Top Sous Vide Cooking Tools

Even the top chefs in the world have overcooked meals on occasions in the kitchen. Everybody is guilty once in a while of overcooking ingredients, especially using traditional methods and equipment.

However, there is a technique that allows you to cook great tasting meals, without making it possible to overcook them. This modern method is known as sous vide, and top chefs have been using it in high-end restaurants since the mid-1960s. As time went by, the technique was used in smaller kitchens, and now due to affordable modern technology, there are plenty of sous vide cooking tools readily available in stores and at home.

If you are thinking about investing in one of these tools to help you cook like a pro, check out these sous vide reviews to help you make your mind up. There is a wide range of sous vide cookers available online, and they come in all different price ranges. Due to high demand and competition, many of these cookers and tools are reasonably priced.

What type of technique is sous vide cooking?

Sous vide is the French term for “under vacuum”. It is a simple technique whereby airtight food is cooked in a container of water (normally a pot), at a constant temperature over a long time in comparison to traditional cooking methods. People use sous vide techniques and tools to help them prepare all different types of foods such as:

Meat
Vegetables
Poultry
Fruit
Fish
Desserts

Although the technique has been around for over three hundred years, it wasn’t a popular method until the mid-1960s. A well known French restaurant based in Roanne adopted the technique and frequently used it in their very busy business. It grew in popularity and by the mid-2000s, many home chefs decided to learn and practice sous vide techniques at home.

The tools you need: Airless Packaging

There are a few different ways to air package ingredients for sous vide cooking. Here are two of the most common methods used by chefs and people at home:

Sous Vide Bags: First of all you must figure out what size sous vide bag is appropriate. This will depend on the size of the ingredients and the quantity you would like to use. The bags tend to come in two different sizes. Once the ingredients are in the bag, you must add them to the water. Due to the pressure of the water, the excess air in the bag will be forced out. When the bag is almost fully submerged in water, close the bag completely.
Vacuum pack or vacuum bag: Open your vacuum bag and add your ingredients. Check to see if all the ingredients are at the bottom section of the bag instead of the top, as this part of the bag is moisture-free. Close the bag using a vacuum device and add your package to a pot or whatever you are using as a water bath.

If you don’t have access to Sous Vide bags or Vacuum bags you can also use zip lock freezer bags.

Tools you need: Sous Vide Cooker

Because there are lots of different sous vide cookers available on the market nowadays, there are plenty of different functions and features to help you cook like a top chef. Here are a few of the features that you should look out for:

Does it connect to Wifi or Bluetooth: Many sous vide cookers connect with your smartphone. Apps are available online to help you make the most out of your cooker. Some allow you to control the temperature of the cooker from your phone even when you are not in the kitchen.
Is it lightweight: Most kitchens are already full of bulky, heavy kitchen equipment? There are sous vide cookers that are sleek and easily portable. This makes it easier to store so your kitchen isn’t full of clutter.
What type of warranty does it have: Although these devices don’t seem to break easily, most of them come with a 2-year warranty. Some cookers even come with a 100-day money-back guarantee if the customer is not satisfied with the product.
How many hours can it continuously cook for?

Some people like to buy the most expensive product available, assuming that it is the best device just because of the price. When it comes to sous vide cookers, more expensive devices are often because they are designed to prepare large quantities of food. If you don’t have many people in your household, you might not need such an expensive cooker.

Summary

If you are deciding to purchase a sous vide cooker, there are plenty of other tools to help you cook great tasting food. For example, cooking a steak with a sous vide cooker allows you easily to prepare a steak exactly the way you would like it. Although you can eat the steak straight away after it has been prepared in the cooker, most people like to sear their steak to make it a little brown. Instead of putting it into the frying pan like most people, why not purchase a small kitchen blow torch to make it look and taste incredible? This also works with pork chops and BBQ ribs.