Preservatives are not necessary if the process pasteurizes the product via the cook time and temperature. Properly done,
sous vide gives you a fully cooked, ready-to-eat product that you could, essentially, eat cold out of the pouch. However, it can be rethermed by any number of methods (microwave, oven, fryer, grill, etc.).
Adding sous vide in-house
Manufacturers looking to add sous vide capability to their plants must invest in equipment for packing, a vacuum-packing machine and plastic bags adapted to heat treatment for the cooking and chilling processes. The water baths and heating systems must be able to maintain temperatures to within ±0.1º C. Probes and thermometers are necessary to control and record temperatures in the core of the product.
And, although food properly cooked through sous vide techniques are fully pasteurized, state health departments sometimes require establishments using sous vide technology to develop a written HACCP plan. In addition, they recommend production managers and chefs be formally trained in this method for food-safety assurance.
Culinary evolution
Sous vide technology has enabled manufacturers to provide food products to top restaurant chains, onboard services, hotels, retailers and to the U.S. military, which needs portioned, consistent and safe food on a large scale.
“There is no better standard bearer of high-quality foods, consistently produced with great flavor, than sous vide items,” says Eric Justice, director of culinary, Pei Wei Asian Diner, a subsidiary of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc., Scottsdale, AZ.
Other chains have likewise found success with sous vide. Sous vide products have helped T.G.I. Friday’s “increase quality, as well maintain consistency,” notes Scott Randolph, senior director of culinary development, T.G.I. Friday’s, Carrollton, TX.
With the increased exposure on television food channels and shows, and numerous blogs about food on the Internet, sous vide has enjoyed a newly heightened awareness. As top chef Thomas Keller writes in “Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide,” a new book released in fall of 2008, “sous vide is this: another step in our culinary evolution.”
Richard A. Keys is the vice president of sales for Cuisine Solutions in Alexandria, VA. He is a graduate of Ecole De Gastronomie Francaise Ritz-Escoffier and has taken continuing education classes from The Culinary Institute of America, and has worked as a chef for LSG/Skychefs, the Grand Teton Lodge, Walt Disney World and the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, among others. He is a member of such organizations as the American Culinary Federation, the World Association of Cooks and the Research Chefs Association.