Sous Vide: The Basics

While you’ll seldom see the words ‘sous vide’ on any menu, this cooking technique — which literally means ‘under vacuum’ — was originally utilized in the early 1970s to minimize product loss when cooking foie gras, and is now being embraced by chefs worldwide for the preparation of an ever-widening array of dishes.

With this technique, food is vacuum-sealed in a pouch and then slowly cooked at gentle temperatures. As a result, foods become tender without losing their original color, nutrients, and texture.  

With sous vide, you cook food at the temperature you want for the whole piece: no part is overdone or underdone; and by sealing the food in a vacuumed bag it does not dry out, lose nutrients or flavor during the long time needed to get the whole piece of food – outside and inside – to the right temperature and hence, to the right 'done-ness'.  

The ‘art’ of sous vide cooking is in determining the perfect ‘core’ temperature you need to reach, in order to achieve the desired taste and textures. Take for example, a dish that features an egg with a creamy, custard-like texture. One chef might cook that egg to a core temperature of 143°F (61.7°C), while another may prefer cooking it to 146°F (63.3°C). While this temperature difference might seem insignificant, the finished eggs will be drastically different from each other, making each chef’s dish unique. 

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