[Plot46]

We both love cooking, now that I'm semi-retired     and have the time to indulge myself, we're thinking about getting a Sous vide water bath. We already use a vacuum sealer when putting any meat,veg, whatever into the freezer, the film we use in the sealer is safe and can be used in a water bath.
Any thoughts on this??

[Mrs Bee]

I have been looking at this type of cooking for a long while now and waiting for the price of the sous vide machines to come down.

There is one which is getting good reviews on Amazon for about £99.
I am wavering back and forwards about getting one, and wondering whether I will really use it or not. Or whether it will be a one minute wonder.

Most of the other gadgets I have I use to death, e.g the ice cream machine, the smokers and the Kitchen aid mixer, but I am still unsure about this one.

I am wavering at the moment between a bacon slicer for the home cured bacon, a home tandoor oven and the sous vide.

I wonder if the results will be that much better than the traditional methods of cooking and whether it will just take space on the work top.

I am going to the London Good Food Show in November and hope there might be some demonstrations and tasters of this type of cooking. And this will help me make up my mind.

If you take the plunge and buy one before I make up my mind, do let us all know what your results are.

[Plot46]

I've done a lot of reading up on them, the cheaper ones are just a water bath, the one we've looked at is This one the reason being is it has a circulating pump that helps to eliminate cold spots...still looking at the price tho.

We also have the  ice cream machine, the smoker and the mixers....but they do get used as we like our food home cooked.

[bravemurphy]

We use our slow cooker for doing our home cured ham on low with the lid sort of half off and I check the temp and put a warning on the thermometer just in case it starts to get too hot.

[Kristen]

Is Sous vide "wasteful" of plastic?  We strive to reduce the amount of "stuff" we consume from the planet, individually wrapping things for cooking would do against the grain for me.  Sounds like a lot of faff (and I suffer enough of that growing the darned things in the first place!) but I do like flavour

My Carrots taste fantastic raw, but once cooked they have (IMO) lost most of their flavour.  We try to under-cook them (we use a multi-tier steamer-saucepan thingie for veg), but in practice we are not monitoring the cooking carefully enough to get them "just right" every time. Perhaps there is a better way? and perhaps that is Sous vide?

[Steveharford]

Mrs Bee. If you find a sensibly priced bacon slicer that is big enough to get a decent smoked loin onto, please let me know. Steve

[Mrs Bee]

Mrs Bee. If you find a sensibly priced bacon slicer that is big enough to get a decent smoked loin onto, please let me know. Steve

Have a look at Nisbits catering website and google bacon slicer. I am considering the first one on the list, the Caterlite slicer about £50.

I want to go and look at it at their show room before buying but wont have the time at the moment because of all the coming and going with the builders.

I have looked at others on Amazon but nisbits are really good if there are any problems.
Di

[Mrs Bee]

I've done a lot of reading up on them, the cheaper ones are just a water bath, the one we've looked at is This one the reason being is it has a circulating pump that helps to eliminate cold spots...still looking at the price tho.

We also have the  ice cream machine, the smoker and the mixers....but they do get used as we like our food home cooked.

Your house sounds like ours.

I looked at the link, but not sure I want to pay out that much.
I was looking at the Robert James ones on Amazon because they had lots of good reviews.

If you take the plunge before I do, do let me know how you get on.

[Kristen]

We've got a shiny new kitchen and aspire to cooking really nice meals now and again - obviously been watching too much MasterChef recently!! - , so I thought I would buy a Sous Vide bath and a book for Christmas.  Planning to get the Andrew James one which is £90 ... if that turns out to be a success and we discover that we have been Muts for not getting one before, and need the Mut's Nuts version I can save up for a £several-hundred model.


https://andrewjamesworldwide.com/UserControls/productIndividual.aspx?ProductID=541


ISBN: 0992763800

[Kristen]

Yodel helped themselves to the first two that Andrew James shipped ... so it was after Christmas that the third re-shipment arrived.  Tried it for the first time over the weekend - we got some Fish "steaks" from the supermarket - the sort where they provide a pat of herb butter on each piece - and I just stuck them like that in a bag at 50C for an hour.  Tasty really good, better than when we put them in the oven in tin foil, and the timing less critical.  I didn't think that the fish was very hot, although it was cooked, when it finished, so I stuck it in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Perhaps I should then fry it or somesuch to brown it a bit?  Anyways, so far so good ...

That was Trout, we also got some Tuna which I will try tonight as Mrs K due home at an unpredictable time.

[Mrs Bee]

I look forward to hearing about more of your cooking exploits with the sous vide.

Always good to hear from someone who is using something like this and who will give unbiased opinions.

I still can't make up my mind whether to get one or not, or a small home tandoori oven or the pizza maker.

[Yana]

My OH bought me a sous vide cooker for Christmas and at first I couldn't see the point of it however, I am now coming round to it BIG TIME.
The salmon and tuna was delicious, the veg out of this world (crunchy, tasty Brussels and lovely soft and flavoursome parsnips, both of which were mouthwatering). Cheaper cuts of beef just melt in your mouth and if you don't like the 'grey look', a quick sear in some rape seed oil produces a darker meat.

[Mrs Bee]

My OH bought me a sous vide cooker for Christmas and at first I couldn't see the point of it however, I am now coming round to it BIG TIME.
The salmon and tuna was delicious, the veg out of this world (crunchy, tasty Brussels and lovely soft and flavoursome parsnips, both of which were mouthwatering). Cheaper cuts of beef just melt in your mouth and if you don't like the 'grey look', a quick sear in some rape seed oil produces a darker meat.

Which make did you get Yana?

[Yana]

Erm sous vide supreme?

[Kristen]

I wonder if there is a significant benefit to a more upmarket model?  I ought to put a thermometer in mine and see how well it maintains temperature.  Assuming it is OK on that front I think I would be more inclined to get a second one, the same, rather than a bigger one - that way I can cook for a larger number of people, spreading the load across multiple machines, or I can cook two different dishes that require different temperatures.

I haven't tried cook, chill, reheat yet - but that might make it more practical to have multiple dishes - perhaps rewarming them could all be at the same temperature (i.e. with some compromise)

Or I could have a heater-circulator for the bigger occasions. Looks like circulators are around £200 and work with 20L container - that's going to be enough for a dozen people I reckon.  Won't take up much room to store (apart from the box - perhaps could use the rigid cold-box for that job, as it will insulate too)