What Is the Sous Vide Technique

 In cooking there are many different methods that can be used. You can fry, grill, and sautee foods, amongst others. The Sous Vide technique is another cooking method that you can use and it has some great benefits. If you're not familiar with it, this is what it is and how it works.

The Sous Vide technique is a method of low temperature cooking that was developed in 1974. It is a technique that came about to reduce the shrinkage that occurred when preparing foie gras. With general cooking methods, foods such as chicken, meat and fish tend to shrink tremendously. This technique showed unexpected low shrinkage results of 5% compared to a previous 40% when using generic cooking methods. Since then, it is a method that has been preferred by many chefs.

With this method it retains the vitamins and micro nutrients in the food. In addition, it does not alter the mineral salt fat compositions. Due to the aforementioned, a noticeable improved taste and texture is achieved. Consequently, the Sous Vide technique produces consistent results every time.

With this technique the temperature remains consistent therefore chefs can prepare fish, meat or vegetables as they desire while not worrying about shrinkage or loss of flavour. When the favoured temperature is reached, it can remain constant for hours. This makes it practically impossible to over cook the food. With this technique water is used which means that the heating medium ensures that the temperature is evenly spread throughout the Sous Vide Bath.

The Sous Vide technique is an alternative to the generic cooking methods and to achieve it, you require specific catering equipment such as a Sous Vide Bath. As a result you can maximise kitchen efficiency as well as save on overhead expenses. This is what all chefs want to achieve because improved efficiency in the kitchen means that more customer orders can be taken and this leads to restaurant growth.

This technique has many benefits for the chef. It retains all the nutrients, gives you the highest food quality, improves time management, is efficient, reduces shrinkage to 5%, and preserves the natural food flavour. There is no over cooking and no moisture is lost with this method. It gives you constant results due to a consistent temperature management system. The freshness, colour and appearance of the food remain unchanged which makes it more presentable and flavourful. In addition, it saves you money due to efficient cooking and reduced spoilage.

CaterWeb stocks a full range of commercial kitchen products and we even offer free demonstrations as well as hands on training if necessary. Visit our website to access our online store or alternatively we welcome you to visit our new showroom.

How To Cook Food More Nutritiously

 Eating nutritious food is not an option, it's a necessity for a healthy life. With majority of the world's population suffering from one or more kind of nutritional deficiency, it becomes even more important to make sure your food has all the essential nutrients in sufficient quantity.

For a healthy and nutritious diet, you need to cook your meals in the healthiest way possible - by choosing healthy ingredients and cooking it in the healthiest way possible. Here are the steps to cook food nutritiously:

Cook on Medium Heat:

The amount of heat your food cooks at greatly decides its nutritional outcome. Overcooking it would not only deprive your taste buds of the natural tastes but would also destroy delicate nutrients (like complex carbs). It is, thus, advised to cook food at medium heat. It will also prevent it from burning or sticking to the bottom of the cooking pot. Even at medium heat most cookware being made from metals or ceramic (unnatural material) destroy delicate nutrients. Keep reading to find out how this can be fully prevented.

Wash or Rinse foods the right way:

Different foods need to be washed differently to preserve their nutrients. Generally, for most vegetables, it is recommended to wash them right before you cut for those water-soluble nutrients to stay locked in. Avoid soaking your vegetables, as that can remove key nutrients, such as vitamin C.

Don't overcook vegetables:

Overcooking vegetables makes them mushy and they taste quite bland. It's important to cook them for just the right duration so they neither remain uncooked nor overcooked. Cooking for too long also reduces their nutritional value by breaking down the nutrients at molecular level.

Always use the right cookware, it makes a big difference!

The cookware makes a big difference to the health of your food. Most conventional metal and ceramic cookware make food unhealthy by contaminating it with reactive metal toxins and destroying nutrients with their harsh heat. You can make your food way more nutritious by choosing the right cookware - healthy and non-toxic pure-clay pots. Pure clay is naturally inert so doesn't react with food a biochemical entity, and their unique far infrared heat keeps nutrients intact.

Steam management is another important aspect of cooking healthy. Most of the steam generated in food is water-soluble nutrients. Out of the 13 essential vitamins and minerals, 9 are water-soluble, which means they dissolve in water, are quickly used in the body and need to be replenished every day - the body doesn't store them. With conventional cookware, as steam constantly leaves the pot so do the water-soluble nutrients, cooked food remains deficient in one more way.

Pure clay pots can be ergonomically designed to naturally and fully harness the goodness of nature, so the rising steam touches the inner surface of the lid, condense, and drops back into the food instead of exiting the pot like with metals.

By taking care of these little things you can make sure you are cooking your food in the healthiest way possible and your body is getting all the nutrients it needs.