ABSTRACT
Sous vide describes any precise temperature-controlled cooking in a water bath, especially for low-temperature and relatively long-time cooks for immediate service. Both for immediate service and for extended shelf-life, sous vide seeks to maximize consistency and taste. Restaurant and home cooks who cook sous vide often prefer it over other methods for meat, fish, and poultry. Sous vide cooking, by separating the cooking and the searing, gives much greater consistency and control over texture, safety, and appearance with no worries about overcooking. Most sous vide cooking is done in food-safe plastic bags. Sous vide cooking is also done in convection steam ovens, in water ovens without forced convection, and on stovetops. For steam ovens, the air needs to be saturated with water to cook efficiently. Sous vide cooking for extended shelf-life involves rapidly cooling the cooked food and then either refrigerating it at low enough temperatures to inhibit pathogen growth or freezing it.
