Sous Vide Techniques

The science of chemistry, with its strong focus on the importance of temperature and how processes unfold, has a long historical association with the culinary arts. But the emergence of molecular gastronomy in the past few decades has given impetus to the development of techniques for measuring and controlling temperature much more accurately.

Sous vide methods are based on heating raw ingredients in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag that is placed in a temperature-controlled warm water bath for a longer period of time than would normally be required to cook them. The technique, which had been used for industrial food preservation since the 1960s, was first introduced into a high-end kitchen in France in 1974 to poach foie gras so that it retained its texture and color, and lost only 5 percent of its total weight rather than 50 percent. Since its first appearance in avant-garde restaurants, sous vide cooking has slowly made inroads into the home kitchen, thanks to the availability of a range of appliances for domestic use.