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Cooking encyclopedia Techniques

Sous vide

Also called low-temperature water bath cooking

Cooking sealed food in water held precisely at the temperature you want the food to reach.

50–85 °C (122–185 °F)

What it is

The bath is set to the finished temperature, so the food cannot overshoot however long it stays. Because nothing browns in water, anything that wants a crust is seared afterwards.

Why it works

Ordinary cooking applies heat far hotter than the target and relies on timing to stop at the right moment. Holding the water at the target removes the timing problem entirely: doneness becomes a setting rather than a judgement. Time then controls texture — how much collagen has converted — rather than doneness.

When to use it

Steak, chicken breast, eggs, fish, tough cuts held long and low, custards, infusions.

What goes wrong

Treating a long hold as harmless at any temperature; expecting browning from the bath; searing so long afterwards that the carefully cooked interior overcooks.

More on this shelf

  • Blanching Brief cooking in heavily boiling water, usually followed by cooling.
  • Blooming spices Heating spices briefly in fat or a dry pan to release their aroma before they meet anything else.
  • Braising Browning, then cooking slowly in a small amount of liquid in a covered pot.
  • Deep-frying Cooking fully submerged in hot fat, usually 160–190 °C.
  • Deglazing Dissolving the browned residue in a pan with liquid, to turn it into sauce.
  • Emulsifying Dispersing fat and water into each other so they behave as one smooth sauce.
  • Grilling Cooking over or under direct radiant heat, close to the source.
  • Poaching Cooking submerged in liquid held below a simmer, around 70–85 °C.
  • Reducing Simmering a liquid uncovered to evaporate water and concentrate what is left.
  • Resting meat Leaving cooked meat off the heat before cutting it.
  • Roasting Cooking in dry oven heat, uncovered, so the surface browns while the inside cooks.
  • Sautéing Cooking small or thin pieces quickly in a little fat over fairly high heat, moving them often.