Sous Vide Misunderstood

Anyone else find annoyance in the way some people dismiss sous vide cooking? Just because it is something new and different they seem to find any reason they can to criticize it. The latest I've seen was a book review (for a different book, even) in the LA Times Food Section that offhandedly dismisses Keller's Sous Vide: Under Pressure:

Let's see, we had "Under Pressure," Thomas Keller's book on sous vide cooking, which is probably quite remarkable if you have the $2,500 to invest in the equipment necessary to cook from it.

That's like saying "roasting a turkey would be remarkable if you have $5,000 for a Viking Range". Yes, you can spend $2,500 for a thermal immersion circulator and chambered vacuum sealer. However, you can also get adequate sous vide equipment for around $300 for a sous vide controller and a FoodSaver vacuum sealer. And the vacuum sealer can be used for a variety of things outside of sous vide cooking.

If people have complaints about the results of sous vide cooking then I have no problem with them voicing those. But holding sous vide up as a complicated technique that requires incredibly expensive equipment is just false and missing the simplicity of the technique.

Hopefully many of these complaints will fade as more and more people learn to cook sous vide, understand what is actually required, and what the technique really is capable of. If you are interested in learning more about sous vide, check out my comprehensive guide to cooking with sous vide.

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This article is by me, Jason Logsdon. I'm an adventurous home cook and professional blogger who loves to try new things, especially when it comes to cooking. I've explored everything from sous vide and whipping siphons to pressure cookers and blow torches; created foams, gels and spheres; made barrel aged cocktails and brewed beer. I have also written 10 cookbooks on modernist cooking and sous vide and I run the AmazingFoodMadeEasy.com website.

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