Why so few women here?

susan_fox_33805

Is sous vide a men's sport? Why so few women pioneers?

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Johan_Edstrom_5586

That is something I've wondered too.

If you are interested in regular food and chef content I can recommend G+, most of

my female chef friends there tend to lean towards asian, american, fusion and pastry though.

susan_fox_33805

@Seijoed thanks ... I haven't quite gotten into G+ ... I'll need to investigate further. Thanks for the tip.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

Here is a circle of about 600 people that regularly post food related stuff.

https://plus.google.com/circles/food-stream-p535ef00e88cbd9b2

Chris_Young_80640

@Susan Fox We're not entirely sure. I know the Blvcooks is a woman. We would love to have more participate.

Mason_Perry_34060

I was thinking about this the other day, I suppose one of the reasons might be that most of the DIY stuff to make an immersion circulator would appeal more to men tinkering than to women? I am sure both men and women have made DIY stuff but all the reviews and posts I have seen have been from men. (like on Amazon)

Other than that I have not a clue....

Patrick_Ancillotti_6135

I'm almost at the point where I've managed to convince my misses to join, but I'm not sure either... Top Chef has quite a few ladies on too!

Grace_95227

Think I agree with @Mason, when I first discovered sous vide I had to get my guy friends to fix up a DIY rig for me to play with!

michaelnatkin

Let me throw this back to the group: what can we do to help home cooks (who are still disproportionately women in 2012) give the idea of sous vide a chance instead of dismissing it out of hand because it is unfamiliar and looks intimidating?

Johan_Edstrom_5586

I've thought about that a lot, I've even offered to build DYI kits free of charge to female cooks I know.

My wife isn't interested in it either when I travel. I think she'd use a creative series as it doesn't look as

dangerous. She has used my systems when I've left them filled and primed a few times but it seems she goes back to regular cooking.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Here's something that happened Wednesday night. My wife offered to make dinner since I play hockey wednesday nights and she decided she wanted to do chicken with sauteed green beans and caramelized onions. I've taught her how to do the green beans on many occasions and she's got that down pretty nicely. She's not a cook by any means and would subside on tomato soup and cheese and tomato sandwiches if she was allowed. But the chicken, it was about as close to sawdust as you could get and I asked her why she didn't do it sous vide like I had been teaching her for the past several months here and there.

The basic response I get is something like this:

1) I don't know how to use the vacuum sealer

2) I don't know what temp to put it in at

3) I don't know how long to put it in there for

4) How do I know when it's done?

5) I'm worried I will break your machine.

I think for my wife she would get into it if there was some pre-programming involved. I am going to teach her how to use the chamber vac, but for the water bath I think she's intimidated by it and if there were a way to push a button for "chicken" and be done with it she would be happy. I'm toying with the idea of a pictorial guide to the process in almost a comic strip style to try and demystify the process. I have seen something similar done with a guide to soldering (http://mightyohm.com/files/soldercomic/FullSolderComic_EN.pdf) that has been widely successful but maybe something like that can be made in conjunction with chefsteps to help spread the word about sous-vide cooking at home and to make it more accessible.

Mason_Perry_34060

My wife doesn't really cook at all. I think she would have the same response as your wife did. I am not sure how we could make it more simple (It seems really simple to me) I was thinking since I could prevac it and freeze it, then just set the Polyscience Professional chef to the right temp, tell her to turn it on, put X piece of frozen food in and wait say an hour. Remove bag of stuff from water, cut open, dry said stuff, sear said stuff in a hot pan, enjoy said stuff.

So far shes not too keen on the idea since I always seem to be around to do it. To me it doesn't seem any more complex than baking a frozen pizza or microwaving a frozen meal.... there are still about 6 steps involved with all of them. And to be perfectly honest, the circulator has 4 buttons, the oven has about 14 and the microwave has 20..... so it still seems the most simple, plus you can really over cook it if it's in there for an hour.... I don't know what the deal is or why it seems intimidating, I guess it's the old story of leaving your comfort zone and stick with what you know...

susan_fox_33805

@mason perry To me, that's not cooking. That's preparing. Some people just don't like doing what it takes to get a good meal on the plate and that's their prerogative. Luckily, your wife has you <g>

I think the current lack of women participating in the site may well be because so much of this is cutting edge, perceived as a bit geeky, and untested with the wider public. I predict in time sous vide will take over conventional methods (I **hate** stoves, at least the clunkers I've always had) and eventually women will be doing so in greater and greater numbers. Until then, I suspect it's going to be predominantly men's domain. For me, just being liberated from the tyranny of time (within reason) is a revelation and well worth the effort of the learning curve.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

The other thing that hurts sous vide seems to be a massive amount of bad information out there.

* Texture issues (Not true or cooked at very high temps I guess)

* Botulism

* Dangerous, infection bladhi, bladhi

* Not "romantic" and "sweaty" like real cooking

* Doesn't require skill - Fun that that so often seems to come from people with temperature controlled smokers

* Too elaborate recipes

Those are just some of the things I've seen on forums.

I think many also regard it as a "special dinner" device, they don't get the fact that you don't need to worry about time and can plan much more loosely.

Mason_Perry_34060

@Susan_Fox Yes I agree that it is just preparing at that point, and yes i think over time it will become more mainstream, I don't know why any circulators or water baths have been used on network cooking shows. I know the number one thing on Alton Brown's list of things people had wished he had covered with Good Eats was Sous Vide. So I think people who are interested in cooking, like folks like ourselves are interested, they just need a more accessable way to access a unit, as with any new technology time will drive the price down, but I would bet money that if it was used on a network cooking show people who cook occasionally would be much more interested in a simple, easy, way of preparing food that they already cook.

If someone could make an immersion circulator in the $200 dollar price range, I think it would be a winner, not something that is used everyday, but maybe once or twice a week, and something that could fit in a pot people already own. Again vaccum sealing will push that to about $300 dollars right away putting it out of the reach of "part time" cooks.

Grace_95227

@Susan Fox, totally agree. I think it's a perception thing too. We all, having known the other conventional cooking methods for so long, are naturally resistant to change. How I do this is not to tell people, but in fact invite people over for dinner and sneak in a sous vide chicken breast or simple egg to see their surprised faces! Then they are more open and less sceptical, having seen the results...

susan_fox_33805

@Grace subversive sous vide! *twirls mustache*

Chris_Young_80640

So folks, if you were going to convince wives, girlfriends, or female friends that they should cook sous vide, what would you say to them?

Johan_Edstrom_5586

I just asked my wife. - It isn't shown on TV, it isn't shown on Food Network, it isn't talked about.

It is new to home-cooking, it is even if I know it much more complicated looking than a crock pot dinner.

Those were her comments.

Mason_Perry_34060

I just asked my wife and she said and I quote "ya I could do it, it's really easy and I would make a steak. If you didn't have the Sous Vide I wouldn't have a steak because cooking it any other way would be too difficult. "

My wife is not a cook, she doesn't bake, she knows how to make top ramen. And I guess now, how to cook Sous Vide steak!

@Chris to answer your question I start a night class tomorrow and I asked her if she was going to cook herself dinner. She said she really hadn't thought about it so I suggested Sous Vide and she was like ya I want a filet! I could see her using this on nights I'm not home but I never see her really wanting to cook more, she isn't a food geek she's just married to one.

Brendan_Lee_56950

I asked my wife about this the other night after I read this topic and she said she knows the basics, really wants me to make time/temp tables for quick reference, and basically doesn't use it because it's not the first thing she thinks about. So basically echoing what @seijoed said above, it's not mainstream enough to become a go-to cooking method for her.

I find myself thinking that way too sometimes though. I will make a quick meal one night and later as I'm eating think about how I could have adapted the same recipe to sous-vide cooking and if it would be worth it and more often than not it will be.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

@Brendan we have time + temp tables posted in the kitchen, I write em down on my planning whiteboard, it is possible it is an out of sight, out of mind issue too - I turn on my baths at around lunch if I need or the latest around 4 (Yes, working from home helps).

BlvCook_25591

@Chris & Michael: ideas on how to convince new home cooks to use sous vide?

Need to make it more simple and a faster preparation. For daily cooking, most people are not going to prepare salmon brined, cooked sous vide, cooled for 6 hours and then reheated when they can grill it and be on the table within 20 minutes. Perhaps recipes that you can serve right away (i.e. cooking the salmon at a higher temp like 109 -119 degrees F). What recipes can be done overnight? Liken to crock pot.
How to use sv for components of dishes, but not the entire meal, which can overwhelm. Focus on holding food at proper temp until everything else is finished.
Leftovers: I think sv is perfect for leftovers b/c you don't over cook meat or veggies when reheating. How can you transform leftovers?
Tap into the healthy eating market. With vacuum packing & water bath, you don't need much fat (if any) and flavor are intensified b/c of ruptured cells. This was one of the main reasons I started.
Lowering the cost of the equipment would make it much more accessible. I was hoping the Nomiku was going to be cheaper than it appears it will be - not that you have much control about this.
Maybe more of a female presence on your videos, other than weighing ingredients?

Johan_Edstrom_5586

@BlvCook - I like those points, the last one probably would do quite a bit.

susan_fox_33805

I think lowering the cost of the equipment is key. Women are not DIY'ers and if the units could be produced in the $300-400 range, about the cost of a kitchen aide, that would go a long way. Also, the technique needs a "regular joe(sephine)" champion on a popular cooking show. So far we've only seen it on Top Chef and possibly Iron Chef and both of those shows feature professionals.

Having said that, just getting people back to actually preparing their own food is a huge challenge. Americans stopped cooking in the 50s and it's going to take a sea change to get them to come back to the kitchen in any meaningful way. Maybe now that we are becoming more aware of the obesity epidemic we will start changing but it's going to be slow regardless of gender.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

Another good point @Susan.... We decided as a family I guess 6-7 years ago to never buy anything that came processed in a package if we could avoid it, the other goal we set is to have more recycle than garbage.

That seems to lead instinctively to better food.

Mason_Perry_34060

@Seijoed Being at home during the day really helps since I can turn on the bath or change temps/transfer to holding. My wife works all day so I don't see her coming home and deciding to make a meal Sous Vide unless she has planned it in advance. I think cooking overnight, fridge it during the day and a quick reheat for dinner would appeal to most families. Even when I take a frozen 28oz ribeye from freezer to plate I can normally get it medium rare in less than an hour which is faster than trying to thaw a steak and cook it another way. I don;t think Sous Vide will explode until it's been on national TV in a more mainstream manner than Iron Chef or Top Chef.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

@Mason Perry, I think I'm a little obsessive like all of us here, I'd rather eat a well cooked pork loin cold on a sammich than do a Rachel Ray meal, when I do work out of the house I'll prep in advance in the evening after dinner for the next day, I just think food is more interesting than TV so I don't mind using up some of my evening.

Mason_Perry_34060

I have a 60" flat screen mounted on the wall across from my kitchen, I have an Island with the cooktop and oven facing it so I get to enjoy both (The reason I wanted to buy this house was for the kitchen, well and the italian marble master bathroom!)

But I agree, i am not a huge TV person, I normally have music playing on it while I cook. I have a hard time sitting in one place for very long, I would rather be doing something.

Lachlan_Hunt_17368

My girlfriend thinks sous vide is too complicated and time consuming. And she's right, considering I'm currently limited to improvising with a pot on the stove and water displacement bagging. That takes a fair bit of patience and skill to get everything set up just right, and then have to wait for an hour or two while things cook. This is mostly due to cost. I'm living in Norway, which doesn't help, because the machines are even more expensive here than in other countries.

My girlfriend just wants something that can be prepared relatively quickly after coming home from work, and in that respect, having a proper sous vide machine that could be turned on in the morning and be finished cooking when we get home would be extremely useful. But that just can't be done with improvised techniques that need constant monitoring.

It's also difficult to cook multiple things sous vide without multiple water baths. I can't do both meat and vegetables in sous vide without having two water baths that can be set at different temperatures. So then we're typically left with doing the meat in sous vide and the vegetables or other side using other cooking methods.

She's also concerned about the preparation time involved with sous vide. Although I think it would be extremely useful to be able to prepare a a few weeks worth of food in vacuum bags that can be frozen and put straight into a sous vide whenever we like, she's not convinced we would have the time or motivation to do that once every few weekends.

Mason_Perry_34060

@Lachlan My wife wasn't convinced either about the whole buy stuff in bulk or on sale and seal it and then eat it whenever you want, but after you have the freedom to come home and choose between a frozen pizza or a juicy perfectly cooked steak (by the way you can go take a shower or do stuff while the steak cooks, you have to watch the pizza so it doesn't burn) for about the same price, you will always find motivation to seal and freeze in advance, we have found that it really allows us to eat a lot healthier as well.

As for not having an immersion circulator yes the baby sitting a stovetop method seems like a pain but if you make the jump to a waterbath of some sort you will really get an understanding of how easy it is.

As for the not being able to cook 2 different temp foods at the same time (protein and veggies) I have run into the same problem. I cook the protein first, then put it in hot water in an ice chest. I remove about half of the water in the bath and then add boiling water to quickly raise the temp for veggies. Veggies go in, protein stays warm, dry and sear protein as veggies finish, plated together you get hot perfectly cooked protein and hot fresh veggies.

Since you don't have the immersion circulator I would in your case, cook veggies first, shock in ice water bath and place in fridge, then cook protein at desired temp and the last 5 to 10 minutes I would add the veggies to the pot of water the protein is cooking in to bring them to temp, but they won't overcook as the temperature is lower than what they were cooked at. Kill the heat in the pot, remove and dry then sear protein and then plate hot veggies and protein together.