IMO, there is a big untapped market here. Why Schwann’s or Omaha Steaks or the like hasn’t offered premium pre-done SV baffles me.
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Yesterday I made a risotto with chanterelle mushrooms, one of my favourite dishes. I can get wonderful chanterelles, at a cost however of almost 70 euro a kilogram(!). I used my Mauviel 2.3mm copper saute pan with stainless steel lining. For the chicken stock I used my Fissler 20cm Original Profi saucepan.
I was quite satisfied with how the dish turned out. Both pans gave me a 100% score in what I wanted from them. I can see how other pans could make my life a bit more difficult, but I cannot really imagine better pans than the ones I used (for this specific dish).
However, the contribution of my 2 pans to the final result was limited.
That is what I mean with not needing further innovation for my cooking. There is a limit to what a piece of cookware can contribute to the creation of a dish. Things like quality of ingredients are imho way more important.
Then again, I’ve just bought a new coffee grinder, an Eureka Specialita 75, to replace an older Macap. The Eureka can time shots - I can now finally dial in time intervals up to 0.05 seconds meaning I will always have more or less the same amount of coffee in my portafilter. There are also grinders these days that can measure by weight, another really useful innovation.
I’m not against innovation per se, but it should serve a purpose.
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I don’t like sous vide either. For me it’s just a means to simplify the cooking process, where a cook can prepare proteins beforehand, and also make sure the results are repeatable. This is also why it’s being used in restaurants a lot.
Imho sous vide is not an innovation where the final dish will be improved versus what a good cook would come up with if he had good materials and paid attention while cooking.
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And for proteins it may not actually simplify the cooking process. If you have a steak that is 128 F from side to side, you probably want a good sear on it to add the glorious flavor the Maillard reaction can impart. So, how do you put a good sear on it, either before or after the sous vide stage, without creating some amount of interior meat that is more than 128? If it is a really a good sear, the grey ring may be fairly pronounced. I guess you could have a minimal sear, but if you do, I’ll pass in favor of a hot pan for the whole cook, preferably with butter. I guess you could serve it without the sear, steak demi tartare.
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This is your presumption, and one history doesn’t support. I don’t want this to devolve into a tools-v-technique debate. But saying Pan X (circa 2023 or 1823) is the ne plus ultra and at some upper contribution limit, never to be improved upon, is fraught.
Where do I find a comprehensive tome on cooking utensils through history?
You think the pan is more important than who’s using it?
AFAIK, there is no single definitive tome.
No, the opposite is true. However, the tools we cook with are not inconsequential. Nor are they static.
Hi Damiano,
I can’t agree more regarding sous vide.
I bought an expensive sous vide years ago and have regretted it ever since.
Sous vide to me is a useless tool, even more useless than the microwave oven (which I also never use and can’t think of one good reason to use)
Sous vide takes the skill out of cooking as you so correctly state.
Sous vide is a soulless kitchen machine to me.
It reminds me of pressure cookers and other useless stuff, that all takes the skill out of cooking.
Timesavers are nice to some, but great cooking takes time and skills. Sous vide takes the skill out of cooking.
On top of that I don’t like sous vide steaks, they don’t taste like a grilled or pan seared steak, seared from start to finish on the grill and in the pan.
Restaurants use sous vide to cut corners.
Not to improve the taste.
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Totally agree, Tim.
This is why sous vide steaks taste inferior to real pan seared steaks.
Restaurants only do sous vide to cut corners, not to improve the taste.
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Regarding the debate between those who believe there are limits to what cookware can contribute to the final product and those who believe the tools we use are not nonsequential and the development and evolution of tools is not static, I believe the points of view can be harmonized. The tools we select are in existence, and their properties are fixed. I might be able to make an excellent braise in an LC, a better braise in steel lined copper, a yet better braise in a tinned copper braising box with a superb seal and so on, but whatever I select from existing options, it will have some limits. So yes, the selection is consequential, and various people will continue to tinker with the those tools’ limits, sometimes improving, sometimes going sideways, and sometimes even regressing (I’m looking at you, Mauviel). The ability of a superb cook to select optimal tools is a learned skill that continues to evolve as tools change. The ability to tout change alone is a powerful marketing tool, implying improvement but not always indicating the truth. An awful lot of people seem to think that because they paid the premium for unobtainium they are on their way to being the next Keller or Robuchon. Depending on their ingredients, time, effort, dedication, ability, and so on, it might help. Usually it will not. However, jumping from unlined, thin stainless steel to a heavier clad, a good disc base, or to thick aluminum will probably make a noticeable improvement. If they have no clue how to cook a steak and usually serve them tough and grey, even a sous vide might help!
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Cookware are tools for cooking. How much tools can improve depending on the overall limitation. Am I not able to achieve more because my tools are limiting me or am I not able to achieve more because there is something else?
Take me for example. I like kitchen knives because I enjoy their feels and functions. That being said, objectively speaking, my kitchen knives are head-and shoulders above my other cookware. I also like pots and pans but probably do not pay attention to the same degree as my knives. I pay even less attention to stoves unless I clearly run into problems.
So when I make stir fried beef broccoli, what is my limitation? Objectively speaking my limitation ranking is:
Cooking skill > heating element - stove> ingredients > wok > knife.
For another person, the ranking can be completely different. Some people may be limited by ingredients because they buy the wrong ingredients.
So sometime (not all the time) what we pay attention the most is what limit us the least.
I agree with everyting in your post, except this:
Sous Vide (remember, I’m not a fan) can help even those who do know how to cook a steak. A precise and consistent internal temperature no matter the thickness (es) is a boon. Steaks can be SV’d to whatever internal temperature the cook desires and held practically indefinitely and the results are very predictable after firing. A host/restaurant can have steaks ready to sear for all desired degrees of doneness.
You are correct that, to some extent, if you sear, there will always be a “grey band”. I’ve commented on this myself, and it’s one of the reasons that I’m not a big fan of SV. However, SV offers minimal transitional zones between the crust and core. This is important to some eaters, others don’t care as long as the perception holds true to a general sense of R, MR, M, etc. Thicker cuts can be problematic for even good chefs because they will require longer and inexact finishing times in an oven. SV offers consistent core temperatures. You could also do this with a super-precise oven, but who would want to “bake” a thick steak at 120F for an hour before searing? You can also minimize the grey band by semi-freezing the SV’d steak before the sear, since the interior is already where it needs to be. I find this all too fiddly, and not worth the extra effort, but many cooks and eaters disagree.
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Ha!
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If I brought up sous vide in the circles I tend to run in, I’d get worse than weird looks.
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Looks good. How long per side was your sear?
Your circles must not include Alain Ducasse, Thomas Keller or Nobu. There are many, many more,
Do you ship nationwide?
I’ve been using my Breville oven beforehand, but my pieces of beef are pretty small; I sear them at the end, and honestly I’m becoming convinced. that the quality of the meat tops all, and it’s hard to guarantee. I try for prime; second being locally sourced aged choice. You can see the hole from my in-dwelling thermometer probe. This is round of some sort. Don’t do entirely stovetop because I can’t get good results with my kitchen and smoke alarms.
As for sous vide, I’ve now got a huge bag of orange ping pong balls even my cats aren’t interested in. The cambro can hold cat food.
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A bit off topic, but related to sous vide:
Does anyone have experience or a view on bag-free, oven-based “sous vide” ala the Anova precision oven or using the combustion inc thermometer?
I believe the idea is to measure the actual surface temp of the meat (taking evaporative cooling into account) and then adjusting the temperature of the oven accordingly.
Combustion inc: https://combustion.inc/
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