Go to the Article: What Is Sous Vide?
I cooked this by accident. Thanks for the cool videos, please keep them coming.
- originally posted by cookingmonster
I've never thought of sous vide in terms of "doing something that cooks have always done... excluding oxygen". So very true, and enlightening.
Congratulations Chris, Grant, Ryan et al...excellent job producing this module...the future of culinary education is happening right before our eyes!
- originally posted by Jim Griffin
Thanks Jim!
I can see the benefits of storing food this way but cooking inside of plastic is not my idea of trying to keep chemistry out of my body. What tests have been done on the many types of plastic bags and how they exude harmful chemicals at higher temperatures during your cooking process. If I am not supposed to use them in the microwave because of this issue, how is cooking them in boiling water any different?
Hi Nancy:This is a great question. We have a very detailed answer on our forum, here: http://forum.chefsteps.com/dis...Chris
Chris what a great resource. Thank you for your commitment and passion to offering an inclusive body of knowledge for all. I look forward to increasing my experiences and knowledge with your advanced approach to cooking at a molecular level.
Thank you Walter. And welcome to ChefSteps.Chris
Sous Vide peaks my interest and I'm glad I join the site. I am not much of a cook, but I am inspired by food so I hope to lean a thing or two with these courses.
- originally posted by Michi Aironaz
Welcome Michi, we're sure that you'll become a better cook by getting involved with the class.Chris
Beautiful film and photography. And educational.
wowww!
- originally posted by ragda
Wow! This is absolutely wonderful. Yesterday I had only heard a small bit about the art Sous vide during a FANTASTIC demonstration by the Master himself, Chef Chris Young. As a freshman student of Johnson & Wales I can't wait to explore and experiment with this and similar cooking techniques. I am sure that anything is possible with SCIENCE! Plus I'm already full of creativity, in fact this may very well be the birth of a mad scientist.
- originally posted by Johnson-Clause
Beautiful videography! Great info nicely presented. Thanks!
Thank you Steve.
Hi, i'm an experienced cook/chef, but i'm still very interested in what you're doing here. i have one question, however what are those balls in the bath with the eggs for?!?!
- originally posted by PIbber Seventy
Those balls act as a lid that slows evaporation of water from the waterbath (our water baths stay on for very long periods of time). But unlike clunky lids, we can easily reach in and out of the bath without taking the lid off.
ah, ok. interesting. no sanitation concerns? do they come in different sizes, or is this just an adaptation of an already existing product that's not a culinary specific product?
This is a trick that's common in laboratories with these water baths. The balls can be purchased from PolyScience or through other lab supply companies like Cole Palmer or Fisher Scientific. They much smaller than ping pong balls. Sadly, they seem to be somewhat expensive.
How's it going Chris. I'm so happy to have found this site. I'm a chef in the Hudson Valley N.Y. . I've been looking every where for new cooking techniques since I'm always trying to learn something new. What you And the team are doing is greatly appreciated by me and I'm sure other Chefs around the world. I've worked hard to get where I am but it's still hard to find someone to teach me. Just wanted to say thanks.
You're welcome Kyle. Welcome to ChefSteps. Be sure to say hello in the forum too. A great community that's openly sharing ideas.
Why should you salt your protein after you sous vide and sear? Why can't you salt before you package and sous vide?
Salting prior to bagging and cooking low temp can lead to undesirable textures in your proteins. This is especially true if you are cooking for long periods, like a 48 hr short rib, or if you're going to cook, chill, and hold for use later. Personally I've seen minimal differences between pre/post SV salting, in the case of red meats cooked for 2 hours or less and served within a day or 2.
Wow I've seen this done on TV and am really gonna learn this technique!
wow.. when i saw for the first time hester blumenthal doing sous vide for the english submarines i was amazed, since i discovered chef steps... im in love. thx from bali
Are there any good sous vide cookbooks out there? I'm not much of an experimental cook. Thanks!
That last part was so well said!
Hey Dawn, There are a ton of recipes on this site to get you started, and we're releasing a bunch of basic sous vide stuff in the coming weeks. If you want to try cooking sous vide right away, consider the stovetop method, which requires no special equipment. I'd also refer you to our time and temperature guide—a quick cheat sheet to help you figure out exact settings for cooking anything from steak to vegetables—as well as this complete dish featuring simple sous vide pork chops. Douglas Baldwin, our staff mathematician and sous vide expert has a very useful book called _Sous Vide for the Home Coo_k. Check out his website here.
Your link got cut.
Would sous vide technique be a better way of cooking for diabetics?
Depending on the different types of food you prepare using the sous vide method is it necessary to change the water in the container or pots that you use?
You don't need to change the water since the products are sealed in a plastic bag. Some particles (e.g. smoke*) are small enough to travel through the bag, but I'm not sure if that will influence other products (haven't tried it). I suspect the effect will be hardly noticeable, if noticeable at all.
What aspect of sous vide cooking do you think would be better for diabetics? It is just a different preparation, it doesn't change anything* about the nutritional value.
Exactly what Justin said. The effect is most noticeable when you salt overnight or cook for extended periods of time, otherwise the difference in texture is marginal.
We don't usually change the water unless it becomes contaminated(broken/dirty bag) or we are done with the bath for the day. We will usually use a bath all day and change the temperature many times throughout the day as needed. But we always clean them when we are finished.
The food should be sealed well so the water won't get contaminated and you can cook different items at the same time if they need the same temperature. For long cooking sessions I do have to add more water when some evaporates.
It's just a different cooking method. It really depends on what you put in the bag.
i tried the Burger, just awesome..
Great video. I've been trying to explain this to friends who basically tune out as soon as I say "sous vide" or "water bath". I'm sending this to them as it does a super job in a short video. Thanks!
Fay, so glad to hear that and thanks so much for sharing.
I just made the pork chop tonight and the pork chop come out dry. I don't know what I did wrong. Do I need to put a lot of oil in the bag?
quick question! were the internal temperature were tasted with a probe?
When I cook cod fish with sous vide, the meat is very succulent, it's almost perfect. But I found there's a little bit of fishy when I taste it, should I brine it before cook it? I think the fish is fresh though, and I've put a pinch of salt over the fish when I put it in the zip bag.
Do you have any concerns about BPA's in plastic?
No, because the bags we use and recommend are made out of polyethylene, which does not contain BPA and has been shown to be safe.
I found that a liberal amount of oil helped keep everything moist & juicy, also (correct me if I am wrong) you want to stay away from "tenting" your meat afterwards, because that continues the cooking process. I made that mistake my first time through, and it was slightly dry, but still amazing!
I just discovered this way of cooking and I am so excited to try it out!
My thoughts exactly. There's a lot of research being done that show plastics (not just BPA) mimicking estrogen.
http://chriskresser.com/what-the-plastics-industry-doesnt-want-you-to-know
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/02/134196209/study-most-plastics-leach-hormone-like-chemicals
I'd also love to see the discussion if Chris could fix the link below.
Can you freeze the product at some point within the sous vide cooking process?
Someone once said the most brilliant ideas of our times are the simplest, and what best example than the sous vide method. Great presentation, and thanks for sharing it with us. I'm fixing to try the burger recipe, can't wait. I tried already the strawberry syrup to make a shrub, still need five days more to taste the results. Keep up the good job!
Can I seal my food with a vacuum sealer?
lol, was gonna say I did NOT post this, then realized it's not me.... what are the odds? my name is jim wheeler.
Yes you can, but you can also use ziplock-style freezer bags if you don't have access to a vacuum sealer.
Thanks, Julio! Upload a photo of your burgers!
Yes, you can freeze products before cooking sous vide, or you can cook food sous vide, then freeze it, then reheat it in the bath when you're ready to eat it. The rules are pretty much the same as any other cooking method -- freeze and reheat as desired.
That's great, Nicole! We have tons of recipes for sous vide, from super easy to super advanced. We hope you find lots of inspiration here!
Hi here folks!
I´ve been cooking sous vide for reasonable time but i´ve never solved one question, what difference does it makes to use a vacuum sealer or just use the water displacement method?
I mean, for transferring flavors is great to use a vacuum sealer but in terms of cooking whats the difference?
I hope you guys can help me with that!
I like the vacuum seal because I can plan out meals way in advance and put them in the freezer. When I'm ready, I just pull them out and I'm good to go. Great for those unexpected in-law visits when you want to impress, but not really have to do that much work.
Hi Allan, Jacob's answer is super helpful, and we'll add to it that vacuum-sealing food is good for loooong cook times (like several days), really hot temperatures (which most people usually won't use), and freezing cycles (as Jacob explains). Other than that, using gallon freezer bags/water displacement is perfectly fine. So if you mostly use sous vide for steaks and fish and other tender proteins, you won't need vacuum capability (unless you want to freeze, as Jacob suggests, though you can also freeze sous vide–cooked meats in ziplock-style bags—they just won't keep for as long). When you get into some longer cook times it's sometimes worth it, but still not entirely necessary—you can just get the sous vide–dedicated bags and use those with water displacement for extra safety. Hope this helps!
Now which is the better way, do u sous vide and freeze or freeze, thaw and sous vide?
