What is Sous Vide?

Even If you’re not sure what sous vide exactly is, chances are you’ve tried it whether at that fancy French restaurant you save for special occasions or the egg bites you have with your latte at Starbucks.

A sous vide machine or immersion circulator is used to preheat a water bath to a precise temperature. Food is sealed in plastic bags, though you can also sous vide in glass jars and eggs can be cooked in their shells, and immersed in the bath. The food eventually reaches the same temperature as the water, which is often set to the ideal serving temperature of the final dish.

For meat, poultry, and fish, there is usually a quick searing step before serving. As opposed to conventional stovetop and oven methods, in which the heat used is much higher than the serving temperature of the food, making it imperative to remove the food at just the right moment, when it’s done but not overcooked.

Using sous vide there’s usually no risk of overcooking, making it a tempting technique, especially for temperature-sensitive foods such as fish or steak. The low cooking temperature ensures meat remains juicy; it’s never dry. And dialing in the precise temperature creates exceptionally consistent results that can’t be achieved with traditional methods.