What Is Sous Vide?

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. Simply set the machine and the technique will deliver consistent, perfect results each and every time.

First developed in France in the 1970's by Chef Georges Pralus, sous vide has long been the secret of top chefs around the world, but has only recently been available to home cooks. Driven by the passion and innovation of people demanding more from their food cooked at home, sous vide has become the go-to secret weapon of great home cooks and tv cooking show competitors alike.  

The sous vide method differs from traditional cooking in many ways, most especially temperature. Foods traditionally cook at aggressively hot temperatures, depending on precise timing and skill to know when to remove them before burning. With sous vide, the precision is in the temperature, which the cook sets with the simple push of a button. Cooked at its ideal serving temperature, food can’t overcook or undercook; it’s perfect every time. And for many foods the technique yields dramatically better results, developing flavors and textures that simply cannot be duplicated using any other cooking method.