Sous Vide, part 1

   Come Wednesday, I'll have been cooking sous vide for 2 years. Sous vide is a cooking technique that many people have not even heard of, much less understand.

   The science behind sous vide cooking can be difficult to understand. There are food safety aspects that must be understood and adhered to. Sous vide has been around for many years, but its popularity has been skyrocketing in recent years.

   So what is sous vide? The name itself is French for "under vacuum". Most foods cooked with method are vacuum sealed in a plastic pouch and cooked in a precisely controlled water bath. The water bath is most often set to a temperature just above the desired final temperature of the food. Most foods cooked with this method are proteins (aka meat).

   One of the reasons this works well is that water transfers heat to the food incredibly well compared to air. We all know this without realizing it - we think nothing of sticking our hands into a 450F oven, but would never intentionally contact water at even 150F. Because the pouch has no air inside, the heat transfers efficiently into the food.

   While some feel that the food in the pouch must be under vacuum, I have found this to be unnecessary. I use zip-loc freezer bags and remove the air by immersing in water up to the "zipper", which effectively squeezes out all of the air. I've found this to be as effective and much less troublesome than foodsaver type vacuum sealers.

   Equipment for cooking sous vide is becoming more commonplace and inexpensive all the time. Mainstream manufacturers are beginning to offer appliances. No longer is it necessary to buy re-purposed lab equipment or cobble together your own apparatus (like I did).

   In part 2, I'll run through some representative preparations