Sous vide

He discovered that when foie gras was cooked in this manner, it kept its original appearance, did not lose excess amounts of fat, and had better texture.

[9] Another pioneer in sous vide is Bruno Goussault, the French chief scientist of Sterling, Virginia-based food manufacturer Cuisine Solutions.

In 1991, he established Centre de Recherche et d'Études pour l'Alimentation (CREA) as the service arm of its parent company, Cuisine Solutions.

[10] It also improves the transfer of heat between the water bath and food, without the thermal insulating properties of any trapped air in the bag.

[10] One limitation of sous vide cooking is that browning (Maillard reactions) happens at temperatures above the boiling point of water.

In many cases, chefs will brown meats and other foods before or after sous vide cooking, using techniques such as torching or searing on an extremely hot pan.

This secondary browning is done briefly, and sometimes at higher heat than usually used, so as to affect only the surface of the food and to avoid overcooking the interior.

For that reason, Baldwin's treatise specifies precise chilling requirements for "cook-chill", so that the botulism spores do not have the opportunity to grow or propagate.

[16][17] Also, some evidence shows that heterocyclic aromatic amines and bisphenol-A migrate from the plastic container into the food in sous vide cooking.

[18] The sous vide method is used in many high-end gourmet restaurants by chefs such as Heston Blumenthal,[19] Paul Bocuse, Michael Carlson,[20] Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz, Ferran Adrià, Joël Robuchon, Philippe Rochat, Alessandro Stratta, Charlie Trotter, Michael Mina and Joan Roca.

[24] Initially, enthusiasts used laboratory-grade thermal immersion circulators, often bought used on eBay and - however carefully cleaned - not designed for kitchen use.

Beginning in 2008, Auber Instruments and Fresh Meals Solutions made available comparatively inexpensive yet highly accurate PID controllers with attached thermocouple probes that could be used to control commercial rice cookers, slow cookers, electric stock pots, and similar apparatuses.

[24] Duplicating some effects of sous vide techniques is possible through the use of a rigid-sided, insulated container, such as a "beer cooler", filled with warm water, checked with an accurate thermometer, and coupled with resealable bags, which allow the air to be removed, to package the food for cooking.

As an alternative method to a commercial or home vacuum sealer, the food may be placed in an open-sided plastic bag, and then partially submerged into the water, which displaces/forces out the air.

The goal is to have the food completely in contact with the hot water to ensure even cooking while reducing off flavors from oxidation.

[citation needed][26] Lower-cost units are now available in the form of a "stick", which has a clip to attach it to the side of the cooking vessel.

Apps guide people through the cooking process, with some units having voice-control integration and Wi-Fi interfaces to control the device remotely.