The Sous Vide Cooking Technique enquiries@grantcreativecuisine.com www.grantcreativecuisine.com
What are the main benefits of the sous vide technique? There are a number of benefits to cooking using the sous vide technique. Here are just a few: Forgiving: Once ingredients reach the desired cooking temperature, they will never go above or below this. Bar a few very delicate ingredients, this means no more overcooking, and no loss of quality even if the ingredients have been in the sous vide water bath up to four hours longer than the original set time. Cost Savings: Sous vide can enhance all manner of proteins, allowing you to deliver premium quality dishes with lower cost cuts of meat. Equipment consumes a significant amount less electricity compared to other cooking equipment, with sous vide also helping save costs in cooking preparations and personnel costs - All adding to additional revenues. Flexibility: The sous vide technique is predominantly seen as a way of cooking meats evenly. However, sous vide is much more than that, with home cooks and professional chefs alike cooking all manner of ingredients including meats, fish, vegetables and fruits. The sous vide technique is also an excellent way to infuse alcohols and spirits together and so is becoming more and more popular in public houses and cocktail bars. Time Savings: The sous vide technique allows you to prepare ingredients well in advance of service, helping you to cook and serve ingredients quickly and efficiently when needed. Any ingredients not used in that service, can be refrigerated and used again later with no loss in quality. Simplicity: Whether you re cooking meat, fish, fruit or vegetables, simply add your ingredients to a vacuum pouch or resealable bag, seal the bag and then just place the bag into the sous vide water bath to cook at the desired temperature and time - It really couldn t be easier. Healthier: As all nutrients and minerals are captured in a vacuum sealed pouch, they cannot escape - meaning healthier fruits & vegetables together with more succulent, juicier meats and fish.
What important safety precautions should I take when cooking sous vide food? It is important to note that not all plastic bags are suitable for sous vide cooking and so it is essential users cook with food safe resealable bags or vacuum pouches. These are traditionally made from Polyethylene, but you should always check the bags / vacuum pouches you intend to cook with are food safe before using them. Another important consideration is correct serving and storage of sous vide food. If serving immediately, simply remove the ingredients from the bag once cooked, sear if desired and serve. If serving later, place the bags into an ice bath to cool before refrigerating. The quick chill method ensures food remains safe for eating later. To reheat - simply place the food back into the sous vide water bath, once the food has reached its original cooking temperature, it is ready to serve. A third consideration is to ensure bags are fully submerged in the water so that ingredients are cooked thoroughly.
How many portions can I cook in my sous vide water bath? This depends upon the size of the sous vide equipment you are cooking with. To separate bags from one another and to ensure consistent cooking, we suggest using a rack. Using a rack will also allow you to cook larger quantities of foods. Typically portions would be as follows: A 10-15 litre sous vide water bath should be able to cook between 12 and 16, 6oz (170g) portions. A 20-30 litre sous vide water bath should be able to cook between 24 and 32, 6oz (170g) portions.
Can an entire meal be cooked sous vide? In a word, Yes! A number of meals can be prepared entirely using the sous vide technique such as soups and stews. Simply add all ingredients to a bag, cook and serve. Alternatively, if some ingredients have been cooked previously, to complete a meal, simply bring all ingredients to the lowest temperatures of the set, before serving. The only thing to bear in mind is that cooking times and temperatures vary from one ingredient to another. What kind of foods can you cook sous vide? Sous vide is traditionally seen as an alternative method for cooking meats. However, the technique is extremely versatile, meaning all manner of ingredients can be cooked such as: Meat: Pork, Lamb, Beef, Chicken, Duck, Turkey, Quail Fish: Salmon, Cod, Haddock, Hake, Turbot, Trout, Tuna, Monkfish, Sea Bass Shellfish: Lobster, Shrimp, Prawns, Mussels, Scallops, Clams, Langoustines Vegetables: Carrots, Peas, Sweetcorn, Spinach, Broccoli, Butternut Squash, Cauliflower Fruits: Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Oranges, Apples, Pears, Tomatoes, Rhubarb, Kiwi, Damson Other Ingredients: Eggs, Rice, Pasta, Beans The sous vide technique is also popular in the infusing of spirits with fruits and other ingredients to create amazing cocktails and other drinks.
The Sous Vide Cooking Technique Is cooking in plastic bags safe? Yes, so long as the ingredients are cooked in food-grade Polyethylene, BPA free bags. Most recognised food storage bags are made from Polyethylene and so should be safe for sous vide cooking. Vacuum pouches specifically designed for sous vide cooking are also safe and are used more commonly in a professional setting.
The Sous Vide Cooking Technique What are the most common cooking temperatures? Typical cooking temperatures vary depending on the ingredients used: Meats and fish range from 50 C (131 F) to 70 C (158 F). Fruits and Vegetables are normally between 83 C (181.5 F) and 85 C (185 F) as this is the temperature at which pectin, the molecular 'glue' that holds cells together begins to break down. Eggs typically cook at between 60 C (140 F) and 70 C (158 F) depending on your cooking preference.
What sous vide equipment do I need to get started? This depends entirely on the extent to which you will be cooking sous vide. At Home: You would need a sous vide water bath or immersion circulator and tank together with some resealable bags or a domestic vacuum sealer. In a Professional Kitchen: Depending on the size of the establishment, the kitchen would require at least two circulators or water baths, together with two good quality vacuum or chamber sealers (one for raw and one for cooked foods to comply with HACCP regulations) and a good quantity of sous vide bags. Other items such as date labels would also be useful if ingredients are being cooked in advance of service. The quantity of equipment could easily increase depending on how prominently sous vide features on the menu, not to mention if sous vide is incorporated into bar and cocktail menus. How long can you store cooked foods in the refrigerator? As long as your cooked ingredients are chilled quickly in an ice bath before refrigerating, they can typically be stored for anything from 48 hours to 10 days. To serve these ingredients later, they just need to be brought to their original cooking temperatures in the sous vide water bath before serving. This can vary of course, depending on the ingredients, and can be longer if you choose to freeze foods after chilling them.
Can you reheat or cook frozen foods using the sous vide technique? Put simply, yes. When cooking raw, frozen ingredients, the cooking time should be extended by at least an hour to allow the ingredients to thaw and reach the desired temperature throughout. For previously refrigerated, cooked foods, the cooking time should be extended by between 30 minutes and an hour. Times will of course vary from ingredient to ingredient depending on the desired temperature and thickness of that ingredient.
What clean up is involved when cooking sous vide? Very little and that's another benefit of the sous vide technique. All the cooking is done within the sous vide bags, so there's little washing up or mess. What's more, when you're done, simply pour away the water, wipe the water bath and store. How much energy does a typical piece of sous vide equipment consume? Compared to traditional cooking equipment, typical energy consumption is incredibly low. For example, the Grant Creative Cuisine Primo 10 sous vide water bath uses 700W of power when heating up, but once it has reached the set temperature it uses less energy than a light bulb (60W) to cook a rare steak at 50 C (122 F) and less than 200W to cook vegetables at 84 C (183 F).
Which sous vide product is right for me? For the Home: For those looking to cook sous vide for the first time, we would recommend a sous vide water bath such as the Primo 10, a 10 litre sous vide water bath built by hand in the UK, which comes complete with rack, based tray, lid, 60 recipe cookbook and a 2 year warranty. For those with limited space, Grant Creative Cuisine do offer an alternative. The Uno Sous Vide Controller is extremely compact and can be connected to any existing analogue rice or slow cooker that you may already have in your home, converting it into an accurate sous vide water bath. The Compagno is simply the Uno offered with a compatible rice cooker to make a great starter sous vide package. For the Professional: For the professional chef, this depends entirely on the nature of the business. If space is not an issue and the kitchen in question cooks set quantities, then a set of tabletop sous vide water baths such as the Pasto range would be perfect. If chefs are limited by space, then a set of sous vide water baths that are built into the countertop or a set of immersion circulators are more suitable. This allows better flexibility in the kitchen. Grant Creative Cuisine offer both solutions through the Vortice and Pasto Drop in ranges. A third alternative for a small commercial kitchen (i.e. a Cafe or coffee shop) looking to introduce sous vide for the first time would be to invest in a small sous vide water bath and then scale up the as the requirements of the business increase. A perfect product in this instance would be the Primo 10.
About Grant Creative Cuisine Introducing Grant Creative Cuisine, a complete range of high quality consumer and professional sous vide equipment including portable immersion circulators and water baths. With over 60 years experience designing and manufacturing sophisticated fluid temperature control systems, Grant has a worldwide reputation for the highest levels of quality, reliability, service and support. All manufactured in the United Kingdom, Grant includes a range of tools, from the Uno sous vide controller and Primo range water baths for the at-home cook to the Pasto water baths and Vortice portable immersion circulator for the professional chef. All Grant products are offered with full product warranties and are the preferred choice of leading chefs around the world due to their quality, reliability and durability. For further information: Join the sous vide community Email: enquiries@grantcreativecuisine.com Web: www.grantcreativecuisine.com GrantCuisine GrantCuisine Grant_Cuisine GrantCuisine