As sous vide machines start to find their way intomore and more home kitchens, professional chefs around the world are chuckling to themselves and wondering where the rest of us have been for all these years!
In fact, renowned chef Heston Blumenthal even said that “Sous vide cooking is the single greatest advancement in cooking technology for decades.”
Sous vide hasbeen commonplace in professional kitchens since around the 1990s, so why do the pros love it so much?
The Taste
Of course, the most important thing to any chef, whether in a Michelin-starred kitchen or simply in thekitchen at home, is the taste and flavour of adish.
When cooking using traditional methods, bothflavour and juices can be lost along the way.
Byvacuum sealing all your ingredients, however, you keep all of the flavours and juices together throughout the whole cooking process.
The flavour is all locked in and as your ingredientscook in their own natural juices, the flavour is kicked up a notch in the final product! Believe it or not, vacuum packing alone intensifiesthe flavour of any ingredient.
The Precision
When you’re working in a professional kitchen, there’s no room for error, and things have to be done exactly by the book.
This is where sous vide really comes into its own, allowing chefs an unparalleled level of control over their dishes.
With a traditional oven or grill, the temperature will invariably vary by a couple of degrees throughout the cooking process.
But with sous vide, chefs can choose their temperature and maintain itwithin 0.5 degrees throughout.
This is how they manage to get your steak cooked exactly the way you like it, time after time.
The Convenience
In a professional kitchen, with orders coming thick and fast, it’s importantto be able to spend as little time as possible prepping each dish.
While sous vide canmean lengthy cooking times, very little of this time actually requires the chef’s attention.
Most dishes require only a few minutes to prepare the ingredients and seal them in a vacuum pack.
After this, it’s a case ofsimplyheating up the water bath to the desired temperature, drop in the ingredients and leave them to cook for at least the required time to ensure a properly-cooked dish.
There’s no need to check on the food or stir it while it cooks, leaving the chef free to crack on with the billion other things that need doing.
Once adish is done, it can be held at serving temperature for a long time without a risk of it drying out, over-cooking or burning, which is another thing a busy chef can take off their mind!
The Nutritional Benefits
While taste and presentation are key to a professional chef’s work, they also care about the nutritional values of the food they’re serving up.
After all, we’re a much more health conscious society nowadays, and it’s important that chefs consider this at all times.
In a traditional high-temperature cooking method, a large numberof important water soluble fats, vitamins and antioxidants are lost into the cooking liquid or evaporate into the air.
Much like the flavour and juices though, these important healthy elements are retained in the sous vide process!
The Presentation
One possible issue some people might have with sous vide cooking is that when the meat comes out, it can look a little bit strange and undercooked (even though it’s actually perfectly cooked).
Of course, presentation is just as important as taste to a professional chef, but this doesn’t need to be an issue with sous vide cooking.
Once the food comes out, it’s a quick and simple task tofinish the meat off either in a pan or using a blowtorch tocreate a browning reaction and a crispy aroma, all while maintaining the tender and moist centre. This is what results in meat looking exactly like you’d expect it to when served on a plate.
If you’re a professional chef and you’re yet totryout sous vide in your own kitchen, why not check out out professional chef shop for all the equipment you could possibly need.
FAQs
Sous vide involves vacuum sealing food into food-grade plastic, then submerging into water and cooking the food using precise times and temperatures. The benefits of sous vide are immediately apparent to anyone who's tried it. The flavor, texture, color and consistency of the food are all enhanced dramatically.
Why do chefs like sous vide? ›
Sous vide involves vacuum sealing food into food-grade plastic, then submerging into water and cooking the food using precise times and temperatures. The benefits of sous vide are immediately apparent to anyone who's tried it. The flavor, texture, color and consistency of the food are all enhanced dramatically.
What's so great about sous vide cooking? ›
Since the temperature is controlled precisely, there is no risk of overcooking or undercooking your food. This means that your steak will be perfectly cooked to your desired level of doneness, your vegetables will be perfectly tender, and your chicken will be juicy and flavorful.
Why is sous vide an important food storage system? ›
Sous-vide is a technique of cooking foods in vacuum bags under strictly controlled temperature, offering improved taste, texture and nutritional values along with extended shelf life as compared to the traditional cooking methods.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of sous vide? ›
With sous-vide, you get the benefits of poaching (extremely tender proteins), but you lose out on the delicious flavor compounds that develop when searing and roasting. For this reason, some chefs recommend searing your meat or chicken before cooking sous-vide, to enhance the flavor.
Which of the following is a benefit of sous vide cooking? ›
Sous-vide cooking is particularly suitable for cooking meats, it allows them to be cooked evenly instead of being overcooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside and gives them softness and juiciness typical of the low-temperature cooking technique.
What is an advantage of sous vide cooking Quizlet? ›
The food is cooked all the way through to reach a set temperature. It finishes most of the cooking without hardly any work, and achieves an even cook. 2 main benefits- 1) no overcooking, ever 2) an even cook all the way through--No bullseye cooking gradient results from this method. When should you use sous-vide?
Why does sous vide taste better? ›
We all agreed the texture was better on the sous vide steak, softer and with the solid, evenly cooked texture that you find in slow-cooked meats, such as smoked brisket or barbecued pork. The conventional steak had a bit more flavor on the exterior imparted from the caramelizing factor from the fire.
Why is sous vide better than oven? ›
As you can see, sous vide cooking is no more complicated than traditional methods of cooking, and in fact, it's actually quite a bit simpler! But more importantly than this, it yields food which is much more tender and flavoursome, with no risk of overcooking.
Can you use Ziploc bags for sous vide? ›
Ziplock and Glad brand bags are made from polyethylene plastic, and are free of BPAs and dioxins. A good rule of thumb is that when a bag is rated as microwave safe (which requires FDA approval) you can use it for sous vide. Even Dr. Schaffner agrees.
The delicate cooking temperature prevents the antioxidants in many foods from degrading, and the airtight sous vide pouch preserves water-soluble vitamins, like vitamin C and B vitamins, which would usually escape as steam during conventional cooking.
Do bacteria grow in sous vide? ›
Harmful bacteria can't grow above that temperature, and at around 135ºF, most bacteria will actually be destroyed after a few hours, making pasteurization possible. The precision temperature control of sous-vide cooking means it actually has the potential to be safer than traditional cooking methods.
What is an advantage of sous vide cooking chemistry? ›
Sous‐vide packaging prevents the direct contact between food and oxygen reducing the oxidation of pigments such as chlorophyll and carotenoids. Moreover, it improves food security and it allows longer storage of the prepared food.
What does sous vide do to meat? ›
The sous vide method transforms tough cuts of meat like beef brisket, pork shoulder, and short ribs. If not cooked properly, connective tissues make these cuts taste chewy. Sous vide allows for long, slow cooking at a low temperature, which breaks down these tissues and results in tender, juicy meat.
What are the side effects of sous vide cooking? ›
Is Sous Vide Cooking Safe? If you follow good food safety practices, sous vide risks are low. But because harmful bacteria that cause spoilage and food-borne illnesses can be found in raw foods, they must be cooked to certain temperatures and for adequate time to kill the bacteria.
What are the two main factors in cooking sous vide? ›
As temperature and time are two of the essential variables in sous vide cooking, similar to conventional heating, some studies have examined the effect of these two parameters on the eating qualities of meat.
Can you sous vide eggs? ›
Sous vide soft-boiled eggs with a just-solidified yolk and those elusive solid whites. Eggs are an excellent candidate for sous vide because you can get consistencies of yolk that are impossible otherwise.
Why do people like sous vide? ›
For proteins like beef and lamb, sous vide cooking can get your meat to its ideal temperature, and then hold it there for hours, ensuring that your meat is cooked edge-to-edge at that target temp, with no risk of overcooking. A quick sear for color on the exterior and you can slice and serve with no need to rest.
What are the major benefits of cooking sous vide? ›
Sous vide retains more nutrients and vitamins than other methods of cooking. Exposure to heat, water, and oxygen are the things that typically destabilize all of those wonderful nutrients when we're cooking, whether by charring meat to over-carbonization or leaching vitamins into water while boiling.
Which of the following is an advantage of sous vide cooking? ›
Quality of dishes: enhanced flavours and consistent texture. Sous-vide cooking prevents food liquids from evaporating, thus preserving its natural fragrance. Moreover, preparing marinated and seasoned food combining sous-vide with slow cooking enhances aromas, whereas low temperatures preserve the food's nutrients.
When cooked sous vide, meats and fish retain all their natural juices and flavors, resulting in a more flavorful and tender dish. Additionally, sous vide cooking allows you to achieve a perfect level of doneness every time, without any guesswork or worry of overcooking.
Is sous vide more efficient? ›
In addition to the many other benefits, sous-vide cooking is an energy-efficient method. It requires a lower temperature and shorter cooking time than traditional cooking methods, making it a more sustainable choice for the environment.
Do professional restaurants use sous vide? ›
Sous vide is a cooking technique that has been used in professional kitchens since the mid-1970s. Remarkably enough Sous vide has only really been on the rise in recent years. In more and more catering kitchens, (chef) chefs are discovering the possibilities of vacuum cooking.
Is sous vide healthier than grilling? ›
Sous vide retains more nutrients and vitamins than other methods of cooking. Exposure to heat, water, and oxygen are the things that typically destabilize all of those wonderful nutrients when we're cooking, whether by charring meat to over-carbonization or leaching vitamins into water while boiling.
Was sous vide a fad? ›
Some see it as something of a fad due to the way the foodie media world has taken to this fancy-sounding French name, but sous vide is actually so common in fine dining restaurants that half the time they don't even bother to mention it on the menu.
Why do chefs put meat in a water bath? ›
Sous vide cooking is almost completely hands off; just season, seal, and submerge the pouch in the water bath. Because food cooks at its ideal temperature, it can't overcook or undercook. Your steak will always come out cooked just as you preferIt, every single time – just dial the temperature in and forget it.
