How can sous vide technology improve the quality of your dishes?

Sous vide is a cooking technique based on precise temperature control to deliver uniform and high quality results. Cooking Sous Vide a french term meaning under vaccuminvolves vaccum sealing a food- meat, fish, poultry,vegetables, fruit in a food grade pouch and submerging it in a temperature-controlled water bath for as long as it takes to bringthe food to the desired temperature through out. Food cooks gently and precisely and can not overcook, since it can only reach the temperature of the water in the bath. Flavour and moisture that would normally escape into the air or drip into the pan stay locked in pouch, which produces the most flavourful, tender, and juicyfood. Chef George Pralus developed the technique in France.

the sous-vide method reduces culinary losses due to a lower process temperature, vacuum packaging, and reduced water loss from meat shrinkage and juice loss In addition, the free acid groups released during cooking can change the pH of the meats.

Consistency is the key factor here when talking and food. As operators we are all longing for consistency of food and drink no matter who is serving. Sous vide cooking allows you to cook precisely to a set temperature and amount of time. It also allows many food items to retain there natural juices resulting in more tender, moist and flavourful dishes. It also is labour saving as it is a hands off process and requires minimal attention in the kitchen allowing you to focus on other aspects on the operations

Unlike traditional cooking methods such as roasting, broiling, grilling, sauteing that use high temperature to heat the food, Sous Vide technique relies on the ability of water to tranfer heat to the food. Chef George Pralus used this method first time for perfectly cooking and minimize the costly shrinkage of Foie gras. Chef Bruno Goussalt popularized the technique by introducing it in the first-class cabin cuisine on Air France's international flights. Since then, it has become a favoured cooking techinque of great chefs around the globeand the secret weapon of chef's in competition. Sous Vide main purpose is to produce ''Done to perfection'' cooking

As far as tools concerned, Sous Vide requires two main things- 1. Vaccum sealers-This device are an essential element of this cooking technique. The best thing is to get a chamber vaccum sealer. Chamber vaccum sealer do not suck the air out of the bag like conventional vaccum sealers. Instead, they pump all of the air including that inside of the bag as well as out of the chamber, resulting in a very tight seal. 2. Vaccum bags- There are three different types of bags available in market- * Cooking bag- Most popular and are heat stable upto 115 degree celsius. *Tubular bags- Tubular bags come with one seal seam, one can make a second seal oneself. *There is another third type of of bags that one will find in butcher's shop, called shrink bag

There are number of things keep in mind to achieve optimum results in Sous Vide- 1. One should always avoid is long term Sous Vide cooking below 56 degree celsius. This is critical range according to the HACCP because food that floats in a Sous Vide container at less than 56 degree celsius for a long period time is no guaranteed as safe food. 2. Core temperature in Sous Vide is very important and it is observed by using sealing adhesive tape that simply stick directly to the bag then , through the pad, one can the bag with the needle and place core temperature sensor during cooking. 3.Sous Vide is the circulation inside the water container. Circulation ensures that the temperature remains the same all throughout the water.