23
Tips
SOUS VIDE
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Most foods cooked sous vide are sealed in bags using a vacuum sealer, although a
vacuum sealer is not required for cooking sous vide. Sealed glass jars may also be
used for cooking sous vide and are especially well-suited for recipes that require a
lot of liquid or fat, such as egg or custard mixtures, beans, grains, yoghurt, pickles,
puddings and other desserts.
•
If using a vacuum sealer, use heat-safe bags labelled as suitable for sous vide.
Follow vacuum sealer manufacturer’s directions for sealing.
•
Any foods cooked for less than 8 hours can be sealed in heat-safe resealable
plastic bags without a vacuum sealer, using the water displacement method:
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Place food in bag and remove as much air as possible.
•
Close bag leaving a 2.5 cm opening at the top.
•
Carefully submerge the bottom of the bag in water until food is covered. The
pressure of the water will squeeze the air out of the bag.
•
Do not allow any water to enter the bag.
•
Gently squeeze any remaining air out of bag and seal.
•
Any foods cooked with more than a small amount of liquid should not be
vacuum-sealed.
•
Liquid could be sucked into the vacuum sealer and cause damage.
•
When cooking fish, do not vacuum bags tightly. About 75% vacuum is desirable,
or use the water displacement method.
•
Food may be sealed in bags in advance and stored in the refrigerator overnight,
or in the freezer, to save time before cooking.
•
To reduce the time required to heat the water to the proper temperature, fill the
vessel with warm tap water. If cooking at higher temperatures, fill the vessel with
hot tap water. The probe will provide a constant temperature reading of the water
in the display. If the water is hotter than selected temperature, add ice cubes to
lower the water temperature.
•
Frozen foods may be cooked sous vide without thawing first, but adding frozen
foods to the water bath will lower water temperature. In general, an extra hour
should be added to total cooking time to allow food to fully thaw and reach the
desired temperature.
•
Food safety: Cooking sous vide is just as safe as traditional cooking methods even
though food is cooked at a lower temperature than in other cooking methods.
•
The times and temperatures provided in the chart on pages 24–25 are what is
necessary for pasteurisation.
•
Food safety is determined by a combination of what you are cooking, how long
you cook it for and at what temperature.
•
To minimise any risk of food-borne illness, always start with the freshest possible
foods and use safe handling practices.
•
For more information on safe internal cooking and pasteurisation temperatures,
consult
www.food.gov.uk/food-safety
.
Summary of Contents for ICBWGSC200S-UK
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