Yes
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I actually reuse my water for gardening, so it does get recycled in my case. I have used the water twice when I’ve needed to sous vide something in succession but that is rare. I haven’t tried to use it more that, just because I don’t have the space to keep it for that long. If my plants don’t need it, I also use the water to soak dirty dishes before dumping.
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SV would have been useful when I went through the very frustrating trials and tribulations of making marrons glacé, but I guess that was pre the SV fad as no one on Chowhound mentioned it.
When I was struggling with the chestnuts breaking up while being cooked, a chocolatier in Montreal (the wonderful “Maitre Chocolatier”) told me that the key to it was to not let the water boil; that was when SV would have been useful. I managed to do that via careful babysitting over usually 2 hours. After that, it was “relatively” easy, but not by any means QED. I gave some to the chocolatier in Montreal and to the late moh from CH, and got positive feedback.
Perhaps I’ll try again next year, using SV, as I really love marrons glacés, but don’t have the deep pockets necessary to get them directly from a store in Geneva that carries some wonderful ones.
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I am about to try a “caramelized fennel” recipe based on Thomas Keller’s “Under Pressure” recipe except for just about everything after preparing the fennel, which calls for removing the outer layers for the puree,reserving the fronds, and cutting the fennel into 1/2 inch wedges. Then “reserve remaining wedges for puree, and cut a slit in the bottom of each fennel bulb for even cooking.”
I’m going to cut the fennel in 1/2 inch wedges.
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Sounds good, please let us know how it turns out! I see lots of typos and wrong stuff in all sorts of recipes online and in books and magazines. Proof reading? I don’t see many graduates from that school.
I loved the texture, which I was most curious about, the fennel flavor was a bit subtle, and as it came out of the bag, it wasn’t all that interesting, so I am exploring ways of using it in other recipes.
Maybe this one.
Probably this one
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Tonight I went back and did carrots non-SV as close as I could to Kenjii’s prep. Barely covered the carrots in very low-simmering water, then an icebath, and glazed them with the sweet and other stuff.
Indistinguishable from SV Carrots Kenjii in both texture and flavor.
What recommends the SV version, IMO, is that the cook needn’t fuss over monitoring doneness to judge when to stop, drain and chill.
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Can it?
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Interesting! I’d hate to change the texture with the additional hot water bath. I’m sure to finish it in a dish or two this week, and hope that keeping it sealed in the bag will help it last a few days.
when I went through the very frustrating trials and tribulations of making marrons glacé,
I remember that!
@Saregama This article from the NYT inspired a routine I do now.
Essentially I spend a day preparing large cuts of tough meat and portioning then for a long bath. Once done into the freezer they go. Each bag is sized to provide enough protein for the family dinner. Works really well.
@kaleokahu We get it. You don’t like SV but why is it your mission in life to tell others who use it that they’re wrong? When someone asks for a vegetarian version of a dish, do you pop in and say why don’t you just eat meat and give up this vegetarian ridiculousness? If you don’t like it fine. Different strokes for different folks.
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Not my mission, and not my circus.
If you’ve been reading along, you know I already consider Kenjii’s SV carrots very good. Having cooked them that way multiple times, I was curious how they’d compare if cooked conventionally under close attention. Turns out there wasn’t any difference, except SV takes longer, is fiddly, and puts more plastic in the refuse stream.
SV came about as a result of a chef at Troisgros in the 1970s trying to cook foie gras slow and low. The result was deemed good and different enough in texture and flavor to go to lengths to prepare it that way.
Not so with these carrots.
It sounds like for you it is easier to
fuss over monitoring doneness to judge when to stop, drain and chill
For me, the sou vide is easier, and I have yet to master getting the same level of doneness throughout. My hat is off to you.
I love the make ahead in batches part too. If I’m going to be home, bought too much to eat in a meal, and want to experiment, it’s something I enjoy doing!
I was under the impression that that’s what made it popular in restaurants, and making it cheaper made it an option at home, right?
I am currently in the process of drying some Espelette peppers I grew from seed . Talk about taking a lot of time!
Next up are some pork cheeks!
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Which, the easier or the experimental part?
SV is fun to play with. Knock yourself out.
Tonight’s carrots were cooked on my Vollrath Mirage Pro, which has 100 power settings. If I wanted to invest the time experimenting (and turning myself orange by cooking tons of carrots!), I’m sure I could find the optimal temperature and time settings, which can be easily repeated without close attention.
The truth is that SV was popular with chefs because they could trust the help (more) to get the prep right every time. The reason it was popular with patrons was the newness and buzz about SV. Thankfully a lot of that has passed.
The easier batch cooking.
ETA
Thankfully a lot of that has passed.
I am just curious; if you don’t mind saying, why do you care?
I don’t mind at all. I believe the fad among consumers was based on sellers and their marketeers peddling the false idea that SV was a miraculously better way to cook, with base appeals to technophilia. Millions of circulators, SV cookbooks, containers, racks, weights, sealers and insulating falderal were sold, some high percentage of which now sit unused. The units from the two main competitors, Anova and Joule, were the cook’s gifts du jour, and status and social shaming ensued. Meanwhile, nary a word about the plastic waste pollution.
In retrospect, I’m mildly embarrassed I bought into the hype. I wanted it to be revelatory, but overall I was disappointed. Two units died under warranty. I never batch cooked enough to finish batches fresh, which meant slippery bags of partially-cooked “leftovers” avalanching in and clogging my freezers.
I now justify having owned 3 Anovas and chopping up two perfectly good coolers on the ground of not knocking it without trying it. I think my experiences with SV might give some people a dose of contrarian reality about it.
That’s why. I still use it occasionally, although I’ve also been known to unholster a Salad Shooter…
I encourage you and others to explore SV as deeply as gratifies. It’s your time and money.
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This is pretty much what my brother does. I will say, more than sous vide itself, the portioning really appeals to me for the ease of use. I’ve been doing it for years (breaking down a package of chicken or pork chops or whatever into usable size, marinating or seasoning differently, and so on) so the vacuum sealing is a beneficial extension of that. Now if I could find a truly compact sealer, I’d be really happy.
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Pork cheeks! About 5 hours at 180 with s&p, shallots, roasted tomato, celery seed and thyme.
Tender, juicy, and tasty.
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LOVE pork cheeks!!
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