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Sous vide vegetables trial run

8K views 85 replies 15 participants last post by  slowcookersguy 
#1 · (Edited)
I've been intrigued by the idea of sous vide for a number of years but only recently have home sous vide units come into a price range where I felt it was affordable enough to jump in. I picked up two units from Anova which I recently reviewed here. I originally only wanted one but after an order mishap I decided to keep the second because it would allow me to run two different temperatures at once, which is a must if you are doing meats as well as vegetables.

Last night I went over to a friends and we experimented with carrots and potatoes. I was interested to see what his opinion was, because there can be a lot of hype around sous vide cooking vs. other methods and I wanted an unbiased opinion. I sealed the vegetables with a little oil and seasonings. I experimented with the potatoes by sealing one bag with only oil and thyme, and sealing a second bag with oil and sea salt. I determined that with the salt being in prior to sealing you can end up with areas that are too concentrated so one bite is bland and the next extremely salty. Best to leave seasoning with salt until after.



For this experiment I set the water bath to 85C


decided to let them cook past 2 hrs. Most readings I had done said that 1 hr was sufficient but I wanted to see if there was any negative effect from leaving them in longer. That was important to me because one aspect of sous vide that I like is the flexibility in timing. We all went for a swim and just let the veges do their thing. I was serving teriyaki glazed salmon along with these, so when we were ready to eat we just cooked the salmon not worrying about the vegetables.


So what was the verdict? Well my friend tried one of the potatoes and instantly reacted by saying it was really good, in fact one of the best potatoes he's ever eaten. I concurred, there was a subtle rich and earthy flavor that I don't often pick up on. I wouldn't go so far as to say they were better than roasted potatoes, but they offer a different experience that is equally good.

The carrots were really interesting. I had anticipated even cooking but there was in fact a difference between the colors. The yellow carrots were extremely soft, the purple being in the middle, and the orange being the least soft of the three. That surprised me, and I am certainly a new fan of the yellow carrots as they also had more flavor than the other two.

In the end the vegetables were very good, maintained their color well and had a very rich concentrated flavor. Being able to "set it and forget it" was nice as well, and allowed me to concentrate solely on the salmon when the time came.
 
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#4 ·
Nice!  Veggies really come out nice that way.  A turnip done at 185 is to die for.
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
One of the concerns I have over Sous Vide is vitamin / nutrient retention, since fast cooking in a pressure cooker seems optimal for vitamin retention / absorption: http://www.hippressurecooking.com/3-pressure-cooker-nutrition-myths-that-just-wont-go-away-till-now/

I also don't like the idea of cooking in a plastic bag, and even people that eat at taco bell are bothered by finding out that they use sous vide (cooking in plastic). Is it reason for concern? - http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/03/28/is-bpa-free-plastic-safe/

I work at a prestigious college where fresh cooked vegetables are dumped in with the old (I don't allow this at my station) to the point that it's ridiculously obvious and unappealing. Sous vide just seems like it's a way for lazy people to be lazier and even less caring about the health of their customers.
 
#8 ·
So far I haven't seen a shred of credible evidence that cooking in a bag is unhealthy. I'm not a scientist so I'm just going on the literature but it doesn't seem like much is leeching out at SV temps and realistically there isn't much to leech out. Besides, a huge amount of food has been stored in plastic all the way up the point where you cook it anyway.

I should point out to that most of the benefits of sous vide don't require the vide part at all. You can fill many water ovens or circulators with oil or water and cook directly in it. Or put your food in a glass jar and immerse it in the bath. It's the constant temp not the sealed bag that does the trick. No reason you couldn't "poach" things in oil or water depending on what you're cooking.

The point of SV isn't laziness- it's the ability to do things that are impossible in any other way. How can you do a beef brisket to fork tenderness while leaving it medium rare without sous vide? I sure can't figure out another way. Lots of amazing stuff is possible when you can control the temp down to a fraction of a degree.
 
#9 ·
Eastshores, I have done both, as well as many variations inbetween. Its time to play!

Tweakz, I know you have a total dislike for sousvide and I am not going to get into with you. But the lazy cracks are silly. On one hand it actually does require work, more than blanching a pot of green beans by anybodies standard. And "control" is not lazy, its smart. Physical exertion doesnt make food better, it just makes your job more exciting. The customer really could care less about how much effort you put into something.
 
#10 ·
Tweakz, I know you have a total dislike for sousvide and I am not going to get into with you. But the lazy cracks are silly. On one hand it actually does require work, more than blanching a pot of green beans by anybodies standard. And "control" is not lazy, its smart. Physical exertion doesnt make food better, it just makes your job more exciting. The customer really could care less about how much effort you put into something.
Come on, admit it. We sous vide practitioners are a lazy bunch, otherwise why would I have a food processor? a dishwasher? -------------- an automobile?

I SVed beets yesterday, with home made butter and yuzu (home grown) orange juice. I will be making that again and again.

dcarch
 
#12 ·
One of the concerns I have over Sous Vide is vitamin / nutrient retention, since fast cooking in a pressure cooker seems optimal for vitamin retention / absorption: http://www.hippressurecooking.com/3-pressure-cooker-nutrition-myths-that-just-wont-go-away-till-now/
Did you actually read that article?

If you did, you will see that you really will be agreeing that SV is even better than pressure cooking in retention / absorption of nutrients. SV keeps all the liquid and cooks at a much lower temperature than a PC.

dcarch
 
#17 ·
I guess it's kind of a paradox; on the one hand I like the slow food movement, the trend towards real natural food with no GMOs or hormones, anti-biotic free range cattle, etc etc.  I like to have food that's free of unnecessary additives and chemicals. But on the other hand I really dig MG cooking.  It's fun to play with meat glue, spherification, gels and foams, etc.  I guess the difference is that when I use something for a specific effect I'm on the one making the call and I know what's in the food I'm making.
 
#18 ·
I guess it's kind of a paradox; on the one hand I like the slow food movement, the trend towards real natural food with no GMOs or hormones, anti-biotic free range cattle, etc etc. I like to have food that's free of unnecessary additives and chemicals. But on the other hand I really dig MG cooking. It's fun to play with meat glue, spherification, gels and foams, etc. I guess the difference is that when I use something for a specific effect I'm on the one making the call and I know what's in the food I'm making.
it seems that since we started using microwave radiation, Teflon cookware, aluminum, plastics, chemicals ---------- in foods, we are living longer and longer.

Since 1930 we on the average living 18 years longer.

dcarch
 
#19 ·
It's really hard to unpack it.  On the one hand we're exposed to many forms of radiation from phones, microwaves, etc.  We have environmental chemicals and pollutants that probably aren't good for us.  We feed 75% of all the antibiotics used in the US to livestock.  So many things are probably "killing us" that it's impossible to isolate any given one.  On the other hand we have better sanitation, nutrition and medicine.  Maybe it's a wash.

Let me say I do respect folks that are wary of chemicals and reluctant to cook in bags, use a microwave, use a cell phone, etc.  The risk is never zero.  I think the risk of potential issues from food safe bags to be minimal but I think people should have a choice.  It's fair to let people know what's in their food and how it's being handled.  I would extend this right of the consumer to know all the way to what types of GMOs are used and what type of hormones, drugs, country of origin, etc.
 
#20 ·
phaedrus, I have the same feelings. One of the things I like about MG, aside from the possiblities of textures and presentations, is that I like the idea of chefs taking control of the tools and techniques that industrial food producers have been using to simulate OUR work. In that way both poles are similar.

Dcarch, exactly. People might have concerns about modern inovations, and a romantic backlash that leads to a retreat to "the traditional" without realizing what that exactly means. I dont see a clamour to go back to "greening pots" or untreated copper. People worry about cooking in plastic, yet lionize wood smoked bbq.
 
#21 ·
Very true!  Let's ditch plastic and go back to pipes connected with lead solder!  Or further back to the use of lead for drinking vessels.  I think everything is "gonna getcha" on some level.  IIRC there are something like 50,000 deaths worldwide attributed to smoke from wood cooking fires (ie respiratory diseases due to poorly vented fires).  We  used to use some really vile stuff in cooking and common wares.
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
Tweakz, no worries! I think it fine to have a personal style, and a comfort zone. You just dont need to run down other styles to validate your own. And if I ever rib you, its in fun,just like I would a person in my kitchen.
That's cool. I had a really bad day at work and am so bothered by the laziness and lack of concern of people I work with (but they are minimally paid and many are mentally handicapped). I eat for free at work and despite working for a college that charges 60k a year tuition and forces their students to have meal plans; they pour new product on top of old instead of switching pans. These students are often stupid rich while I'm considered too poor for the IRS to care if I file for taxes and I'm even disgusted by the food they serve.

Phaedrus made a good point on how it makes new things possible. I'm not totally against Sous Vide and have actually considered buying into it despite how anti-Sous Vide I'm referred to as and come across. I'm not about to throw more plastic into the ground than necessary which eliminates a lot of why I'd use one.

My perception is that there is a small amount of manufacturers for Sous Vide machines (for a while it was one), manufacturers are known to hire people to manipulate opinions on forums by managing multiple accounts, and sous vide is being overly popular (we seriously need it for veggies?).

I've never had a good baked potato at a restaurant. -Can sous vide solve this problem? I've used microwave to toaster oven, and pressure cooker to oven, and though they're much better than any restaurant baked potato; it's still not the same. You'll never get that 'how mom used to make it' taste with sous vide (my mother was a horrible cook btw -lol)

I'm not scared of dying from chemical exposure; I'm scared of suffering from it. Having a debilitating disease that others can't see or comprehend is horrible. Look up silicosis, and compare the symptoms to auto-immune diseases, what women with leaky breast implants suffered from, and look at the ingredients in paprika, health food supplements and what pharmaceuticals have. People who haven't gone through it seem like they are oblivious to what it's like.
 
#24 · (Edited)
eastshores-What equipment do you use to vacuum seal the food?
I used a food saver. I'd love to have a chamber vacuum sealer but those are still priced higher than it would be worth to me.
My perception is that there is a small amount of manufacturers for Sous Vide machines (for a while it was one), manufacturers are known to hire people to manipulate opinions on forums by managing multiple accounts, and sous vide is being overly popular (we seriously need it for veggies?).
I've never had a good baked potato at a restaurant. -Can sous vide solve this problem? I've used microwave to toaster oven, and pressure cooker to oven, and though they're much better than any restaurant baked potato; it's still not the same. You'll never get that 'how mom used to make it' taste with sous vide (my mother was a horrible cook btw -lol)

I'm not scared of dying from chemical exposure; I'm scared of suffering from it. Having a debilitating disease that others can't see or comprehend is horrible. Look up silicosis, and compare the symptoms to auto-immune diseases, what women with leaky breast implants suffered from, and look at the ingredients in paprika, health food supplements and what pharmaceuticals have. People who haven't gone through it seem like they are oblivious to what it's like.
I have to be honest, you come off as a bit paranoid and certainly somewhat cynical. I am not some agent of an equipment manufacturer, I work in software development but I do enjoy following science in cooking. I'll refer again to the fact that Thomas Keller who is one of the most respected chefs in the United States has largely been at the forefront of bringing sous vide into popular use, but it was the French that had been using the technique (with vacuum sealing) since the 1970's. As @Phaedrus pointed out, you really don't need to use a vacuum bag in order to put to use what we call "sous vide". It's pointed out in the foreward of Keller's book "Under Pressure" that sous vide isn't the best term to use, that it would be better to call it precision cooking but that for now the popular term remains sous vide. An egg can be cooked sous vide without anything other than its shell.

Do we really need sous vide for vegetables? Well, do we really need to grill vegetables? Do we need to saute them? Roast them? Why would sous vide be excluded? It is a technique that allows for results that you simply cannot attain using other techniques. So yes, I'd say we need sous vide for vegetables. You can argue the merits of plastic in cooking, and if you choose to avoid sous vide over a philosophical objection or even your own concerns over health then that's fine for you but I believe that if you would mock the technique or criticize chefs like Thomas Keller, it seems a bit sophomoric. But that's just my opinion, we're all entitled to our own.
 
#25 ·
The vacuum bag distracts the attention from the truly important element of sous vide- precise temperature control. When you can keep the temp within a half degree window for the entire duration of the cook, even if that is three days, you can achieve amazing results. I'm hooked on it myself. I have two SousVide Supreme machines at home along with a lite duty commercial chamber vacuum sealer. On the average I'm using at least one of them around five times a week. This doesn't even touch on my use of a circulator at work. Eggs are maybe the killer app for sous vide, and they already come pre-packaged in their own little envelopes./img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

I think it's a far cry from cutting open your skin and subcutaneous fat and stuffing a bag of silicon in there. We've been packaging stuff in plastic for a hundred years and cooking in it for at least four decades now. Even the stuff we know is bad like BPA isn't killing us by the millions nor causing autism or any other conspiracy stuff. And there's a lot you can do with a circulator or water oven that doesn't involve using plastic bags. Me, I've already done so much crap to myself in my life that I'm hardly concerned that cooking at 130 in plastic might lead to another year drooling on myself at the nursing home./img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif BPA free plastic can't be worse for me than a bottle of whiskey every night or an eighth oz of shrooms. If I end up with some syndrome it will hard to narrow down the likely cause. I'm a freakin' cook after all! 110 dB hoods, 100 degree temps, 15 hours on my feet, 500ct bottles of ibuprofen six times per year, 20 bottles of wine per week; if I cared about my health I would have been a banker./img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif
 
#26 ·
I belong to a couple of BBQ/grill/smoke forums. It is kind of interesting, those self-proclaimed red-necks and hillbillies are really into sous vide. Many of them are buying SV cookers.

SV will never make you a good cook. It is a small part of the cooking process. You still need many other skills and good recipes.

SV is no different than a convection oven, which cooks by moving hot air. SV cooks by moving hot water.

It is useful for everyone to consider SV because as we know meat prices are going higher and higher, and will probably never come down again. SV is a great way to save money. You can use cheap cuts of meat, it is impossible to overcook or under cook the meat, and significant less meat shrinkage cooked at consistent low temperature.

dcarch
 
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