At its most fundamental level, sous vide cooking is the process of sealing food in an airtight container—usually a vacuum sealed bag—and then cooking that food in temperature-controlled water. In French, the term translates to "under vacuum," which makes sense.
There are lots of different ways to cook using water: Boling, Simmering, Steaming, Blanching, Poaching and Braising. In boiling heat is transferred by conduction from the pan to the liquid and then through the food and also by convection through the liquid.
bLANcH. (Precook.) To preheat in boiling water or steam. (1) Process used to deactivate enzymes and shrink some foods for canning, freezing, or drying. Vegetables are blanched in boiling water or steam, and fruits in boiling fruit juice, syrup, water, or steam.
Simmering. Simmering is the process of heating a liquid to just below boiling temperature when wet cooking food. Temperatures for simmering range from 185°F to 205°F, or when the liquid you're cooking with is gently bubbling.
Poaching chicken is easy. It involves covering chicken pieces with water and letting them simmer on the stovetop until the chicken is cooked through. The low temperature and moist-heat cooking method cooks the chicken gently and prevents it from overcooking too quickly.
Moist-heat cooking methods use water, liquid or steam to transfer heat to food. Common moist-heat cooking methods include: poaching, simmering, boiling, braising, stewing, pot roasting, steaming and en papillote.
Poaching and simmering is often used to describe cooking in a shallow liquid in a pan where the food isn't anywhere near fully submerged.
Steaming is a method of cooking that requires moist heat. The heat is created by boiling water which vaporizes into steam. The steam brings heat to the food and cooks it. Unlike boiling, the food is separate from the water and only comes into direct contact with the team.
When poaching, the food is completely submerged in a liquid, whereas steaming uses a small amount of liquid to create a flavorful fog to cook the food.
Steaming is a gentler way to cook because the vegetables don't come in contact with the boiling water.” Another 2009 study found peas, cauliflower and zucchini to be particularly susceptible to a loss of nutrients through boiling, losing more than 50% of their antioxidants.
Poaching is often confused with stewing, as both techniques involve cooking through simmering. However, the purpose of poaching is to cook while retaining the basic shape and structure of the food rather than to soften it, as with stewing.
Sous vide is a French cooking technique and the term translates to “under vacuum." In the sous vide technique food is vacuum-sealed in a cooking pouch and heated at a precise temperature in a water bath. Instead of relying on perfect timing, sous vide relies on precise temperature control.
There are also two kinds of steaming methods, which are “low pressure steaming,” or also known as “atmospheric,” and “high pressure steaming.” Low pressure steaming is a process where food could be steamed through neither an indirect nor a direct contact with the steam, while high pressure steaming is when foods are ...
Simmering is a way to cook food gently and slowly. It's gentler than boiling but a little more aggressive than poaching. Simmering refers to cooking food in liquid, or even just cooking the liquid itself, at a temperature just below the boiling point.
Steaming, boiling, brining, poaching, and sous vide cooking are all ways to use water, nature's “blue gold,” in the kitchen. Each method brings something new to the table, turning raw ingredients into satisfying meals you'll want to dive into.
water based: steaming, boiling, simmering, blanching, poaching, braising. dry methods: baking, roasting, grilling, dry frying.
Sous vide manufacturer ChefSteps recommends using food-grade vacuum sealing bags because they're BPA-free and made of polyethylene (we like the ones made by FoodSaver). These bags need to be sealed with a vacuum-sealing system, which FoodSaver also makes.
Haute cuisine-quality cooking is all about little techniques and small touches that add depth to dishes such as toasting nuts and spices before cooking with them.
Poaching. Partially or fully submerging food into water or another liquid that has reached 160 to 180 degrees F is called poaching. Water at this temperature is hotter than scalding but is not vigorously bubbling like boiling water. This allows for delicate foods to be cooked without being disrupted or damaged.
Poaching can be divided into shallow and deep poaching techniques. The difference between the two is exactly as you might expect. In shallow poaching the food is only partially submerged, often stood on top of the aromatics. In deep poaching the food is fully submerged.
The main difference that sets these two cooking methods apart that is that braising starts by quickly searing the fish (or meat) before submerging it in the cooking liquid and simmering it to cook through. Food that is poached skips the searing; it's added to the cooking liquid raw and then simmered over a low heat.
While boiled broccoli is often soggy, steamed broccoli is characteristically crisp-tender. Plus, when you boil broccoli, some of the nutrients leach into the boiling water. You don't have to worry about that with steaming. Your steamed broccoli will be a great meal-prep building block because it's like a blank canvas.
Spuds absorb water, so make sure they don't become too saturated. Simply Recipes says that steaming potatoes is better than boiling them because the spuds aren't actually submerged in the water. This results in a more robust flavor because the spuds aren't absorbing water like they do when they boil.