Sous Vide Mode
Sous vide cooking is all about precision. It usually involves cooking food at a specific temperature in a water bath for an extended period, typically at a lower temperature than other cooking methods.
What is Sous Vide?
Sous vide (French for “under vacuum”) traditionally involves sealing foods in food-safe plastic bags and placing them in a temperature-controlled water bath. The bags help concentrate flavor and maximize juiciness. Food cooked sous vide can’t exceed the temperature of the water bath, so it cannot overcook. This makes sous vide perfect for advanced staging.
How Does Sous Vide Mode in CVap® Work?
CVap ovens offer the precision of sous vide, without the hassle. Like traditional sous vide, CVap ovens utilize water as the primary heat transfer medium. But instead of water immersion, CVap uses heated water vapor. This means when using the sous vide mode in CVap you can avoid the expense and mess of bags. But if you desire the flavor concentration that bags provide, CVap ovens can handle them with no problem.
A Brief History of Sous Vide
The sous vide technique was first developed in the 1960s by French chefs Georges Pralus and Bruno Goussault. These chefs aimed to improve the quality of foie gras. By vacuum-sealing the foie gras and cooking it at a precise, lower temperature, they were able to achieve a perfectly tender and consistent result. Sous vide cooking quickly gained popularity in professional kitchens around the world.
The Benefits of Sous Vide
Precise Temperature Control
Sous vide allows for very precise temperature control, which helps ensure that food is cooked to the exact level of doneness you desire. This is especially valuable for cooking proteins like steaks, chicken, and fish, as it minimizes the risk of overcooking.
Consistent Results
With sous vide, you can achieve consistent results every time. Since the temperature is controlled with precision, there is less room for error, resulting in perfectly cooked food without guesswork.
Enhanced Flavor and Texture
Cooking food in a vacuum-sealed bag helps retain the natural juices and flavors of the ingredients. The slow, even cooking process can also make meat incredibly tender and vegetables more vibrant and crisper.
Reduced Food Waste
Sous vide can help reduce food waste because you’re less likely to overcook or undercook food. It’s a forgiving method that gives you a wider cooking window.
Convenience
You can pre-cook food and keep it in a sous vide bath until you’re ready to finish and serve it. Likewise, food cooked in sous vide mode in a CVap oven can also be held for an extended time without overcooking.
Minimal Hands-On Time
Once you’ve set the temperature and placed the food in the water bath or CVap oven, there’s no need for constant monitoring. This frees up staff to work on other aspects of the meal.
Safe and Energy-Efficient
Sous vide is a safe cooking method because it doesn’t involve open flames or hot surfaces. It’s also energy-efficient, as the water bath or CVap oven only need to maintain a constant temperature, reducing energy consumption compared to other cooking methods.
Perfect for Tough Cuts of Meat
Sous vide is excellent for cooking tougher cuts of meat, as the long, slow cooking process breaks down collagen and connective tissue, resulting in tender and flavorful dishes.
Infusion of Flavors
You can infuse flavors into your food by adding herbs, spices, or aromatics to the vacuum-sealed bags. This enhances the overall taste of your dishes. Although CVap ovens don’t require bags to cook sous vide, they can accommodate their use just fine, offering the same flavor infusions as circulators.
Ramp Up the Volume
CVap ovens offer an advantage over immersion circulators in that they can crank out much greater quantities in a small footprint. Immersion circulators can take up a lot of counter space. Trying to produce much food at one time is a challenge. But CVap ovens can cook multiple pans of product simultaneously, in about six square feet of floor space. CVap is ideal for caterers, cafeterias, and other mass-feeding operations.
What Foods are Best for Sous Vide?
Steak: Sous vide is excellent for cooking steak to the perfect level of doneness, as it allows for precise temperature control. You can then finish the steak with a quick sear for a beautiful crust.
Chicken: Chicken breasts and thighs cooked sous vide can be incredibly tender and juicy. It’s a great way to avoid overcooking and dryness.
Pork: Pork chops, tenderloin, and ribs can benefit from sous vide cooking. It helps render fat and connective tissue while retaining moisture.
Fish and Seafood: Salmon, halibut, shrimp, and other seafood can be cooked evenly without the risk of overcooking.
Eggs: Sous vide is popular for cooking eggs to precise temperatures, whether it’s soft-boiled, hard-boiled, or for making custards.
Vegetables: Many vegetables, such as asparagus, carrots, and potatoes, can be cooked sous vide to maintain their texture and flavor. It’s a great way to infuse flavors into them, too.
Tough Cuts of Meat: Tough cuts like brisket and short ribs can be transformed into tender, flavorful dishes when cooked sous vide for an extended period.
Duck and Other Poultry: Duck breasts and legs are great candidates for sous vide cooking as it renders the fat while keeping the meat moist and tender.
Custards and Desserts: Sous vide is also suitable for making custards, cheesecakes, and other desserts that require precise temperature control.
When Used Correctly, Sous Vide is Great
When using sous vide, it’s important to keep in mind the recommended cooking temperatures and times for each type of food to ensure food safety and desired results. Additionally, you may need to finish some dishes with a quick sear, grill, or broil to develop a crust or surface texture since sous vide cooking doesn’t provide browning or crisping.
While sous vide has many advantages, it’s important to note that it may not be suitable for all types of cooking. For example, it’s not the best method for achieving a crispy exterior on certain foods, like fried chicken. However, when used in combination with other cooking techniques, sous vide can be a valuable tool in your culinary arsenal.
