How Sous-Vide Works
The sous-vide technique was born in France, a country that highly values the art of cooking. From the French, sous-vide means "under vacuum", which directly points to the principle of the method. For some time the technique remained exclusive. The equipment was expensive and not every restaurant could afford it. It took root in molecular cuisine, which absorbs everything innovative. Now sous-vide dishes can be cooked even at home.
The sous-vide technique consists of two stages:
The food is packed in a vacuum bag. This is done with a special device, a vacuum sealer. Then the food is placed in a water bath, where it is cooked for a long time at a constant, relatively low temperature. The main difference from traditional methods is the strictly controlled temperature. On average it is 55-85 °C for different foods.
Sous-vide can be used to cook a wide variety of foods: meat, fish, seafood, vegetables and fruit. The food keeps its texture and natural look. Its natural flavor is revealed and enhanced. Even tough, rather dry meat comes out juicy, literally melting in the mouth. Vegetables do not turn into a tasteless puree and keep a light crunch. The unique sous-vide technique turns ordinary fruit into a refined dessert. Cooked apricots, plums or melon taste like marmalade.
Sous-vide in Samovar
Samovar 7.00: there is no separate "Sous-vide" («Су-вид») mode in the mode list (nor a Lua mode; both items are hidden in the
Settings). For sous-vide use the
Beer («Пиво») mode: the "Pause" («Пауза») (P) program line heats the water to the set temperature and holds it for the set time, and the pump, on the schedule of the same line, stirs the water so that the temperature in the container is even.
How to set it up:
In the
Settings, select the "Beer" («Пиво») operating mode and save.
On the
Settings - Beer («Настройки - Пиво») tab, set the regulator voltage or power for the temperature holding mode; Samovar will use it to top up the heating during the hold.
Connect a circulation pump to the wort transfer pump output (see
Stirrer, Pump, Temperature) and lower it into the container of water. The boiler sensor must be submerged in the water.
On the Beer mode page, set a program of one "Pause" («Пауза») line: the temperature is the one the food needs, the time is the hold duration in minutes, and in the "Stirrer" («Мешалка») field turn on the pump. The line format is described in the
Mashing Program section.
Put the bagged food in and turn on heating. The timer starts when the water has warmed up to the set temperature; when the program ends, Samovar turns off the heating and the pump.
Example:
P;65;300;2^0^600^0;0
This program heats the water to 65° by the boiler sensor (the last field is 0) and holds it for 300 minutes (5 hours). The "Stirrer" field 2^0^600^0: device 2 is the pump, run time 600 seconds, pause 0 - the pump runs without stopping, stirring the water. If you need to run the pump with breaks, specify the pause in seconds, for example 2^0^60^120.
If during the hold the temperature drops below the tolerance (for example, after topping up the water), the timer slows down, and with an undershoot of 3° or more it stops until the temperature recovers, see Mashing Program.
Questions and Answers. FAQ
For sous-vide, does the sensor in the tank have to be submerged in the water? And what if it does not reach the liquid? Maybe there are some correction deltas?
You can just top up the water.
Or you can try to find a delta. It will be very approximate and specific to a particular container and water volume.
It would also be good to arrange water circulation for stirring.
For home cooking a difference of one or two degrees is not critical (but it will be much more than 1-2° if the sensor is above the water),
