Comments on: A mathematician cooks sous vide

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:05:29 +0000

Nice article, Martin.

Douglas, I see from the above photo you have the PolyScience 7306C circulator now.
Previously you were using the SousVide Supreme in the embedded videos of your on-line guide.
Can you describe the advantages of the more expensive 7306C circulator? What sort of foods benefit from using the 7306C circulator over the Supreme? Is the metal shelf of the Supreme necessary when using the PolyScience circulator? Is the food grade plastic (the one with the ping pong balls) bin double walled or relatively slow at heat loss? I’m toying with using a stainless stockpot vs. purchasing a plastic bin with lid.

How often should one change the water? Every day? week? never? (i’d be afraid of growing pond scum if I went with the last one).

I read that alcohol reacts differently in vacuumed bags (because the volatiles cannot escape). Are there general rules about using/not using wine in recipes before (as opposed to after) sous vide cooking?

Any updates about plastic bag safety with sous vide? I know that PVC containing plastic is to be avoided with sous vide. I read that Harold McGee thinks food-grade plastic bags (which ones?!) are probably safe at sous vide temperatures (below boiling). But what is the effect of vacuum pressure, especially if we spring for the expensive and powerful chamber vacuums?
My concern: Glad, for instance, states their ziplock bags do not contain any PVC, but they do not recommend them for sous vide; however Glad declines to explain why. Are there known/unknown pasticizers we should worry about?

Are food safe plastic bags, which are not reusable, biodegradable? What if sous vide were a smashing success is its reliance on plastic bags a potential reason to avoid the method, especially if we are approaching/entering supposedly “peak oil” times?

By: francis

francis — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:26:59 +0000

Hi Douglas

I would like to have your feedback regarding this component of time. Let’s say Iam having a dinner party and I cook this beef steak for 45 mins at 60 degrees celcius….At this time, it should be medium rare…But my guests are not ready yet to eat…How long can I hold at 60 degrees be it becomes well done or it wont be well done for another few hours?

By: Keith

Keith — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:15:15 +0000

Hi Douglas, Greetings from the land of oz. I sold and still use Rena Ware, a waterless cookware. I have had the set 30 years. Now it should be called vacuum cookware, as it virtually does that. I have an idea for you with the immersion circulator. In Australia and else , the beer industry has small water chill systems for running the beer through lines. The circulator is generally a small electric motor located on the lid with alongish shaft and propellor, I believe you can get them from the commercial fridge industry. I will make some enquiries. I am also getting a quote for an immersion element with thermostatic control for a ten / fifteen litre container, which due to ship building skills we can make ourselves out of s/s or fibreglass with foam insulation

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 07 May 2010 22:15:02 +0000

Great information. It brought back memories over 25 years ago when I was involved with introducing a very new technology to the U.S.; sous vide.

It was used extensively throughout Europe….however not well known in the U.S.

It has revolutionized the introduction of high end quality food prepared and table ready in nearly any setting or use.

Thank you for the memories…

By: rino

rino — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:49:49 +0000

Douglas,

Thanks in large part to your guide, i’ve cooked sous vide over a dozen times and can’t get enough of it. if you have any interest in sharing instructions on how to sous vide at home spending anywhere from $0 to $55 before buying an IC or SVS, i’d welcome any readers who’d like to check out my experiences. pictures and more then the original 2 posts are coming, i promise! http://sousvidedeeds.blogspot.com/

By: Lava

Lava — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:01:09 +0000

i must say – great! Good research – as a beginner of professional cooking all these information are really helpful – thanks!

By: » MEAT WEEK RESOURCES - Bringing food chemistry to life

» MEAT WEEK RESOURCES - Bringing food chemistry to life — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:54:03 +0000

[...] Martin Lersch of Khymos interviewed Douglas… link [...]

By: Scientists and Mathematicians Explore Sous Vide Cooking | Food in the Library

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:33:57 +0000

[...] finding Baldwin’s site, I read an interview with him by Norwegian organometallic chemistry PhD and food blogger Martin Lersch. And then I read [...]

By: johnno from brisbane Oz

johnno from brisbane Oz — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:35:28 +0000

Martin’s DIY Sous-vide Perfect steak sucked me in.
Douglas’s was the only real information on how to and recipes for sous-vide in one spot that I could find on the net – yes Martin and Chad share items but their context is a much wider discussion.
I am eternally grateful to Douglas for his selflessness.
Subsequently I bought the Roca book and the Keller “under pressure” book. The former is great if you are in the industry, the latter is a gold mine and has augmented Douglas’s resource.
We sous-vide with most of our cooking here in Australia. We tried laboratory accurate temperature cook tops but settled on a polyscience thermal immersion circulator.
The recipes we started with we have expanded, adapted and multiplied. The limitations of a food saver sealer can be got around. If the item to be poached is damp or covered in liquid (marinated), wrap the item to be cooked in plastic food wrap before putting in the food saver, otherwise liquids must be frozen.
I love truffle oil infused sous-vide chips that are twice cooked. Sous-vide poach the batons. freeze and then deep fry (Thanks Chad). The salmon recipe in Douglas’s resource really is divine. And if you use the food pairing site from Belgium as Martin recommends, stunning tastes are only limited by your imagination and budget.
I salute and thank Martin, Chad and Douglas as visionary sharers.

By: Jeff Dantzler

Jeff Dantzler — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:21:16 +0000

Very nice article! Baldwin has created a truly useful resource and I am grateful for his research.

Cryovac makes a bewildering array of bags. Which model(s) are recommended for sous vide?

I’m using a somewhat non-standard method of vacuum packing. I use a thermal impulse sealer to seal the food in a bag (liquids must be frozen). I have a vacuum pump that goes to 7 torr with a silicon tube attached. After I clip a corner of the sealed bag, I insert the tube, pull vacuum, and then re-seal with the implulse sealer.

Thanks!

I did fillet mignon sous vide a couple of weeks ago. 3cm steaks cooked at 57 degrees C for 2 hours until the middle was 53 degrees C. They were then seared on a custom (heavy) grill on a big green egg at 600 degrees F (sorry for mixing units). Best steak I have ever made!