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earth2table - Under Pressure
September 18, 2006

Stu Stein

September 18, 2006
Pressure pushing down on me

Pressing down on you no man ask for

Under pressure …

(from “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie)

Really, “under vacuum,” or for the Francophiles out there, cuisine en papillote sous vide. For those who don’t know, sous-vide cooking, according to Wikipedia, is “a method of cooking that is intended to maintain the integrity of ingredients by heating them for an extended period of time at relatively low temperatures. Food is cooked, in some cases for well over 24 hours, in airtight plastic bags placed in hot water that is well below boiling point (approximately 60C or 140F). The method was developed by Georges Pralus in the mid-1970s for the Restaurant Troisgros (of Claude and Michel Troisgros) in Roanne, France. He discovered that food cooked in this way kept its original appearance, did not lose its nutrients and maintained its natural texture.”

There have been a number of articles popping up lately on sous-vide cooking (see Seal of Approval in R&I’s April 2006 issue and Slate.com’s The Slowest Food). What does this have to do with starting a restaurant or Terroir? Glad you asked. I am a fan of sous-vide cooking. Vacuum sealing in general is great for a small restaurant. I have used vacuum sealers in various restaurants, mainly for portion control, to extend the shelf life of raw and prepared products and for marinating and preserving foods. Terroir will have limited preparation and storage space. A vacuum sealer will allow me to butcher whole products (suckling pigs, lamb, fish, etc.) and prepare larger quantities without sacrificing quality.

Sous-vide cooking is an added bonus to purchasing a vacuum sealer. The advantages of sous vide, in my opinion, boil down to taste. Tenderness and flavor are intensified as the food cooks slowly in its own juices, and the gentle heating process also helps products retain their nutritional qualities and color.

I’ve decided to procure a table-top vacuum-packaging machine and a thermal circulator for Terroir. As various cooking demonstrations and teaching opportunities arise, I will report back to you on the sous-vide trial-and-error process. I recently served as a guest chef at one of the lunches in conjunction with the 20th Annual International Pinot Noir Celebration in the heart of Oregon’s wine country. One of the dishes I prepared utilized the sous vide method—stay tuned to find out more about the experience in a posting to come.

And the journey continues.

Cheers!

Stu

Posted by Stu Stein on September 18, 2006 | Comments (0)