If you are new to sous vide or typically use traditional high-heat cooking methods, the concept of vacuum sealing your food and immersing it in a water bath may appear peculiar.
Sous vide is a culinary method of French origin that entails sealing individual portions of food in bags and cooking them at low temperatures for a specific duration.
If you’re questioning the purpose of sous vide cooking, it provides a convenient method that produces consistent, high-quality meals without requiring much effort. By sealing your food in a pouch, its natural juices and flavors are preserved, resulting in a tender and flavorful dish that is both healthy and easy to prepare.
With sous vide cooking, your food maintains its original shape and preserves all the essential nutrients that are typically lost during boiling or steaming, allowing you to prepare a wide range of dishes including meat, vegetables, beans, grains, and even desserts.
What Are the Benefits of Sous Vide Cooking?
Utilizing the sous vide technique for meal preparation can yield various advantages in terms of your well-being, finances, and daily routine.
Using the sous vide technique is simple and convenient, allowing for the preparation of nutritious dishes that retain their taste and consistency.
You Receive Tastier and Richer Flavors.
When it comes to vacuum-sealed items, dehydration is often a concern, but with sous vide cooking, the food retains its shape and moisture even when sealed in the bag.
When using sous vide cooking, the food’s form, taste, and original hue will remain intact, allowing for the use of less expensive cuts that will still result in a delicious outcome.
The Meal is Healthier.
Sous vide cooking preserves the vitamins and minerals of food during the cooking process, eliminating the need for extra fat or salt.
As a result of sous vide cooking, the food becomes more nutritious and does not require additional ingredients that may reduce its appeal to health-conscious individuals.
Additionally, individuals with health conditions that restrict their intake of salt or fat can still relish their meals through sous vide cooking.
Restaurant Quality Food.
Sous vide cooking ensures that any meat cooked using this method will be tender, juicy, and moist, while vegetables will maintain their crunch and color.
With sous vide cooking, food can maintain its texture and flavors, preventing issues like chewy chicken or soggy broccoli.
With the sous vide cooking technique, consistent results can be achieved for a particular dish every time due to its precise and gradual temperature control.
Sous vide cooking is ideal for those who prefer their favorite dishes to be prepared in a particular way, as it allows them to cook it according to their preferences without the fear of significant variations from the previous attempts.
No More Undercooked or Overcooked Food.
Undercooked food is a common problem when cooking on the stovetop due to high temperatures that rapidly cook the exterior of the food while leaving the interior uncooked.
After cooking, the meal may appear cooked but is still raw and poses a potential health hazard.
With sous vide cooking, there is no need to worry about undercooked food since the low temperature guarantees thorough cooking, allowing for searing or browning afterwards.
Schedule Your Time Better.
Similar to slow cooking, sous vide allows for meal preparation in advance and the ability to cook at a convenient time by placing it in a pouch.
It is possible to prepare numerous dishes in less than half an hour, and extended cooking times can be managed while away from home or occupied with other tasks.
Extremely Easy to Use & Low Maintenance!
Utilizing the sous vide technique does not require an excessive amount of time or attention, as setting a timer is sufficient and there is no need to constantly monitor the machine.
Preparing your food, prepping the water bath, setting the temperature, and placing your food inside are all that is required for sous vide cooking.
It is important to ensure that your food is clipped to the side of the machine during sous vide cooking to prevent it from getting caught in the circulator, and after cooking, turn off the machine, dispose of the water bath, and clean the machine thoroughly.
You Can Cook in Large Quantities.
Contrary to popular belief, a smaller machine does not limit your ability to cook for large dinner parties.
Sous vide cooking allows for effortless preparation of individual servings for a sizable gathering, eliminating the need for constant monitoring of all dishes and enabling you to cook in bulk while still relishing communal meals.
Investing in a sous vide machine may require an initial cost, but in the long term, it can lead to savings due to the minimization of waste that this cooking technique offers.
How?
Sous vide cooking consumes less electricity compared to ovens, resulting in cost savings on utility bills whether you are cooking for one or a whole family.
With sous vide cooking, you can increase the longevity of your food without compromising its tenderness and juiciness, but it is important to reheat the food at lower temperatures to avoid overcooking or burning.
It is Very Safe to Use.
Sous vide cooking differs from traditional cooking methods in that it utilizes low and gradual temperatures from the beginning, rather than manipulating high external temperatures to achieve a desired internal temperature.
Cooking with sous vide is much safer for individuals who are accustomed to getting burned from fire or heated metal because the cooking process never reaches boiling temperatures, and the exterior of the cooking device remains cool to the touch.
Appeal to Multiple Palates.
Have you ever been in a situation where cooking different dishes with varying cook times or adding diverse rubs, marinades, spices, and herbs for a family dinner or dinner party is too time-consuming?
By utilizing sous vide cooking, it is possible to separate various recipes into individual pouches and effortlessly regulate the level of doneness.
What is the Best Thing to Cook in Sous Vide?
Experiment with sous vide cooking by trying out these foods!
Tough Cuts of Meat. Don’t avoid tougher cuts of meat just because they are less desirable or not considered the best. The reason for their undesirability is due to their robust protein strands, making them harder to cook and eat. However, a sous vide machine can break down these proteins, resulting in tender and enjoyable meat.
Eggs! Achieving the perfect consistency for eggs can be challenging due to their delicate nature, but cooking them using sous vide ensures precise temperature control and consistent results every time.
Pork. At times, pork can be dry and tasteless, and it needs more attention and preparation to make it tender and delicious. However, when you use the sous vide method to cook pork, all the fat and juices are retained inside the pouch, resulting in a more flavorful pork chop.
Vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, asparagus, beets, potatoes, green beans, cauliflower, fennel, leeks, and onions are all well-suited for sous vide cooking and root vegetables in particular will yield exceptional results.
Sous vide cooking can help you avoid the common problems of undercooked and over-flavored lamb, resulting in a succulent dish with no guesswork involved.
Avoid using sous vide cooking method for the following items to know the reasons behind it.
Liver. Although it is possible to use the sous vide technique to cook liver, it is not recommended as it does not enhance the quality of the meat. This is because liver is already a lean meat and therefore, cooking it sous vide will not result in a texture or flavor that is as rich as other meats.
Fillet Fish/Steak. Although fillet fish can be cooked using sous vide, it may not turn out well for most individuals due to the delicate and flaky nature of the fish. Removing them from their pouch after going through the water bath may cause them to fall apart. Shellfish or scallops are preferable alternatives. On the other hand, fillet steak is already tender and lean, so the sous vide machine will have minimal effect on it.
Hollandaise. Getting this food right is a challenge, and although some chefs argue that sous vide is effective for it, others observe that it disintegrates and appears unappealing when removed from the bag.
It is important to remember that achieving the perfect temperature and recipe for any food you cook may require some trial and error, but once you do, you can effortlessly create consistent and delectable outcomes.
You can also check this video about “What’s the Point of Sous Vide Cooking?”
