Sous vide, French for "under vacuum", is a method of cooking that is intended to maintain the integrity of ingredients by heating them for an extended period of time at relatively low temperatures. Cryovacking or cryovac is another word for the sous vide method. In sous vide method, food is cooked for a long time, sometimes well over 24 hours. Unlike cooking in a slow cooker, sous vide cooking uses airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below boiling point (Usually around 58-60°C = 140°F).
The sous vide method was developed by Georges Pralus in the mid-1970s for the Restaurant Troisgros (of Pierre and Michel Troigros) in Roanne, France. He discovered that when cooking foie gras using sous vide method, it kept its original appearance, did not lose excess amounts of fat and had better texture. The sous vide method is used in several top-end restaurants under Thomas Keller, Paul Bocuse, Joel Robuchon, Charlie Trotter, and other chefs. Non-professional cooks are also beginning to use sous vide vacuum cooking. Botulinum bacteria can grow in food in the absence of oxygen and produce deadly toxin: sous vide cooking must be performed under carefully controlled conditions to avoid botulism poisoning. To help with food safety and taste, water-bath machines (thermal immersion circulator) are used to circulate precisely heated water around the sous vide airtight plastic bags; differences of even one degree can affect the finished product using sous vide method . Irinox blast chillers and shock freezers technology is strongly recommended to rapidly blast chill and or shock freeze in order to maintain the food in perfect condition for a longer period of time (5-7 days on average for fresh products and 4-6 months for frozen products). In other words blast chillers and shok freezer goes hand on hand with the sous vide method.
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Sous vide Equipment:
For sous vide cooking you will need:
1) A constant temperture water bath: This can be as simple as a pot of water in your oven or as nice as a shiny new $1000 digitally controlled thermal immersion circulator. Make sure you have room for whatever you get and that it can be placed near a sink for easy filling and eventual emptying.
2) A vacuum-sealer and bags: Consumer models are available rather unexpensive. Real “pro” vacuum sealers allow you to apply much larger vacuums but are more expensive. Boilable & Microwavable Flat Vacuum Bags are Regularly 3.0 Mil in thickness; nylon /Poly for perfect sealing FDA Approved are the Highest Quality.
3) An accurate thermometer and probes. Ideally it should read within 1 degree. You’ll also want a probe–preferably thin–to stick through the bag and into your food. If you don’t also have a digital temperature control on your water bath you’ll want to get a probe (compatible “K-type") for it that you can use to measure water temperature. Some probes also require an extension wire for convenient use.
4) Blast chillers and shock freezers system to rapidly blast and freeze allows to maintain the food in perfect condition for a longer period of time (5-7 days on average for fresh products and 4-6 months for frozen products).
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Models: • 202.100 - • 51.20 - • 141.50L
Blast Chiller / Shock Freezers
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Blast chillers and shock freezers are irreplaceable instruments that allow any confectioner, baker, ice-cream maker and cooking professionals to organize their work better with the certainty that everything they make and serve will be fresh, healthy and natural. Blast chillers and shock freezers are best suited when companies in the Food Service Industry that cook large volumes of food products and then quickly chill them (cook/chill) to extend product shelf life. Soups, sauces, meats, etc..., are cooked to temperatures that destroy bacteria and then quickly chilled using blast chillers.
Sous vide or cryovac is a great option for building in season meals and to store away (shock freeze) and be able to serve them in winter or any other season that products are not available.
The hygienic level nowadays required by the health authority Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and by the requirements of the professionals themselves is extremely high. Besides, the economic risks and the image linked to a possible intoxication of the customers are extremely high too.
The Irinox blast chillers and shock freezers systems are the most secure way to add to the unquestioned quality of your products that guarantee complete safety. Irinox blast chillers and shock freezers reduces to the minimum the threat of contamination from bacteria, that happens in the kitchen during the cooling process at a room temperature and slows down their proliferation. In addition to this, with the action of the sterilization of the UV lamps installed in the high end models, it eliminates any risk even after the machine has been stopped.
Working Cycles:
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Blast Chillers
All cooked food rapidly loses its quality and aroma if it is not served promptly. Only fast reduction of the temperature at the product's core allows its initial characteristics to be maintained intact. Natural bacteria growth, the main reason why food becomes stale, takes place at an exponential rate between +70°C and +10°C. The Irinox blast chillers gets food through this high-risk temperature band rapidly, cooling the core of the product to +3°C in no more than 90 minutes. This conserves food quality, fragrance, colours and aroma while tripling its storage life. The chef can work creatively and in a relaxed environment, assured that his output will be immune to the passage of time. Blast chillers are ideal to use with the sous vide method. Natural freshness and fragrance ... nothing else will reach the table!
For storage over the medium-long term, food has to be shock frozen (to -18°C or below). Freezing means converting the water contained in food into crystals.
Thanks to the very high speed at which low temperature penetrates the food, with a core temperature of -18°C obtained in a short time, the Irinox shock freezers guarantees the formation of small crystals (microcrystals) that do not damage the product in any way. Uncooked raw materials, semi-processed food and cooked food (> 90°C) can now be treated safely.
When the food is thawed, no liquids, consistency, weight nor fragrance will be lost, and all its initial qualities will remain, perfect and unchanged. When using the sous vide method and planning for long term storage shock freezers works perfectly.
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Soft Chill (+90°C/+3°C)
Ideal for "delicate", light, thin products or small piece sizes, such as sous vide method vegetables, rice, creams, sweets, fish products and fried foods.
"Soft" chilling using blast chillers by Irinox makes the food temperature lower quickly, but extremely delicately so as not to damage the outside of the food.
When using blast chillers, the soft chill is the ideal cycle to chill any food quickly but delicately, even in haute cuisine.
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Hard Chill (+90°C/+3°C)
Ideal for "dense" products and products with a high fat content, in large pieces or anyhow typically more difficult to chill.
Suited for packaged food, too, such as sous vide method vacuum packed products.
Using the skillful chilling control from blast chillers means that the end temperature of 3°C is reached at the core of the product, but here, too, with no danger of freezing and damaging the product, not even on its surface.
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Shock Freezers (+90°C/-18°C)
This cycle is recommended when you want to store foods for several weeks or months, at temperatures below -18°C.
Shock freezers are suited for storing ready frozen foods, but not for freezing them!
During shock freezing, the liquids contained in the foodstuff are transformed into microcrystals that do not harm the tissue structure. When the "foodstuffs" are used, and therefore thawed, their quality will be excellent.
It is especially suited for all semi-processed foods and raw materials (especially seasonal ones). When using the sous vide method and then shock freeze it, the food freshness and taste will last longer maintaining the integrity of all ingredients.
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• Are you a chef, a confectioner , a breakmaker or an ice-cream maker?
• Are you interested to know the advantages of the Irinox technology or having more information?
Taylor Ultimate Services can help you visualize the best configuration for your business. Contact us today!
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