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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent handbook for Sous Vide at home, January 6, 2011
This review is from: Beginning Sous Vide: Low Temperature Recipes and Techniques for Getting Started at Home (Paperback)
I have been interested in sous vide cooking techniques for some time and have experimented extensively in my own kitchen. I wish that I had this book when I began, because it pulls together a large amount of information that has been widely distributed in various websites and periodicals. Jason's book is an excellent review of why you would want to go to the trouble of using sous vide techniques for cooking at home (Briefly, because you can achieve results which you cannot duplicate with any other cooking technique. you can utilize some cuts of meat and poultry that are difficult to cook with conventional methods, and it is an extremely convenient way to prepare meals). For example, Thanksgiving dinner this year was the most stress free I have ever prepared because I cooked the turkey with sous vide and therefore I knew exactly when it would be ready, I knew that i could keep at exactly the right temperature until all of the other dishes were ready, and I knew that it would be moist and tender. He outlines the rationale and describes how to perform the basic steps necessary for using sous vide techniques, and gives one of the best summaries that I have seen of the safety issues you need to be aware of when cooking with this method. There is a very nice discussion of the equipment options that you have if you want to sous vide at home. The bulk of the book is divided into chapters on various types of meats and vegetables. The beginning of each chapter presents an overview of the things you need to keep in mind when using sous vide with that type of meat or vegetable, and a general outline of the cooking process for that particular product. Each chapter contains a number of nice recipes that can be used as is or can be used as a guide for making your own creations. For me, however, the most useful part of the book is the extensive time and temperature charts located at the end of the book. It is extremely helpful for me to be able to quickly look up the kind of food that I am preparing and instantly have time an temperature guidelines that I can use for that particular food product. If you have any interest in trying sous vide techniques at home, I would strongly recommend that get a copy of this book. I know you will use it frequently.
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for a Good Beginning, November 18, 2010
This review is from: Beginning Sous Vide: Low Temperature Recipes and Techniques for Getting Started at Home (Paperback)
This book is a very good starter for the novice in Sous Vide. I have tried several of the sauces beginning with the Mole as the previous reviewer suggested. Mole is my favorite and this one gets many stars. The overall book is a fine introduction to the why's and how's of the new rage of slow cooking via Sous Vide. I am only getting started and will pass on any future sucesses! We are excited in exploring this new world of cooking. One day I hope to upgrade my skills to the French Laundry level. Ha! I know I am only dreaming. This book will just suit us fine for the near future and can recommend it to any intermediate wanta-be chef. I am sure you will be able to make some outstanding dishes with Jason's directions. My Sous Vide Supreme Demi ($295) will be getting a very good work out with this book. The time charts and temperature settings for each type of food is very important in this type of cooking. Seems like Jason's crew worked their hearts out putting this together. Only suggestion is to have more color pictures of the dishes in the next book so it will be easier to select what we shall try next. Also color pictures of what the meat will look like going up each step the temperature chart. This would make it easier to select the best temperature setting suited for us. Beginers need more hand holding but this sure helps! Update 12-17-2010 We have been using the book several times a week. 1) I tried the roast beef using Top Round (eye of). It was too big of a piece for my Sous Vide Demi so sliced it in half and cook one Sous Vide and the other standard in the Oven. The oven came out looking great with a nice and brown looking traditional style. It was what you would expect with a chewy texture and seemed like a cheap piece of meat. The Sous Vide version was as advertised for 48 hrs bath. It was a tender as Prime Rib and still very juicy and flavorful medium rare melt in your mouth using the recommended 131 degrees in the book. Yum! Great with the sauce we choose. 2) We have done the beef short ribs and was a complete sucess and recommend it. 3)Tried doing the cheapest of meat (beef Shank) and it came out even better than the Roast Beef. So beefy and tender with the meat fibers being made very delicate and fine. 4)Our eggs done in the shell at 147 degree was wonderful on toast but Creme Burlee try was a flop and wasn't smooth and too eggy with lumps. Have to work on that! 5)Most everything has been effortless except long times of waiting for the process to be completed in this fast pace world. But I just set it and forget it, so no big deal. This has became very valuable for us since we are living in Mexico and the beef/pork tends to be a bit tougher than Choice meat we had in the US. This book has been a real find (bought online at Amazon!)
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A technique well worth exploring unless you like your meat well done, March 13, 2011
This review is from: Beginning Sous Vide: Low Temperature Recipes and Techniques for Getting Started at Home (Paperback)
This book is aimed at non-professionals who wants to get starting with this exciting technique. Even if you're a professional, but do not really want to splash on laboratory grade equipment, this book will be of value. The recipes are pretty basic but the pork and beef recipes I've tried were nice. I used expensive cuts and it is hard to go wrong with them. I have not tried any of the recipes for cheaper cuts (more connecting tissue, etc) that are supposedly more difficult to get right. I think this book is stronger than Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide in presenting core, basic, non-artistic recipes. This is meant as a compliment to the current book's author. Finally, if you intend to buy Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, then you do not need the current book.
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