Sous Vide: Slow and Delicious

If youve dined at a banquet lately, your meal may have been prepared hours, or even days, earlier using sous vide technology.

Sous vide was developed in France during the 1970s to improve cooked foie gras. Food scientists discovered that if the foie gras was hermetically vacuum-sealed in a pouch, and then slowly cooked in the pouch at a slightly lower temperature, it showed little sign of shrinkage compared to conventionally cooked foie gras.

The method was subsequently used to cook other foods, and sous vide has been a mainstay in French cooking for nearly 30 years. But, in recent years, industry experts in the United States have begun to take notice.

For the last several years, leading chefs have taken sous vide and run with it. World-renowned Chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry and other restaurants has been touting the benefits of sous vide, unequivocally stating that, with sous vide, there is no mistake possible as long as the process is properly conducted. Ferran Adrià of Spains El Bulli, and Heston Blumenthal of Englands The Fat Duck, both of whom were trained by Bruno Goussault, chief scientist, Cuisine Solutions, Alexandria, VA, are also using sous vide while experimenting with other forms of molecular gastronomy.

Sous vide is even poised to trickle down to consumers. In fact, in Home Cooks, Meet Molecular Gastronomy, from the Nov. 24, 2008, issue of Time, sous vide was cited as an idea that is changing the culinary worldan idea so revolutionary that it may enter the average household sooner than expected.

Manufacturers who add sous vide to their roster of cooking techniques have the ability to create wholly unique products with unrivaled tenderness and flavor.

Slow and low

Sous vide cooking is a method of vacuum-sealing products and then slow-cooking them in water at low temperatures. Cooking at low temperatures in a sealed bag prevents the loss of natural juices, yielding consistently tender, fully cooked, delectable entrées.

Cooking times and temperatures vary quite a bit depending on the composition and size of the product and desired quality and microbial result. Products destined for storage should be pasteurized, which depending on the product, requires temperatures in excess of 130°F to 140°F. In a foodservice preparation that will be eaten immediately, pasteurization may not be essential; however, this poses a microbial risk.

Products may cook at various temperatures throughout different phases of the cooking process. Depending on the thickness, products such as fish might cook for less than 30 minutes, and meats for as long as 72 hours.

Products are cooked and chilled in the same tanks. These tanks are computer-controlled and monitor the cooking and chilling of both the external, or ambient, and internal temperatures of the foods. If pasteurized, most sous vide products held below 38°F (3.3°C) should have a shelf life of several weeks.

All types of proteins work well in sous vide, but fish and secondary cuts of meat particularly lend themselves to sous vide. Fish, when prepared traditionally, can be easily overcooked. The main hurdle for cooking fish is proper temperature, which we can control precisely when cooking sous vide, as a circulating water bath is an excellent, even conductor of heat. Fish, as with many proteins, are not perfectly square or the same thickness throughout. When cooked in a temperature-controlled water bath, the fish can never go above or below the cooking temperature, allowing for precise cooking.

Secondary meat cutse.g., short ribs, shanks, chuck, etc.are greatly tenderized by sous vides long cooking time, and also retain their moisture. Cooking at the right temperature also maintains the foods color. Temperature is one of the factors that change blood's color, so can preserve the color of meat, and the color will be consistent throughout.

Vegetables also work wonderfully in sous vide. Carrots cooked to the correct temperature are the brightest-orange cooked carrot you have ever seen. Green beans heated to the correct temperature will be crisp every time.

At Cuisine Solutions, weve noticed that more value-added sous vide products are needed. Therefore, we are combining more proteins and vegetables with sauces. Were also cooking more stews and comfort foods, which work great in sous vide. The flavors are much more intense and the consistency is far better than what is possible in traditional cooking.

Adding accents

Essentially, sous vide boils (albeit at a lower temperature) food, so various traditional cooking techniques are sometimes combined with it to improve flavor. Precooking, can sear, grill or caramelize the product before vacuum packing and cooking. At this point, the product is generally only minimally cooked. A precooking step not only adds flavor, but also can improve the appearance of the product.

Generally, all seasoning is used at much-lower levels compared to traditional cooking, since flavors are intensified when cooking sous vide since the cooking environment is closed and flavor volatiles cannot escape into the air. Using marinades or vacuum tumbling can add great levels of flavor for foods eventually cooked sous vide, but, again, you need to scale back any seasoning, since flavors are intensified. Also, sous vide retains about 20% more water content in the protein, so there is no need to pump the product for anticipated water loss, as might be done with proteins cooked with other methods.

Preservatives are not necessary if the process pasteurizes the product via the cook time and temperature. Properly done, sous vide gives you a fully cooked, ready-to-eat product that you could, essentially, eat cold out of the pouch. However, it can be rethermed by any number of methods (microwave, oven, fryer, grill, etc.).

Adding sous vide in-house

Manufacturers looking to add sous vide capability to their plants must invest in equipment for packing, a vacuum-packing machine and plastic bags adapted to heat treatment for the cooking and chilling processes. The water baths and heating systems must be able to maintain temperatures to within ±0.1º C. Probes and thermometers are necessary to control and record temperatures in the core of the product.

And, although food properly cooked through sous vide techniques are fully pasteurized, state health departments sometimes require establishments using sous vide technology to develop a written HACCP plan. In addition, they recommend production managers and chefs be formally trained in this method for food-safety assurance.

Culinary evolution

Sous vide technology has enabled manufacturers to provide food products to top restaurant chains, onboard services, hotels, retailers and to the U.S. military, which needs portioned, consistent and safe food on a large scale.

There is no better standard bearer of high-quality foods, consistently produced with great flavor, than sous vide items, says Eric Justice, director of culinary, Pei Wei Asian Diner, a subsidiary of P.F. Changs China Bistro Inc., Scottsdale, AZ.

Other chains have likewise found success with sous vide. Sous vide products have helped T.G.I. Fridays increase quality, as well maintain consistency, notes Scott Randolph, senior director of culinary development, T.G.I. Fridays, Carrollton, TX.

With the increased exposure on television food channels and shows, and numerous blogs about food on the Internet, sous vide has enjoyed a newly heightened awareness. As top chef Thomas Keller writes in Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide, a new book released in fall of 2008, sous vide is this: another step in our culinary evolution.

Richard A. Keys is the vice president of sales for Cuisine Solutions in Alexandria, VA. He is a graduate of Ecole De Gastronomie Francaise Ritz-Escoffier and has taken continuing education classes from The Culinary Institute of America, and has worked as a chef for LSG/Skychefs, the Grand Teton Lodge, Walt Disney World and the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, among others. He is a member of such organizations as the American Culinary Federation, the World Association of Cooks and the Research Chefs Association.