The benefits of sous vide

The sous vide cooking technique has been used in the hospitality industry for some time, primarily by (Michelin-starred) chefs. One of the main reasons it's now also being adopted by amateur chefs is the drop in price of sous vide equipment . It's now affordable and readily available. Therefore, in this blog post, we'll take a closer look at the biggest advantages of sous vide cooking. We'll also compare the cooking technique with traditional cooking methods.

Traditional cooking methods

Traditional cooking methods involve cooking food in an oven or a pan. Heating the pan using gas, an induction hob, or a ceramic hob makes no difference. Traditional cooking involves cooking food using a heat source that heats the pan. The food is then heated by the pan. When using an oven, the air surrounding the food is heated. The pan or the air is much hotter than we'd like. In fact, far too hot; if the food sits too long, it burns.

Traditional cooking techniques include the following techniques:

• Baking or searing
• Steaming
• Simmer
• Stewing
• Roasting
• To stew
• Boiling or blanching
• Preserve
• Poaching
• Stir-fry

Preparation temperature

The temperature used in traditional cooking methods is often too high. This makes it difficult to determine when a product is perfectly cooked, as it cooks very quickly at a high temperature. If you remove it from the pan or oven too early, the product is still raw, but if you remove it too late, it is overcooked. Traditional cooking methods involve cooking chicken breasts in the oven at, for example, 200°C (400°F) for twenty minutes. However, this temperature is far too high. Chicken is already cooked at a minimum temperature of around 60°C (140°F). In the oven, the chicken breast is therefore cooked at a temperature more than three times higher.

Prepare to core temperature

Sous vide cooking is the perfect solution. With sous vide cooking, the food is cooked using the heat transferred through the water. Because you can adjust the temperature very precisely, the food is cooked exactly to your liking.

Want your steak rare? 51 degrees Celsius. Prefer medium-rare? 61 degrees Celsius. Still want it well done? 67 degrees Celsius.

Time is less important here. A specific time is chosen depending on the thickness, as the heat must have enough time to reach the core of the product and break down the proteins. After the minimum cooking time has elapsed, the food can remain in the water bath until the rest of the dish is ready. Even then, you'll still have a perfect cooking time .

The 8 Biggest Benefits of Sous Vide

Constant result

With sous vide, the temperature is constant, so your food is cooked to exactly the temperature you want every time.

You determine the outcome yourself

The temperature can be set to the nearest degree, allowing you to determine exactly how you want your food cooked.

Prepare larger quantities at once

Want to cook six steaks at once? Sous vide cooking makes that easy. And with a larger container , you can easily cook for 20 people at once!

Tastier food

Thanks to sous vide cooking, your food becomes more flavorful. Meat stays incredibly tender. Fish stays juicy. Vegetables retain their delicious crunch.

Healthier

Because the products are sealed airtight, nutrients and vitamins are preserved. This makes for a healthier diet.

Simple

Truly anyone can cook sous vide, from home cooks to chefs. Some culinary knowledge is a plus, but certainly not a must.

Effortless

Just season or marinate, then wrap and let it cook. While your product is cooking sous vide, you don't have to worry about it. Easy, right?

Culinary

Serve the most flavorful dishes. Products that are normally difficult to cook (asparagus, saddle of hare, etc.) are now transformed into culinary masterpieces.

Because the temperature never rises above a certain level, the proteins in the product can't be converted further, and the food doesn't cook any further. In short: sous vide cooking is easy, requires less effort, and produces better results!