The Benefits of Low Temperature Cooking

You may have noticed Miele talking about precise methods of cooking using its accurate steam injection technology, warming drawers and steam combination ovens. These all give you much more control in the kitchen and allow for extremely accurate results.

Now Miele has introduced a new appliance into its precision range, the Sous Vide Vacuum Sealing Drawer. This allows food to be sealed in plastic cooking bags, which you can then cook with the accuracy of Miele Steam Ovens to get results which are just not achievable with other, more traditional methods.

Cooking food that is traditionally braised, stewed, roasted or poached at exact temperatures for minutes or days transforms dishes with new flavours, textures and often astonishing results. Tough cuts of meat can be cooked to a tender medium-rare; joints that are traditionally difficult to cook evenly emerge uniform throughout; delicate fish is enhanced, and the margin for error is reduced. Vegetables and fruit cooked in an oxygen-free environment remain vividly coloured and their flavour is never lost to outside influences.

What produce benefits from low temperature cooking?

Tender Cuts of Meat: Cooking at low temperatures allows you to achieve exact internal temperatures all the way through the cut of meat, every time. Perfect medium-rare lamb or beef for example. Try steaming a Sous Vide piece of lamb rump at 60°C for 60 minutes for an amazing pink and tender result.

Tough Cuts of Meat: Tougher cuts really benefit from precise, low temperature cooking. The temperature will be high enough to melt the connective tissue but low enough to not let the joint dry out, which often happens with traditional braising and stewing. Tough cuts like brisket can now be cooked pink but still be meltingly tender. A great example of this is gently cooking a piece of short rib at 64°C for 48 hours.

Fish and Seafood: More than any other protein, fish has the largest margin for error. Sous Vide makes cooking fish easier and also much more consistent. Flavours are clearer and purer as there are no outside influences on the delicate flesh. Vacuuming flavourings into the bag with the fish also offers a more intense taste while using less of the ingredient. Cooking salmon at a low temperature gives a completely different result to that of a piece that has been steamed at 100°C. I like to cook a fillet of salmon at 62°C for about 12/15 minutes or until it is just cooked and succulent.

Root Vegetables: All types of root vegetables can be cooked using the Sous Vide method and at lower temperatures than the traditional boiling, roasting or steaming. Cooking potatoes in a vacuum bag, for example, prevents them soaking up excess moisture and a lower temperature prevents the outside overcooking and disintegrating before the middle is cooked. A classic mashed potato can be elevated by steaming the potatoes in a Sous Vide bag at 85°C for 2 hours and then mashing them. They will also be able to absorb extra butter and milk and will not be gloopy or watery!

Fruits and Soft Vegetables: Some softer vegetables are excellent cooked at a lower temperature and can be very efficiently flavoured with herbs and spices. Fruit also maintains its unique texture and flavour.