Evenly cooked, perfect texture, every time . . .

Sous Vide Cooking

VacMaster® has been producing commercial vacuum packaging machines for almost three decades. Now, we are bringing chamber technology to your kitchen with innovatively designed chamber machines. Home chamber machines are perfect for sous vide cooking, whether you’re just getting started or are an experienced sous vide chef. With a variety of VacMaster® chamber machines available (VP112, VP210 and the VP215), we’re sure you’ll be enjoying sous vide cooking in no time.

Sous Vide CookingWhat is Sous Vide?

Sous vide, a French term meaning “under vacuum”, is a process of cooking food packaged in vacuum sealed pouches in low temperature water baths. The result gives food a texture and doneness not found in other cooking methods. The idea is that food should be cooked at the temperature at which it will be served. Other cooking methods do not cook food evenly, either undercooking the middle or overcooking the outside. Sous vide solves this by evenly cooking the entire piece for the perfect temperature, texture and doneness.

History of Sous VidePreparing food in sealed vessels at low temperatures is one of the earliest forms of cooking. Early civilizations in China, Hawaii and Mexico all used variations of cooking in this manner. En papillote, a precursor to sous vide and a traditional French method of cooking, uses parchment paper envelopes to package food. Modern sous vide cooking was developed by Georges Pralus in 1974 for the Troigros Restaurant, owned by Michel & Pierre Troigros, in Roanne, France. Pralus had experienced, in preparing foie gras, that it would lose up to 50% of its weight during cooking. He was challenged to develop a new method to avoid the shrinkage. His experiment had the desired effect keeping the original appearance of the foie gras. Pralus later set up schools in both Europe and Japan to teach his sous vide technique to chefs.

Sous Vide Tips• Aromatics like carrots, onions, celery and bell peppers

do not flavor dishes as they would in traditional cooking methods due to the low cooking temperatures. Higher temperatures are needed for vegetables and should be cooked separately.

• Raw garlic cooked under sous vide creates unpleasant tastes and smells. This can be avoided by substituting powdered garlic.

• If cooking for more than two hours, do not use extra virgin olive oil as this oil cooked under sous vide creates a blood taste. Use other processed oil for anything longer than two hours.

• Before using wine to marinade food, it is recommended that you first cook off the alcohol of the wine before cooking sous vide. The alcohol can vaporize within a vacuum sealed bag causing the meat to cook unevenly.

Sous Vide Cooking

Sous Vide Benefits• Food cooked using the sous vide method does not lose as much of the nutritional

content as foods prepared traditionally due to the reduced oxygen environment.• As sous vide requires low cooking temperatures, very little additional fat is needed.• Because the flavors are significantly enhanced, the food needs less salt and spices,

reducing the overall sodium content.• Food can’t be overcooked due to the low cooking temperatures. It also prevents meat

from drying out.• Sous vide is a great method for cooking tough meats at low temperatures. Sous vide

tenderizes them, while cooking perfectly at medium-rare.• The vacuum sealing process makes some foods denser, which creates a smooth and

pleasing texture to food.• Sous vide uses fewer ingredients. When using a liquid marinade, you need a larger

amount to cover the food in traditional cooking methods. Sous vide only requires enough liquid to cover the food in the cooking pouch.

• Cooking time and temperature are intensely monitored and controlled. This allows for consistent results each time the food is prepared.

• Sous vide allows you to prepare meals in single portions and store safely for future.

Necessary Equipment• Plastic pouches for vacuum sealing. – Ensure that the pouches can be

thoroughly sealed so that water will not seep into pouches and mix with food. Pouches should also be able to withstand temperatures up to 100°C or 212°F.

• Vacuum sealing machine – A quality vacuum sealing machine will remove most of the oxygen from the bags while also giving them an air-tight seal. For preparing foods with a large amount of liquid, a chamber vacuum sealing machine is recommended. Professional kitchens will also benefit from larger chamber vacuum sealing machines. The casual or amateur sous-vide chef may prefer the convenience of a smaller counter unit.

• Cooking and regeneration equipment - A water bath is used for cooking and regeneration. It is important to use equipment in which the temperature can be controlled. Casual sous-vide chefs may use rice cookers or crock pots with adjustable thermostat controllers. However, a professional chef will most likely need laboratory-grade immersion circulators.

• Digital Thermometer – A digital thermometer is needed to help regulate the temperature of the water bath.

Sous Vide Cooking

Step by Step 1. Preparation – It is best to use the freshest raw ingredients for your sous

vide recipes.2. Fill the Pouches – Use pouches designed for vacuum sealing or sous vide

cooking, such as VacMaster’s® VacStrip™ bags.3. Vacuum Seal – Seal vacuum bags in vacuum packaging machine. Ensure

that the seal is complete and proper so that no water will mix with food and liquids won’t escape.

4. Cooking – Cook in sous vide water bath at the temperature and time designated on each recipe.

5. Cooling – Quickly cool food to 3°C or 37°F within a 90 minute time period for safe food storage.

6. Store – Store between 0 and 3°C or 32 and 37°F. Different foods will keep for different lengths of time.

7. Reheat and Serve – Reheat and brown if desired.

10301 Hickman Mills Drive Suite 110Kansas City, MO 64137800.821.7849 / 816.761.2900Fax 816.761.0055www.aryvacmaster.com