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RE: Modern culinary techniques, in my way: Sous Vide
Is sous vide cooking now popular in restaurants? Is it considered a 'proper' method of cooking by purists?
Is sous vide cooking now popular in restaurants? Is it considered a 'proper' method of cooking by purists?
Yes, it is popular in many modernist restaurant. As I said before The advantage of this technique is that it can achieve a very precise cooking, highlights the flavor of the product, maintains its juiciness and most of its nutrients, since they are not disregarded in water. You can also achieve amazing product modifications that common cooking can not do. also includes the reduce of prices cost.
The theme of purists is what makes Sous Vide an interesting topic to discuss. For some it is not their own cooking method, they consider it "cheating", because it is simply delaying the cooking time and doing it unconventionally. However, for some it is acceptable, because it is about cooking at a low temperature, as many cultures have done for thousands of years, only that technology is implemented to be easy to use. In addition, it has a great nutritional advantage, as long as it is practiced correctly.
Thanks for your comment. Amazing questions. :)
But Purists will say
NO :P
@dcardozo seems to know how to use it properly and that is great!
Sadly most restauratns nodaways use it for the purpose of increasing production and reducing wages, especially in france in where going to a new restaurant is a culinary equivalent of a Russian Roulette
It is fast it is clean, allows for better conservation, even allows for splitting brigades having just manipulators doing the dressage.
It got its way into restaurants from catering preparation labs and industrial meal preparation looking to comply with stringent sanitary regulations.
Some will say for cooking meat is perfect because you can achieve an homogeneous temperature, but part of the charm or perfectly grilled meat is that gradual heat transfer as water evaporates on the surface and theMaillardreaction starts caramelizing the protein which is what gives this distinctive flavor.
It can be maillardissed after sous vide, but it will be a fast torch blow, which tends to carbonize more than maillardise...
But the advantage is that makes more accessible for anyone to present better result and to homogenise recipes around several site franchises.
The biggest chefs use it, but it is a complete different level, becasue they don't need time, they have time for perfection... So they will sous cook something sous vide to achieve the homogeneous cooking to get to the center of the piece (whatever it is that its been cooked) and then finish it on a real Poele with salty Breton butter to give a perfect maillardisation seconds before dressing.
It is a technique that solves two different problems at two different Cooking levels.
Either increase production while requiring less skills or on the contrary achieve perfection by using it to increase the required cooking time to present a better organoleptic experience.
What a concrete, specific and completely correct answer! Amazing!
In an industrial case, the use of sous vide is advantageous for all the points that @nnnarvaez just mentioned, covers 80% of the sanitary obligations (20% error of human factor), the loss of raw material is less than 75% (25% error human factor) and the control of maillarization is simple to achieve a perfect finish. But such complexity tends to lose the essence of what real cooking is, creating habits of less interest for what is being done, except for the great chefs and perfectionists.
On the other hand, in domestic terms, nothing better than having the luxury of cooking perfectly in your own home or saving work and food. And is that sous vide is a great topic to make it viral and sell it in infomercials haha.
At home It is cool because people will think they are great cooks and also will recognize when badly used if ever find it when eating out.
And yet we masters and Gods of the pans and the "Fourneaux" will still be able to amaze, because we love to invest time to achieve organoleptic perfection.
Sous-vide Vs Salty butter
clash of titans...