Kitchen

[depglass]

For some reason this used to toally turn me off and when it came on Food Network I tuned out.  Now I think it might be interesting. 

[Sooner]

It is based on the method of cooking in warm/hot water with items sealed and not touching the water.  It makes wonderful chicken.

The vessel can be set anywhere, the sous vide cooker is immersed in the water.  It is similar to poaching but with the food not IN the water.

You can cook something "done" and keep it in the water for some time and it won't overcook.

We put some water in a pot on the counter, put in some vac sealed chicken we've bought or fish filets and turn on the sous vide that clips onto the pot and we soon have wonderful tender cooked products with no mess.  You can use a sealed zip lock bag and hang it on the pot as well with a common clip.

Easy, no mess, very moist tender meat or veggies! 

[CWS22]

Couldn't the same results be achieved by simply simmering water in a pot on the stove and cooking the sealed item in the water that way?

[Sooner]

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@CWS22 wrote:

Couldn't the same results be achieved by simply simmering water in a pot on the stove and cooking the sealed item in the water that way?

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@CWS22  Not really because you couldn't maintain an exact temperature over time  It would be really hard to do I'd think and you couldn't time the cooking as accurately.    It wouldn't really be worth the trouble.  I think the water would get too hot over time.  

[jaxs mom]

The short version is you're cooking food at the done temperature, so it's not at risk of over cooking. It also allows more precise control of the cooking process. I really love it for chicken, especially breast meat because it's tender but not stringy like it gets when over cooked. It's also really nice for sausage because they don't get dry. I just did a chuck roast this weekend and it's like rare roast beef. I've also fermented yogurt but I don't think it's better than my usual fermentation method with warm circulating air in my Exaclibur dehydrator. 

[jaxs mom]

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@CWS22 wrote:

Couldn't the same results be achieved by simply simmering water in a pot on the stove and cooking the sealed item in the water that way?

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No, because the whole point of sous vide is to not overcook food and to have precise control on the finished cooking temperature. Very few foods are cooked to a finished temperature of 205 ish.