Sous Me, Sous Me, What Can You Do Me

One of the phenomena that has been fascinating the culinary world for the better part of a decade has been molecular gastronomy, as pioneered by the likes of Ferran and Albert Adria at their 3-star Michelin El Bulli in Catalonia. It’s amazing stuff, with liquid nitrogen etc. literally changing the chemistry of how food looks and tastes. It is a style of cooking that most certainly nourishes the mind.

For simpletons like me, the focus is more about nourishing the soul. That, I can handle, at least on a good day. So I surprised even myself over the past six months picking up the techniques of sous vide cooking. It’s sort of a poor man’s low-tech version of avant guarde cooking, and the results, depending on which foods you select for this vacuum-sealed, water immersion process, can indeed be remarkable. I started out really low-tech: wrapping a filet of salmon tightly in Saran wrap and dropping it in 61 C water for around 22 minutes. Al you need for this: a (digital) food thermometer, a simple heat diffuser, and plastic wrap — oh, right, and the salmon. Total financial outlay: 20 bucks. I’ve since splurged and purchased a vacuum sealer (what one close friend refers to as my latest play toy) and an immersion circulator.

There have been a number of surprising ah-has that have occurred along this journey (what works, what doesn’t; how to be careful about pathogens, etc.), all soon to be part of an upcoming video, I hope. Message to self: You can teach an old dog new tricks..