially when it comes to vegetables and seafood, as these foods need more delicate handling..

Now, you might be wondering what purpose that bag serves. There are three ways in which the integrity of the food can be compromised. Exposure to water, air and heat can impact the flavor. If the food is exposed to too much heat, it causes a chemical reaction and this can burn or dry the food out completely. If the food is directly placed into water, it will lose its texture and flavor, along with all the nutrients. Oxidation can change the texture, flavor, color and also the nutrient content of the ingredients.

By making use of a Ziploc bag or a silicone bag, and placing it in a water bath that is temperature controlled, this helps in protecting the ingredients from all the potential damage of other cooking methods. It also helps in transferring heat evenly. Also, when you make use of a bag for cooking, you will use comparatively fewer spices and herbs. Delicious results can be obtained without having to compromise on the quality of the ingredients.

Sous vide is definitely not the same as a boil in the bag meal. This isnt a ready-to-eat, factory prepared meal. The water baths that are made use of have a temperature control option and this means that the temperature will never go over 100 degrees Celsius. This provides so much more control over the cooking process. Boiling in a bag produces food that is slightly soft. However, when it comes to sous vide, the ingredients can stay crisp and tender and not become soft at all.

Sous vide is nothing like a Slow Cooker. The recipes tend to take a while longer than any of the traditional styles of cooking. However, this is where the any similarities end between a Slow Cooker and sous vide. Sous vide does provide a better control over both the temperature and time taken for cooking and produces consistent results every single time. With slow cooking, there is a chance for the food to get oxidized. However, with sous vide, there is no scope for oxidization. Sous vide is definitely not a difficult technique to make use of. Most of the work has been done for you already. Various chefs and scientists have figured out the basic instructions and temperatures that you should make use of for cooking.