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"Entering the fray next year is the Cinder, a countertop cooking device that promises to deliver sous-vide-level precision without the bags and the water bath."

"Entering the fray next year is the Cinder, a countertop cooking device that promises to deliver sous-vide-level precision without the bags and the water bath." I've been critical before on technology solving home as opposed to commercial cooking, this statement alone using a technical approach to avoid waste of water and removal of plastic from cooking is fantastic. "Sous-vide cooking excels at tenderizing typically tough cuts while maintaining juiciness through prolonged, often multi-day cooks that break down connective tissue while also conveniently storing released juices in its bag." Why is a sous-vide better than a pressure cooker here?

rdw 11y ago
Sous-vide is better for some dishes because the temperature is controlled, and generally low. If you want a rare steak, the temperature should be 120 F (http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-steak.html http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/food-lab-complete-guide-t...). A pressure cooker, because it relies on steam, will always cook above 212 F. That's awesome for a lot of dishes (chili! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pressure-cooker-chili-recipe.html http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pressure-cook...), but for many meat preparations it's overcooking. One dish that I have directly compared sous-vide against more traditional techniques is pork shoulder. My "traditional" technique is oven-cooking, a process that takes 6 hours at 325 F. In sous-vide, the shoulder takes longer, more like 24-72 hours, but the temperature is lower, 135 F (http://sousvidely.com/sous-vide-pulled-pork/ http://sousvidely.com/sous-vide-pulled-pork/). Also, it's in a bag. The sous-vide version is better in many ways -- it's got more juice and color and tastes fresher -- and it's way easier because I don't have to turn and baste it every 2 hours. But yeah, I don't love the consumables of sous-vide. I reuse bags and water whenever I can.
- bootload 11y ago
  thanks @rdw, that is a great explanation.

rdw 11y ago

Sous-vide is better for some dishes because the temperature is controlled, and generally low. If you want a rare steak, the temperature should be 120 F (http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-steak.html http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/food-lab-complete-guide-t...). A pressure cooker, because it relies on steam, will always cook above 212 F. That's awesome for a lot of dishes (chili! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pressure-cooker-chili-recipe.html http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pressure-cook...), but for many meat preparations it's overcooking. One dish that I have directly compared sous-vide against more traditional techniques is pork shoulder. My "traditional" technique is oven-cooking, a process that takes 6 hours at 325 F. In sous-vide, the shoulder takes longer, more like 24-72 hours, but the temperature is lower, 135 F (http://sousvidely.com/sous-vide-pulled-pork/ http://sousvidely.com/sous-vide-pulled-pork/). Also, it's in a bag. The sous-vide version is better in many ways -- it's got more juice and color and tastes fresher -- and it's way easier because I don't have to turn and baste it every 2 hours. But yeah, I don't love the consumables of sous-vide. I reuse bags and water whenever I can.

bootload 11y ago
thanks @rdw, that is a great explanation.