Products are cooked and chilled in the same tanks. These tanks are computer-controlled and monitor the cooking and chilling of both the external, or ambient, and internal temperatures of the foods. If pasteurized, most sous vide products held below 38°F (3.3°C) should have a shelf life of several weeks.
All types of proteins work well in sous vide, but fish and secondary cuts of meat particularly lend themselves to sous vide. Fish, when prepared traditionally, can be easily overcooked. The main hurdle for cooking fish is proper temperature, which we can control precisely when cooking sous vide, as a circulating water bath is an excellent, even conductor of heat. Fish, as with many proteins, are not perfectly square or the same thickness throughout. When cooked in a temperature-controlled water bath, the fish can never go above or below the cooking temperature, allowing for precise cooking.
Secondary meat cuts—e.g., short ribs, shanks, chuck, etc.—are greatly tenderized by sous vide’s long cooking time, and also retain their moisture. Cooking at the right temperature also maintains the food’s color. Temperature is one of the factors that change blood's color, so can preserve the color of meat, and the color will be consistent throughout.
Vegetables also work wonderfully in sous vide. Carrots cooked to the correct temperature are the brightest-orange cooked carrot you have ever seen. Green beans heated to the correct temperature will be crisp every time.
At Cuisine Solutions, we’ve noticed that more value-added sous vide products are needed. Therefore, we are combining more proteins and vegetables with sauces. We’re also cooking more stews and comfort foods, which work great in sous vide. The flavors are much more intense and the consistency is far better than what is possible in traditional cooking.
Adding accents
Essentially, sous vide “boils” (albeit at a lower temperature) food, so various traditional cooking techniques are sometimes combined with it to improve flavor. “Precooking,” can sear, grill or caramelize the product before vacuum packing and cooking. At this point, the product is generally only minimally cooked. A precooking step not only adds flavor, but also can improve the appearance of the product.
Generally, all seasoning is used at much-lower levels compared to traditional cooking, since flavors are intensified when cooking sous vide since the cooking environment is closed and flavor volatiles cannot escape into the air. Using marinades or vacuum tumbling can add great levels of flavor for foods eventually cooked sous vide, but, again, you need to scale back any seasoning, since flavors are intensified. Also, sous vide retains about 20% more water content in the protein, so there is no need to pump the product for anticipated water loss, as might be done with proteins cooked with other methods.