The Everything Guide to Cooking Sous Vide Read Online Free PDF Page A

is completely sealed before lowering into the water. Some companies have zipper bags specifically designed for sous vide cooking. SousVide Supreme sells zip-cooking pouches in different sizes, and these are designed for cooking at high temperatures.

    Slowly lowering zip-top bags into the water bath will force air out and create a vacuum environment.

    A Nomiku immersion circulator
    Optional Additional Equipment
    There are a number of other pieces of equipment that can enhance and simplify sous vide cooking. While these are not essential to creating quality meals using sous vide, they can make life a little easier for the cook.
    Kitchen Torch
    While the recipes in this book give instructions to sear using a skillet, a kitchen torch is another effective way to sear meat after it has come out of the water bath. The extreme heat from the flame of a kitchen torch will create a Maillard reaction, resulting in a crispy and extra-tasty meat exterior. The kitchen torch can simulate a hot grill and works really well for steak, pork chops, fish, and more. There are a number of small crème brûlée torches that are great, as well as powerful cooking torches that clamp on to a butane canister. These tend to have more adjustability in the size of the flame and can get hotter.
    Digital Thermometer
    Sous vide machines have built-in thermostats to measure the temperature of the water, but there may be times that you want to monitor the temperature of the food. In these cases, a quality digital thermometer is in order. Instead of an instant-read thermometer, the best kind for sous vide cooking is one with a long hypodermic probe with a cable/cord that is safe to put in the water. ThermoWorks makes excellent digital thermometers and has models that are safe and effective for sous vide cooking.

    A digital thermometer with a probe and cable will help you monitor the internal temperature of your food.
    Foam Tape
    Piercing a digital thermometer hypodermic probe into a vacuum-sealed bag will break the seal and this can allow air and water into the bag. Placing some foam tape onto the bag and piercing through the tape into the bag will keep the seal intact. It is a cheap and effective way to ensure the food is vacuum sealed. Poly Science sells foam tape that is ideal for this purpose.
    Polycarbonate Containers and Lids
    Immersion circulators can be clamped on to a stockpot or cooler and work effectively, but polycarbonate containers are also an excellent choice. These containers usually hold much more water than a pot and their rectangular design is better for cooking multiple bags of food, allowing them to be evenly spaced and not crowded in a pot. Polycarbonate lids can be cut to create a hole for the immersion circulator to fit.

Chapter 3
    Getting Started
    There are some cooking techniques that are challenging and difficult to master. Tempering chocolate, cooking hard candy, making that perfect soufflé, or even rolling out a pie crust can be frustrating. The thought of trying a brand-new cooking method causes some people to run for the hills, because the last thing anyone needs is more frustration or more failure. It is understandable that you may feel that way about sous vide, but once you give it a go, you will discover that it is pretty darn easy! Using sous vide as a method for cooking is surprisingly simple and there are a handful of basic steps that, if followed, will produce quality results each and every time.
    The General Setup
    While sous vide cooking is quite the simple method, there are still a number of things to consider when getting started. Knowing is half the battle, and this chapter gives you the knowledge and tools you need, so that any anxiety or questions you may have along the way are easily answered. There are a few things to do prior to dropping a bag of food into the water bath. Nothing is arduous or tough, but following these few simple steps will make sure that you are ready to go.
    Location for the Sous Vide
    So,