Sous vide is a French cooking technique where the food is vacuum-sealed in a pouch and heated up in a sous vide machine’s water bath container for a given time and with the required temperature. It requires some expertise, but with the latest machines, you can conveniently start making food using this technique without requiring a lot of experience. There are some cooking strategies which can even give you a boost in your Sous vide cooking and allow you to impress yourself and everyone on the eating table. Let’s learn more about this exquisite cooking style in the sections below.
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ChefSteps Joule Sous Vide
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
Android and iOS apps
WiFi
210°F / 99°C Maximum Temperature
and
77°F / 25°C Minimum Temperature
LED Display
11.0 x 1.85 inches
2.5 lbs
1000 Watts
Anova Culinary Bluetooth Sous Vide Precision Cooker
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
Android and iOS apps
WiFi
210°F / 99°C Maximum Temperature
and
77°F / 25°C Minimum Temperature
LED Display
14.75 x 1.85 inches
1.28 lbs
1000Watts
Wancle Sous Vide Precision Cooker Thermal Immersion Circulator
No WiFi/Bluetooth
210°F / 99°C Maximum Temperature
and
77°F / 25°C Minimum Temperature
Digital Display
10 x 1 inches
1.2 lbs
1100 Watts
Two Types Of Machines (Stick And Water Oven)
Sous vide machines are becoming one of the famous cookers in the cooking industry today, as these things are really easy and very convenient to use, followed by amazing results. To make use of the French cooking technique, a variety of machine types were distributed and the two most commonly used are the Sous Vide Stick and the Sous Vide Water Oven. Both cooking machine types function really well, are very useful, and definitely give great results. However, what are the things that these appliances have that make them distinct from each other?
Sous Vide Stick
The sous vide stick, or sometimes referred to as a stick circulator, is very adaptable and portable as this machine allows you to change the container you’re using. It also features high versatility towards cooking, especially for a lot of people. The stick keeps an even temperature which is just the same as what the water oven does, the only difference between them is the way it’s done. The sous vide stick comes with an internal heating element and a propeller, in which the water is maintained to go through to keep the temperature required in the cooking process. In addition to this, the stick produces some sounds because of the working motor in it.
With the use of the sous vide circulator, you can leave food in it overnight but there’s a tendency that the water will go down for about an inch or two lower than the starting level. If you take longer that the overnight period, the water will evaporate and will go even lower. This is considered as one of the cooking problems encountered in the kitchen, but fortunately, people figured out a way to solve this. You can use a cling wrap and tightly cover the top to seal it and prevent the water from evaporating the same way. Just an important note that when doing this, you have to be careful not to cover the top’s brain to avoid the water from getting into the appliance’s controls.
Cleaning the stick circulator actually consists a lot of work when compared with the cleaning process that the water oven undergoes, but it’s very easy. You need water and vinegar and then take equal parts from each and start the stick. Heat it up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and when it reaches the said temperature, this is when the cleaning procedure starts. Make sure to give it enough time for the water/vinegar mixture to circulate inside. Once the process is done, turn it off and rinse.
Sous Vide Water Oven
The sou vide water oven is frequently referred to as a cooker. Unlike the stick that’s actually adaptable and portable, the water oven observes a set size. As what have been mentioned, both appliances keep the temperature even in different ways. The oven doesn’t need a running motor to keep the required heat, as the heat surrounds on all of its sides inside. With the absence of a propeller or motor, the oven is much quieter to use unlike the stick.
As we all know, heat is the main thing that these cooking appliances are focused on producing. This causes the water in it to quickly evaporate. However, with the sous vide water oven, you won’t have to worry about leaving something in it for a long time without the water going down really low. Cleaning the oven is much easier than when cleaning the stick, obviously. You just have to wait until the oven has cooled down and the heat has subsided. When those take place, dump the water out and then use a clean cloth to dry it out.
Importance Of Food Storage
The Sous Vide technique allows you to create some delicious foods for your meals. However, due to the long preparation time involved in creating food using the Sous Vide machine, it can become quite arduous to involve it in making food daily, especially if you are working 9 to 5. This is why it is important that you know how you store your food properly so that you can always reheat it whenever you want to use it for your meals, without going through the process of creating the food from scratch every time.
Basically, after you have completed the making of your food, you need to start preparing it for storing immediately. You would require an ice bath for this purpose. Put your food in a zip lock bag and put it in the ice bath. The amount of time you are required to put the food in the ice bath depends on the type of food and its thickness. After you get your food chilled, you should take out the zip lock bag and dry it using a towel or kitchen cloth. If you want to increase the time period of your storage, you should use specialised Sous Vide storage bags such as the FoReal Design Sous Vide Bags with a vacuum sealant machine such as the FoodSaver V2244 Vacuum Sealing System.
Whenever you feel like eating your frozen food, you just need to reheat the zip lock bag in a water bath. The temperature and the duration of heating in the water bath depends on the type of food and its thickness, like was the case with the freezing procedure. Do keep in mind that you are not using a high temperature which will overcook the food and spoil all your efforts for a tasty Sous Vide dinner. Usually, 130 Fahrenheit is an ideal temperature to reheat the food at for most foods.
How To Choose A Machine
There are a lot of machine types available to make the sous vide cooking procedure possible, and make those cooking sessions easier and quicker, plus the amazing food results. Keeping this fact in mind, this makes things pretty hard for some, especially when they want to place a purchase on the certain machine but it’s difficult to make up their mind.
When choosing the right cooking machine, people should always keep certain things in mind to avoid unwanted frustrations towards their cooking appliance. These machines are also quite an investment so it’s important that you choose what you think is the best one.
With the variety of product models that involve sous vide cooking techniques, numerous features are also offered. With that in mind, several considerations should be made. Reading sous vide machine reviews may help you and give you an idea and the following on the list below may add to it:
- Machine Versatility: Depending on which machines people choose, each one offers features that make it distinct from other models. Some may have the functionality that others don’t, and that’s what people should focus on. Ease of temperature adjustment and safety measures are just two of the most important factors of a sous vide machine
- Water Bath Capacity: Most cooking machines can hold an approximated water capacity from 5 liters to 120 litres. Make sure that the amount of food you’ll be putting in the machine will fit in it as it should be spacious enough to allow good water circulation inside. Machines that can hold a bigger water capacity guarantee an even heat distribution inside, which most people want.
- Water Bath Container: When a sous vide machine has a water bath container, you can guarantee that you can leave something in it without worrying about water evaporation and how the water will go down, even if your food is bound to be cooked for a couple of hours. With the container, reliable insulation is provided as well as reduction of water evaporation with its lid.
- Temperature Stability: This factor is really important in the sous vide cooking technique as this serves as the base of the process. The immersion calculator of the machine should be able to keep the temperature even to be avoid disruptions of water circulation inside, so make sure that it functions well and it does its role.
- Machine Size: For this one, consider the space that you have in your cooking area. If your kitchen doesn’t have enough space to fit a sous vide machine, there are other machine models that doesn’t require much space. Observe the features of the machine carefully as some small models perform almost the same as the large ones.
- Safety: There are sous vide machines that feature the conduction of a safety measure when the water in it gets too low. These machines will detect the water level in its container and will automatically shut down when the water reaches a certain low point. Other than this, you should ensure that the machine comes with a protector, which keeps the food pouches away from the machine’s heating pump and coil. For additional safety, the lid, which also comes with the machine, reduces water evaporation inside. As much as possible, consider machines with these, or more, safety measures as part of your choices.