Today, more and more often you can hear the culinary term "su-view." What is this, however, not every hostess knows. And not every chef accustomed to working "the old fashioned way" likes this word because he is not familiar with it. Meanwhile, this technology is becoming more and more popular every day, because it allows you to cook food at low temperatures and at the same time maintain its structure. Thus, we get environmentally friendly food in which all its vitamins and nutrients are stored. At first, this method can be perplexing, but over time you will learn to appreciate all its charms and realize that the sous-look is really great.
Method History
Su-vid - what is it? A similar question is primarily asked by those who have never heard anything about this method of cooking before. Su-view is a technology of low-temperature cooking of food in a vacuum. A method appeared in France - the country of gastronomic gourmets and restaurateurs who know a lot about food. The inventor of the technology is the chef Georges Praloux, who worked at the French restaurant Troagro. Using the new vacuum technology, the chef made foie gras in 1974.
But Georges Praloux was not the only person thanks to whom the su-view technology appeared. At the same time, another man came up with it. And everything happened like this: initially this elite technology was not created for institutions of haute cuisine. The owner of a restaurant, part of a network of fast-food establishments, wondered how to cook hard and inexpensive meat much tastier than competitors do. To solve this problem, the restaurateur asked the help of his friend Bruno Gusso, a biochemist by education. He asked a friend to come up with such a cooking method that dry meat as a result became juicy and soft. At the same time, the aforementioned chef Georges Pralu was thinking about how to save priceless fat during foie gras cooking. Thus, the same stunning idea simultaneously struck two strangers: both chefs thought of packing the product in a vacuum, lowering it into water of the required temperature and simmering there for a long time. Therefore, it is quite difficult to understand who was the first. Yes, it doesn’t matter, the main thing is that a new and ingenious technology of cooking arose in the world of culinary. Since then, the method of evacuation has been successful in many drinking establishments on the planet.
Method summary
The Sous Vide evacuation method is associated both with the preparation of dishes and with their storage. The whole essence of the technology boils down to the following: a fresh product is packaged in a vacuum cooking bag (if necessary, various spices are put in it) using a special vacuum packaging machine. Then the package is lowered into a tray with warm water and cooked at a certain temperature for a certain time. And then the “vacuum” product succumb to shock freezing. In the refrigerator compartment, such a workpiece can be stored for a long time.
Before serving, the meat dishes can be fried a little on the grill or in a heated pan to enhance the aroma and the appearance of a golden crust. The cooking temperature of the su-view is 50-70 degrees. Absolutely any products are suitable for this method, but this technology is best suited for the preparation of seafood and fish.
Technology benefits
Extremely popular these days is the su-look technology. What is this, we have already said, now we will understand the advantages of this method. So, as a result of applying vacuum preparation, the following goals are achieved:
1. During baking or roasting, the surface of the meat is influenced by temperatures that are several times higher than the cooking temperature. The su-view technology allows you to cook food gently, the temperature inside and on top of the finished product will be the same, nothing will burn and dry.
2. Dishes will be more juicy, as the low-temperature processing leaves the cell membranes intact.
3. Vacuum packaging allows you to save all its smells and tastes in the middle of the product. It also promotes better penetration of marinades and spices into the product.
4. Correct selection of temperature and cooking time makes products softer. In hard pieces of meat that are stewed or boiled, muscle collagen is converted to gelatin. As a result, even the cheapest cut can be prepared in such a way that it will have a divine texture and taste.
5. Vegetables prepared in this way retain a crisp and fresh texture, which is almost impossible to achieve with ordinary cooking.
What and how to cook
Cooking using the su-view method can last from 20 minutes to half an hour. This time is necessary for cooking omelet, foie gras, small fish. But tough meat pieces and pork ribs are cooked for a couple of days. The time required to heat a portion of food to the desired temperature does not depend on its total mass, but on its thickness. The amount of time required for the food to warm up to the desired temperature depends on the density of the food. The softness of the products affects the duration of their preparation.
Delicate and soft foods, such as lamb chops, pork and veal fillet, foie gras and shellfish, will be usable as soon as they are warmed to the right temperature.
Disadvantage
Sous Vide cooking also has a drawback. If the food is cooked for more than four hours at a temperature lower than 52 degrees, then there are chances of the multiplication of bacteria that provoke botulism. Under such conditions, these pathogens feel as comfortable as possible. To avoid infection, it is necessary to choose higher temperatures for those products that take longer than four hours to cook.
Shelf life
Many gourmets prefer products prepared using su-view technology. What is this, they know firsthand, since most modern restaurants specialize in such dishes. These delicacies are good not only for their taste, but also for a long shelf life (for most of these dishes it is at least five days, including the day of manufacture and use). But some products can be stored for much longer, however, only if these dates have been verified experimentally.
So, fish can be stored for four to six days, but beef and veal are saved for 25-30 days. For pork, this period is slightly shorter: from 15 to 18 days. For 10-18 days, you can store the bird, and the shelf life of vegetables breaks all records. It is 45 days.