Which sous vide products do I need?

Sous vide cooking sometimes sounds more complicated than it actually is. We explain exactly which items you need to get started.

Sous vide device

The most important: the sous vide device , also called sous vide stick or circulator. Without this device, no sous vide. Why you can't get the same results with a normal pan? The consistency. No hob can cook your food in a precise way, a sous vide device can. By means of the circulation, the temperature is always the same, exactly as you want it.

Many sous vide devices have come onto the market in recent years, with varying prices and quality.

What should I pay attention to when buying a sous vide device?

1. The power of the device: cheap devices often have less power than, for example, the iVide circulator stick 2.0 . As a result, the device can only keep small amounts of water at the right temperature.
2. The size: there are also many sous vide water baths on the market. These are larger than the sous vide sticks. This is convenient for some hobby chefs, but others prefer a stick because it fits more easily in the kitchen cupboard.
3. The temperature: Sous vide cooking is generally done at lower temperatures, but it is still nice if the appliance can cook up to 95 degrees. It would be a shame if you could not make recipes because the appliance cannot cook high enough.
4. The guarantee: unfortunately we see it happen often enough with the cheaper providers, a device breaks down and is not covered by the guarantee. Fortunately, we have rarely experienced problems with our products and at Souvy you have a one-year guarantee on your products.

Sous vide accessories for the best results

When you strive for perfection in the kitchen and are always looking for the best end result, you choose sous vide. There is no doubt about it, because only with sous-vide you achieve that perfect cooking time and time again.

Have you decided to immerse yourself in the world of sous vide cooking, a good sous vide device is of course the absolute minimum to get started. The sous vide stick is needed to heat the water to the required temperature to achieve the perfect doneness.

There are a number of accessories for sale that can help you as a hobby chef to deliver chef-worthy dishes. Think of the following sous vide products:

• Vacuum bags
• Vacuum device
• Sous vide baking
• Thermal insulation balls
• Insulation cover
• smoking gun
• Sous vide cleaning powder

These sous vide accessories are not all necessary, but when you use them they can make a huge contribution to the final result. We will go through these tools one by one, so that you know what they do, what you use them for and you can start well prepared with your first sous vide dish.

Vacuum bags and vacuum device

Sous vide and vacuum are inextricably linked. Sous vide is French for “under vacuum”. Sous vide always ensures the best result. By packaging the piece of meat, fish, poultry or even vegetables without air, vacuum, and then cooking it in a hot water bath, the desired doneness can be achieved. The core temperature of the ingredient will never be higher than the temperature of the water. Your cuisson will be perfect.

Of course, you can try to pack an ingredient without air in a grip bag, by keeping the grip bag with contents partially under water to press the air out of the bag. If you start working with sous-vide, you will soon purchase a good vacuum device and good vacuum bags . Because only with that you will be able to achieve the best end result.

The quality of the sous-vide bags and a vacuum sealer are very important. A vacuum sealer of poor quality may not be able to vacuum the bags properly or will not be able to seal the bags properly. As a result, water can get into the bag. This will inevitably lead to a ruined dish.

There vacuum bags are sold that are not suitable for use in hot water. The bags can then leak or even release harmful substances to the ingredient that is cooked in the bag. In both cases your preparation can fail. Therefore, for sous vide, buy a good vacuum device with vacuum bags.

Sous vide baking

Although a sous vide stick can of course also be attached to the edge of a large pan, it is wise to choose a special container for sous vide. The sous vide device will fit better in a sous-vide container, but the biggest advantage is that there is more than enough space to cook your dish. Especially when you want to cook multiple vacuum bags with contents at the same time, a spacious sous vide container ensures better water circulation and therefore even cooking of your dish.

An added benefit is that the container is made of crystal clear polycarbonate, so you can see the dish cooking live.

Thermal insulation balls

Sous vide is a cooking technique that you can use to cook ingredients in hot water for a longer period of time. To get certain ingredients perfectly cooked, it may be necessary to keep them submerged in the sous vide bath for a long time. Sometimes more than 24 hours. By using thermal insulation balls in the hot water bath, evaporation of the water can be kept to a minimum. The insulation balls also retain their heat better, which has a positive effect on the energy bill.

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Thermal insulation cover

Where the thermal insulation balls insulate the top of the box, the insulation sleeve ensures that no heat escapes from the sides. The sleeve is made of neoprene and is therefore very soft and insulating.

smoking gun

The smoking gun is a fairly new culinary innovation and has become an indispensable part of star cuisine. With this smoking gun you can add smoky flavour to your dish. It is also very easy to do. Put some wood chips or herbs in the smoking gun. By pressing the button a fan in the device starts to turn. You light the wood chips with a lighter, after which the fan in the smoking gun ensures the necessary smoke development and circulation. It is advisable to use the smoking gun in combination with a smoke dome .

In the past, you had to use smoke ovens to add smoke flavor, which could sometimes be quite cumbersome. With the smoking gun, adding smoke flavor is a piece of cake. You will notice that you will use the smoking gun more often. The smoking gun is therefore a very good alternative to a smoke oven.

Sous vide cleaning powder

Just like a kettle or espresso machine, you will need to descale the sous-vide stick every now and then. The appliance is used with tap water and that water contains lime. Depending on the region in which you live, the hardness of the water also differs and you will need to descale the sous-vide stick more or less often than average. You can use our sous vide cleaning powder for descaling. By occasionally using your sous vide stick in a container with water in which some of the powder has been dissolved, you can prevent limescale build-up in the appliance.

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Sous vide rack

When cooking sous vide, your goal is to ensure cooking in a water bath at a constant (low) temperature. The sous vide device ensures heating and circulation of the water, so that the water in the container has the same temperature everywhere. Only in this way will your dish cook evenly. The last thing you would want is for your vacuum bag to come to rest against the sous vide device or against the wall of the container due to the water flow. In this way, there is no good circulation and no even cooking. It may negatively affect the end result of your preparation.

The sous vide rack is placed in a sous vide container. You can then easily and clearly place your vacuum-packed dishes in the rack. In this way, you also maintain optimal water circulation with multiple vacuum bags in the water container, so that the temperature can be kept constant and the cooking will proceed more evenly.

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Finally

Sous vide is a cooking technique that revolves around precision. By setting the temperature of the water bath to the right temperature, your dish will reach the perfect core temperature, the optimal taste and the perfect structure after a certain time. As a chef, you have perfect control over the end result.

It would be a shame if you miss important accessories and your end result will be less than if you had used these accessories. So think carefully about what you want to achieve and adjust your sous vide accessories accordingly.