OT: The Food & Drinks Thread

[ArtPeur]

Is cooking sous-vide any better than "normal" cooking? It feels it had some hype some years ago but no one does it anymore

 

[Tighthead]

Is cooking sous-vide any better than "normal" cooking? It feels it had some hype some years ago but no one does it anymore

People swear by it, but I think it appeals most to gadget oriented people. I don’t mean that in a disparaging way. I’m low tech and would never bother. A friend who works in tech says all the young guys in his office do it. I think they build there own and run them from their phones.

I think what makes it “better” is certainty. It’s science.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Did you mean something akin to the "food saver" you find at Costco that sucks out moisture and air when you seal food in a freezer bag?

FoodSaver® FM 5200 Vacuum Sealer H-6676 - Uline

Already have the sealer but thanks!

Joules is nice, Anova is the top pick.

They work essentialy all the same, just have to choose wether you want to work with your phone/tablet or manual.

Make sure you buy two plastic inserts deep enough, about 10 liters, cambro makes a nice one that is insulated too, with the plastic cover. Its expensive but youll be using it all your life, plus its great to store sauces in the fridge.

Any restaurant retailer will have them in stock, but call before to know if they have the lid.

I was thinking of the Anova but was wondering if anyone had some first hand knowledge. I'll probably settle for it.

Is cooking sous-vide any better than "normal" cooking? It feels it had some hype some years ago but no one does it anymore

I watch a youtube channel specifically dedicated to sous vide cooking and there's others which show various things you can do. Also, I'm no real cook and having something simple, clean and repeatable has upside for me.

People swear by it, but I think it appeals most to gadget oriented people. I don’t mean that in a disparaging way. I’m low tech and would never bother. A friend who works in tech says all the young guys in his office do it. I think they build there own and run them from their phones.

I think what makes it “better” is certainty. It’s science.

Pretty much. I don't have one yet but there any people who know the sweet spot for how long to keep it under water as well. I think more time makes it more tender too but unsure.

 

[Runner77]

Already have the sealer but thanks!



I was thinking of the Anova but was wondering if anyone had some first hand knowledge. I'll probably settle for it.



I watch a youtube channel specifically dedicated to sous vide cooking and there's others which show various things you can do. Also, I'm no real cook and having something simple, clean and repeatable has upside for me.



Pretty much. I don't have one yet but there any people who know the sweet spot for how long to keep it under water as well. I think more time makes it more tender too but unsure.

For the uninitiated, what are the incentives to having a sous vide cooking option? Any downsides?

I hope it doesn't end up like the other stuff that doesn't get used in one's home after an initial interest. Like people's pool tables or exercise bikes used to stack clothes.

 

[Mrb1p]

For the uninitiated, what are the incentives to having a sous vide cooking option? Any downsides?

I hope it doesn't end up like the other stuff that doesn't get used in one's home after an initial interest. Like people's pool tables or exercise bikes used to stack clothes.

Theres no down side. Well, longer cooking times, pricier.

Also using a plastic bag every time, unless you go reusable, which is a huge deal for me since im striving to be as zero waste as possible.

The meat is often more tender, juicier, evenly cooked. Give a go to Chefsteps on youtube, they have a lot of nice recipes.


Its not something that is a must, you can cook great meat on a stove top, its just a small plus.

 

[Tighthead]

For the uninitiated, what are the incentives to having a sous vide cooking option? Any downsides?

I hope it doesn't end up like the other stuff that doesn't get used in one's home after an initial interest. Like people's pool tables or exercise bikes used to stack clothes.

I cook for myself and two girls, 16 and 9. It wouldn’t make sense for me because we don’t eat enough meat and fish that would do well in sous vide.

The instant pot I bought should be great for us, but I can’t be bothered to learn. Maybe I’ll assign it to the teen as a project. They are supposed to be fantastic.

I hate kitchen clutter, it’s amaxong how quickly counter space and cupboard space disappear. I likely have too much cookware/bakeware, so gadgets and small appliances don’t work for me. I use simple cast iron waffle pans on the stovetop instead of a waffle machine. The blender doesn’t get used enough.

The one thing that would be handy for the girls is an old school toaster oven.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

For the uninitiated, what are the incentives to having a sous vide cooking option? Any downsides?

I hope it doesn't end up like the other stuff that doesn't get used in one's home after an initial interest. Like people's pool tables or exercise bikes used to stack clothes.

It depends how much you like meat. I am a carnivore, I really cannot live without meat so for me it makes sense. If you do not eat meat often it's pointless. Naturally, if you come home from work and cook something up right away it might not be practical as this needs a couple hours.

You have to have patience because it slow cooks and then you still got to sear the meat afterwards or it will not look very appetizing and won't have that crust everyone looks for.

Technically speaking you do not need a sous vide machine. A machine regulates temperature of your water bath but if you'd like to try out how it is on your own then prepare a heated water bath and check the temperature every 5-10 minutes and throw in hot water to keep it at the desired temperature. At the end it will still have a similar effect(except you have to baby it).

It's like 125-200$ for a machine which isn't mind boggling and you can use a pot, container or whatever you have if you're not sold on buying a bigger one.

It REALLY depends what you like. I'm a guy who can go eat at a steakhouse every time so it's a little different. I'm actually in process of getting Japanese A5 Wagyu NY Strip and if I do, I'll probably sous vide that too.

If you're ever curious on sous vide or just like watching cooking clips on youtube I highly recommend sous vide everything. They're a bunch of guys who cook various meats(mostly beef) sous vide and test different possibilies(Ex: using fresh garlic, garlic powder, garlic paste, etc...) and comparing which works best for sous vide.

IF I get it(which I probably will) I can probably share my experience with it.

 

[groovejuice]

It depends how much you like meat. I am a carnivore, I really cannot live without meat so for me it makes sense. If you do not eat meat often it's pointless. Naturally, if you come home from work and cook something up right away it might not be practical as this needs a couple hours.

You have to have patience because it slow cooks and then you still got to sear the meat afterwards or it will not look very appetizing and won't have that crust everyone looks for.

Technically speaking you do not need a sous vide machine. A machine regulates temperature of your water bath but if you'd like to try out how it is on your own then prepare a heated water bath and check the temperature every 5-10 minutes and throw in hot water to keep it at the desired temperature. At the end it will still have a similar effect(except you have to baby it).

It's like 125-200$ for a machine which isn't mind boggling and you can use a pot, container or whatever you have if you're not sold on buying a bigger one.

It REALLY depends what you like. I'm a guy who can go eat at a steakhouse every time so it's a little different. I'm actually in process of getting Japanese A5 Wagyu NY Strip and if I do, I'll probably sous vide that too.

If you're ever curious on sous vide or just like watching cooking clips on youtube I highly recommend sous vide everything. They're a bunch of guys who cook various meats(mostly beef) sous vide and test different possibilies(Ex: using fresh garlic, garlic powder, garlic paste, etc...) and comparing which works best for sous vide.

IF I get it(which I probably will) I can probably share my experience with it.

Please share pics of the Wagyu when you prepare it! Before and after...

You could use a propane kitchen torch to sear it after the sous vide.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Please share pics of the Wagyu when you prepare it! Before and after...

You could use a propane kitchen torch to sear it after the sous vide.

IF I get it. I don't know any butcher that has it in Montreal. I spoke to someone near Toronto about it who has it and I have a friend who has a contact that can import it. My friend told me he'll do it for me so that's my first option.

I'm unsure how I'll sear it. The channel I listed above actually did a test and torch tends to take a while. I'd get something more powerful but it would need to be done outdoors and given the weather here that isn't practical. I have a cast iron pan for now but a torch would probably come in handy.

 

[groovejuice]

IF I get it. I don't know any butcher that has it in Montreal. I spoke to someone near Toronto about it who has it and I have a friend who has a contact that can import it. My friend told me he'll do it for me so that's my first option.

I'm unsure how I'll sear it. The channel I listed above actually did a test and torch tends to take a while. I'd get something more powerful but it would need to be done outdoors and given the weather here that isn't practical. I have a cast iron pan for now but a torch would probably come in handy.

You need to be careful searing it. The fat content will serve to give it crust faster than other cuts - you don't want to blacken it and affect the taste. Best to err on the early side and finish it with a torch to even it up.

Good luck in your search.

 

[CalgarySnow]

Please share pics of the Wagyu when you prepare it! Before and after...

You could use a propane kitchen torch to sear it after the sous vide.

Just stick it on the BBQ, you get great sear and Man gets to play me hunter me cook

 

[Mrb1p]

Wagyus overrated.

Anything you have to pay that steep a price is overrated. I hate that side of the food industry. Respect the food and realize that "truffles", "Caviar", "Kobe" etc are just names made up to rip off people. Screw that.

Nobodys going to tell me shredding a few bits of truffle on top of a dish is what makes it good, its all useless. Im looking for deep flavors that comes from hard work and mastering the trade. None of that overpriced BS.

/rant

 

[groovejuice]

Wagyus overrated.

Anything you have to pay that steep a price is overrated. I hate that side of the food industry. Respect the food and realize that "truffles", "Caviar", "Kobe" etc are just names made up to rip off people. Screw that.

Nobodys going to tell me shredding a few bits of truffle on top of a dish is what makes it good, its all useless. Im looking for deep flavors that comes from hard work and mastering the trade. None of that overpriced BS.

/rant

So saffron, cardamom, ahi, 45 day dry aged beef, 12 year old cheddar, fresh orchard ripened fruit, are all gimmicks?

I agree with so many of your takes on food, but this ain't one of them.

Edit: I missed fois gras

 

[Edgy]

So saffron, cardamom, ahi, 45 day dry aged beef, 12 year old cheddar, fresh orchard ripened fruit, are all gimmicks?

I agree with so many of your takes on food, but this ain't one of them.

Edit: I missed fois gras

Mostly, yes. They taste good but not enough to justify their price.

And foie gras is severely overrated and tastes horrible lol

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Wagyus overrated.

Anything you have to pay that steep a price is overrated. I hate that side of the food industry. Respect the food and realize that "truffles", "Caviar", "Kobe" etc are just names made up to rip off people. Screw that.

Nobodys going to tell me shredding a few bits of truffle on top of a dish is what makes it good, its all useless. Im looking for deep flavors that comes from hard work and mastering the trade. None of that overpriced BS.

/rant

A lot of things are overrated. IMO Car luxury isn't worth it's price for example but people get it because they want to enjoy themselves.

Wagyu is expensive, no question. Luckily I'm not much of a wine drinker or traveler. This is my fun so I'll spend it every now and then, overpriced or not it's f***ing delicious.

 

[groovejuice]

Mostly, yes. They taste good but not enough to justify their price.

And foie gras is severely overrated and tastes horrible lol

Honestly, I think the singular best bite of food I've ever had was fois gras.

Truffles are expensive because of uniqueness, rarity, short harvest seasons (assuming you can find them) potency and demand.

Saffron and cardamom yield very little spice per flower / pod, ahi is getting overfished and is arguably the very best eating fish (along with sablefish) top quality super aged beef is beef to the power of 3, you can only get perfectly ripe orchard fruit for brief weeks a year and you must actually be at the orchard, and superior aged cheese is heavenly.

I also missed uni and a perfectly baked baguette on my original list.

Some are more extraordinary than others perhaps, but they're all magnificent.

 

[CalgarySnow]

Saffron I’ve used and it brings nothing to the party other than colour, avocado toast well avocado is the most overrated fruit out there tastes of not much, prefer black cardomom to green cardomom, as for wagyu don’t see it better than a good ribeye. Sorry not sorry to the purists

 

[CalgarySnow]

As for bread in this country it’s crap, France makes amazing bread and when I lived in England the only time I ate bread was when I went to France with butter. Here I don’t eat bread unless I make it myself

 

[Mrb1p]

So saffron, cardamom, ahi, 45 day dry aged beef, 12 year old cheddar, fresh orchard ripened fruit, are all gimmicks?

I agree with so many of your takes on food, but this ain't one of them.

Edit: I missed fois gras

Foie gras is overrated as hell.


All of the rest you just mentionned, maybe aside from dry aged meat, isnt expensive to the point of wagyu. Im all for quality ingredients, but trying to reinvent the wheel doesnt do anything for me.

Theres a huge difference between quality and just making shit up.

At least the industry has slowed down with the truffle crap, at one point I couldnt go a day without having to drizzle some f***ing oil on top of a dish.

The quebecs episode of parts unkown is exactly what I think is wrong with the food industry. f***ing truffles, caviar and foie gras. My ass.

Plz stop making me rant

 

[GoodKiwi]

It depends how much you like meat. I am a carnivore, I really cannot live without meat so for me it makes sense. If you do not eat meat often it's pointless. Naturally, if you come home from work and cook something up right away it might not be practical as this needs a couple hours.

You have to have patience because it slow cooks and then you still got to sear the meat afterwards or it will not look very appetizing and won't have that crust everyone looks for.

Technically speaking you do not need a sous vide machine. A machine regulates temperature of your water bath but if you'd like to try out how it is on your own then prepare a heated water bath and check the temperature every 5-10 minutes and throw in hot water to keep it at the desired temperature. At the end it will still have a similar effect(except you have to baby it).

It's like 125-200$ for a machine which isn't mind boggling and you can use a pot, container or whatever you have if you're not sold on buying a bigger one.

It REALLY depends what you like. I'm a guy who can go eat at a steakhouse every time so it's a little different. I'm actually in process of getting Japanese A5 Wagyu NY Strip and if I do, I'll probably sous vide that too.

If you're ever curious on sous vide or just like watching cooking clips on youtube I highly recommend sous vide everything. They're a bunch of guys who cook various meats(mostly beef) sous vide and test different possibilies(Ex: using fresh garlic, garlic powder, garlic paste, etc...) and comparing which works best for sous vide.

IF I get it(which I probably will) I can probably share my experience with it.

You'd be insane to sous vide a piece of Wagyu beef IMO. Its fat content has a very low melting point. you would render it all out leaving you with a hockey puck of a steak. Please, do not do it. It won't do any justice to the meat. You want to sear it at high heat instead.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Foie gras is overrated as hell.


All of the rest you just mentionned, maybe aside from dry aged meat, isnt expensive to the point of wagyu. Im all for quality ingredients, but trying to reinvent the wheel doesnt do anything for me.

Theres a huge difference between quality and just making **** up.

At least the industry has slowed down with the truffle crap, at one point I couldnt go a day without having to drizzle some ****ing oil on top of a dish.

The quebecs episode of parts unkown is exactly what I think is wrong with the food industry. ****ing truffles, caviar and foie gras. My ass.

Plz stop making me rant

The way I see it if you’re not a fan you save money.

The best meat I ever had was wagyu I cooked myself, not meat from an actual cook but me mindlessly cooking a piece of wagyu and it blew everything else I ever had away.

I like it but haven’t gotten into the other stuff mentioned apart from aged beef obviously. Now I’m just wondering what aged A5 wagyu tastes like

 

[groovejuice]

Saffron I’ve used and it brings nothing to the party other than colour, avocado toast well avocado is the most overrated fruit out there tastes of not much, prefer black cardomom to green cardomom, as for wagyu don’t see it better than a good ribeye. Sorry not sorry to the purists

Not sure how you don't get the flavour of saffron. It takes over a dish if too much is used, but it has a delicious, unique flavour and makes dishes with it memorable if properly used.

Black cardamom is burnt toast to green cardamom's Chanel.

 

[CalgarySnow]

I’ve never been able to taste saffron used it in a paella numerous times and can’t taste it, my tastebuds, however, can taste cinnamon at 2000 paces and I hate cinnamon. I love the smoky flavour of black cardomom, I love smoked paprika too

 

[groovejuice]

Foie gras is overrated as hell.


All of the rest you just mentionned, maybe aside from dry aged meat, isnt expensive to the point of wagyu. Im all for quality ingredients, but trying to reinvent the wheel doesnt do anything for me.

Theres a huge difference between quality and just making **** up.

At least the industry has slowed down with the truffle crap, at one point I couldnt go a day without having to drizzle some ****ing oil on top of a dish.

The quebecs episode of parts unkown is exactly what I think is wrong with the food industry. ****ing truffles, caviar and foie gras. My ass.

Plz stop making me rant

Truffle oil is like the pee after eating asparagus. Not nearly in the same orbit as a fresh one.

I love high quality caviar, but could live without it. With the exception of aged cheese, uni, and perfect baguette, I seldom eat those other items. But I certainly relish the occasion when I do.

Wagyu is a novelty, a once a year treat. It has unusual qualities that make it unlike other beef. I'd have all the other items I mentioned on my list before it.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

You'd be insane to sous vide a piece of Wagyu beef IMO. Its fat content has a very low melting point. you would render it all out leaving you with a hockey puck of a steak. Please, do not do it. It won't do any justice to the meat. You want to sear it at high heat instead.

I have to look into it. As of now I watched a YouTube channel do it. They’ve tried it different ways and say sous viding it is not a problem like people think and that it ends up fine.

At first glance online reactions to sous viding wagyu are mixed.