Sous Vide has been associated with fine dining restaurants for years - but it's now increasingly popular amongst home chefs too. The key to that has been the development of new domestic appliances which have made the process that much more accessible and easy.
As you might expect, you can find the best examples of these products at Winning Appliances - letting you tap into this slow cooking phenomenon.
It may sound like a technique for the skilled chef but it's far more straightforward than that.
Sous Vide translates as "under vacuum"
Sous Vide cooking is the process by which food is sealed in an airtight container - typically a vacuum sealed bag - which is then placed in a (precisely) temperature-controlled water bath or steam environment. It produces results which are virtually impossible to achieve by any other method. You can expect:
- Great Taste: Having cooked in its own juices, your food is moist, juicy and tender.
- Great Consistency: You will achieve extremely consistent results - salmon cooked evenly through, for example - because you're cooking to a precise temperature for a precise amount of time.
- Waste Reduction: Food loses none of its volume and doesn't dry out.
- Precision: With food cooked to an exact temperature - you've no concerns about overcooking.
Where did it all begin?
The history of this technique actually began in laboratories - where it had nothing to do with making food taste better. In the late 60s, water immersion was being used as a safety measure: packaging food in a water bath at a precise temperature made the processes of pasteurizing and sterilizing easier - it meant they had a longer shelf life.
It began to make its way into the French restaurant scene in the 70s - notably, as an experimental way to seal in the fatty flavours of foie gras - before being developed in the late 80s by Cuisine Solutions, an American company that today identify themselves as the pioneers, perfecters and popularises of the technique.
The technique steadily acquired popularity in professional kitchens in the early noughties - and by 2005 it was starting to gain traction in cookbooks, restaurants and cooking shows.
Embrace The Trend
There are different ways to get into Sous Vide cooking at Winning Appliances.
One is to purchase a small appliance - such as this Sunbeam Sous Vide and Slow Cooker, which was the winner of the Kitchen Appliance Product of the Year in 2014, for leading product innovation.
With a 5.5 litre capacity, it's incredibly easy to use and designed with the electronic temperature control and a countdown timer that means you can rely on it to deliver amazing results for you.
Sous Vide in a Steam Cooker
The arrival of the multi-function oven with steam cooking functionality has also opened up new opportunities for easy Sous Vide cooking. Select ovens - such as the Siemen iQ700 studioLine Combi-Steam Oven (pictured above) - actually have Sous Vide cooking modes, which are able to keep the steam at a constant low temperature for longer, maintaining the moisture and texture of your food without overcooking it.
Vacuum Drawer
The Vacuum Drawer has potential to become an important component of a kitchen for a chef that wants to pursue the technique in earnest. By vacuum sealing your food, it makes the process much more simple - offering you a safe, reliable solution using bags that are heat-resistant, airtight and taste-neutral.
And if you want more information on the best way to get into the Sous Vide trend, feel free to ask one of our team!
