Uncle Nate's Sous-Vide Lessons, Part 2: You can sous-vide that??
Nate Whiting--
Oh great, more sous vide nonsense?
Guys that embrace sous-vide cooking have been taking a lot of heat from the culinary traditionalists. "That's not cooking." "That's cheating.'' "All you're doing is boiling it in a bag."
Apparently these hot chocolate bombs are all the rage right now. Little chocolate shells filled with cocoa and tiny marshmallows, ready to transform hot milk into hot chocolate. You've seen them on Instagram, your kids hassle you for them, and they do look kinda fun. Over the holidays, at the encouragement of my neighbor, I decided to give them a whirl.
Now I hate working with chocolate. Many professional pastry chefs I know aren't all that fond of working with it either. Fussy is an understatement, its behaves more like a schizophrenic toddler. Any way you slice it, it's a pain in the ass. In order to get it to reset properly when you melt it, you've got to do what's called tempering it. This involves melting it, raising it to a certain heat, letting it cool to a certain heat, and then raising the heat again. It's a temperamental process, and it's usually done over a water-bath. The thing is, if one drop of water gets in there, it's game over. It's tricky, and it's messy, and it's frustrating. However, tempering it sous-vide is by far the easiest method I’ve ever used, and turns out it's not all that many people are aware of the technique.
-Continue to agitate as it cools
-After the chocolate cools to 81F, reset your circulator to 90F(32C)
Second Technique: Culturing Dairy
Freeze-dried cultures are simply one of the greatest modern advances in dairy production. They absolutely rule, for so many reasons, safety being a big one. I’m familiar with both thermophilic and mesophilic cultures, but for those who aren't, here's a quick rundown. I urge you to read the entire recipe on Chef Steps, I can't overstate how outstanding the writing is, and how relatable.
Thermophilic cultures are heat-loving (up to 130F), commonly used in parmesan, Swiss, mozzarella and yogurt, to name just a few.
Mesophilic cultures are non-heat-loving, used for items heated below 102F, e.g. soft cheeses, Camembert, cottage cheese, buttermilk, and sour cream.
Both of these cultures have been carefully isolated into single strains of “good bacteria” over many years of selective “breeding." Dairy (cream and milk) is a fertile medium for both good and bad bacteria to grow, so it's important to make sure you're raising the right kind of bacterial colony. When a good culture inoculates the milk, it multiples by consuming lactose (milk sugar) and excretes acid as a by-product, thus choking out the bad bacteria. It's basically like an arms race, between good and bad, who ever builds the biggest army first, wins. Seeding your milk with the right culture takes the fight out of nature's hands. When doing home fermenting, you really want to keep guesswork to a minimum, am I right?
Oh great, more sous vide nonsense?
Guys that embrace sous-vide cooking have been taking a lot of heat from the culinary traditionalists. "That's not cooking." "That's cheating.'' "All you're doing is boiling it in a bag."
I’m not sure why, but I suspect it's mostly because old school culinary stalwarts feel the technique in some way diminishes their traditional methods. Which is certainly not the case. Maybe it's them just venting some misplaced aggression on a technique they resent because they don't understand it, or don't want to learn it. Let them go ahead and bust balls. Why not? I understand rage better than most, and us nerds are easy targets. Let the traditionalists say what they will, I refuse to turn my back on a technique just because it's new.
I will say this to the critics. I've never been much of a slave to historical methods. If there's a better way to do something, I want to learn about it. It's just how I'm wired. They see guys like us trying to push the limits of what a new technique can do, and they assume we're too high on our new technique, trying to use it for everything. That is certainly not the case. Sous-vide is not a be-all-end-all. No technique is, and anyone that claims they have the new 'universal technique' is foolish, or trying to sell you something. It's just another technique for your repertoire, the same way the microwave brought convenience to all in the 80’s. In a way, sous-vide and the microwave are of a similar type, because like all techniques, they all have their place. There is a right way to use either. An immersion circulator is no more a magic wand than a microwave is a time machine. Simply put, as with all techniques, the method is only going to be as useful as your willingness to learn how to apply it correctly.
Anyway, enough about that...
The versatility and convenience of circulator cooking ranges far beyond mainstream perception, so I wanted to share two lesser known, and equally awesome, sous-vide techniques to expand your repertoire.
There's a ton of stuff you can cook in a bad that you may not have considered. Ice cream base, cured lemon peel, curds, pudding, custards, creme brulee, and... Hollandaise?
You can sous-vide that? Oh yeah! You can sous vide that!
Hot dogs? Sausages, and hamburgers? Oh yes indeed!
All excellent techniques, and I definitely think you should try them. But I wanted to touch on two even lesser known techniques that a circulator can help you pull off. Two techniques that are so intimidating most people never even bother trying them. Those techniques are:
I will say this to the critics. I've never been much of a slave to historical methods. If there's a better way to do something, I want to learn about it. It's just how I'm wired. They see guys like us trying to push the limits of what a new technique can do, and they assume we're too high on our new technique, trying to use it for everything. That is certainly not the case. Sous-vide is not a be-all-end-all. No technique is, and anyone that claims they have the new 'universal technique' is foolish, or trying to sell you something. It's just another technique for your repertoire, the same way the microwave brought convenience to all in the 80’s. In a way, sous-vide and the microwave are of a similar type, because like all techniques, they all have their place. There is a right way to use either. An immersion circulator is no more a magic wand than a microwave is a time machine. Simply put, as with all techniques, the method is only going to be as useful as your willingness to learn how to apply it correctly.
Anyway, enough about that...
The versatility and convenience of circulator cooking ranges far beyond mainstream perception, so I wanted to share two lesser known, and equally awesome, sous-vide techniques to expand your repertoire.
There's a ton of stuff you can cook in a bad that you may not have considered. Ice cream base, cured lemon peel, curds, pudding, custards, creme brulee, and... Hollandaise?
You can sous-vide that? Oh yeah! You can sous vide that!
Hot dogs? Sausages, and hamburgers? Oh yes indeed!
All excellent techniques, and I definitely think you should try them. But I wanted to touch on two even lesser known techniques that a circulator can help you pull off. Two techniques that are so intimidating most people never even bother trying them. Those techniques are:
Tempered Chocolate and Cultured Butter
The First Technique: Tempered Chocolate
The First Technique: Tempered Chocolate
The Goal: Hot Chocolate Bombs
Apparently these hot chocolate bombs are all the rage right now. Little chocolate shells filled with cocoa and tiny marshmallows, ready to transform hot milk into hot chocolate. You've seen them on Instagram, your kids hassle you for them, and they do look kinda fun. Over the holidays, at the encouragement of my neighbor, I decided to give them a whirl.
Now I hate working with chocolate. Many professional pastry chefs I know aren't all that fond of working with it either. Fussy is an understatement, its behaves more like a schizophrenic toddler. Any way you slice it, it's a pain in the ass. In order to get it to reset properly when you melt it, you've got to do what's called tempering it. This involves melting it, raising it to a certain heat, letting it cool to a certain heat, and then raising the heat again. It's a temperamental process, and it's usually done over a water-bath. The thing is, if one drop of water gets in there, it's game over. It's tricky, and it's messy, and it's frustrating. However, tempering it sous-vide is by far the easiest method I’ve ever used, and turns out it's not all that many people are aware of the technique.
Chocolate science is pretty complex, and I only know the fundamentals. I won't attempt to explain it fully, I’ll leave that to the experts. But basically, tempering chocolate is the process of heating chocolate in a series of precise and carefully defined temperatures, then agitating it, in order to form a tight, stable crystalline structure. The best way I’ve ever read it described was by Kenji Lopez. “Think of melted cocoa fat as lego bricks, and when they are agitated they are snapped together by little elves.” Awesome, right?
Heres the full technique: it's a great read.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/12/the-food-lab-best-way-to-temper-chocolate.html
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/tempering-chocolate-how-to-get-smooth-silky-confections-with-sous-vide
The quick and dirty guide to chocolate-tempering success, so any knuckle-dragging cook can do it:
First things first, you know we have to talk about ingredients. Use high quality chocolate, called couverture. You're going to a lot of trouble to get this right, and life's too short for crappy chocolate.
Couverture is the name given to a certain class of high-quality chocolate. All chocolate consists of these base ingredients: cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, and sometimes vanilla, soy lecithin, or milk powder. Couverture chocolate, unlike other chocolates, is ground to a finer texture during the production, and by definition must contain a greater percentage of cocoa butter relative to the other ingredients. The requirements are a minimum of 35% cocoa solids and 31-39% cocoa butter. The more cocoa butter, the more fluid it is when melted, making it preferable for tempering and other candy work. The additional cocoa solids provide stronger flavor, and both factors combine to create the most refined chocolates.
There are many excellent brands. Here are a few I know and love: Valrhona, Callebaut, Cacao Barry, Cordillera, Scharffen Berger, and Amedei. Some of those, you may have to mail order, but they usually have Cacao Barry or Callebaut at Whole Foods.
In the regular world, tempering chocolate is a real, fussy, fiddly pain. Enter our friend, Mister Circulator!
Note: as said before, water is the enemy. Keep the bag sealed, and carefully dry it before using it. If you keep the water under control, this technique is really a snap. Maintaining dry conditions is the only hard part, so just take care.
Method: (I used this for Valrhona Milk and White Chocolates recently)
-Chop chocolate finely (melts more evenly)
Heres the full technique: it's a great read.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/12/the-food-lab-best-way-to-temper-chocolate.html
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/tempering-chocolate-how-to-get-smooth-silky-confections-with-sous-vide
The quick and dirty guide to chocolate-tempering success, so any knuckle-dragging cook can do it:
First things first, you know we have to talk about ingredients. Use high quality chocolate, called couverture. You're going to a lot of trouble to get this right, and life's too short for crappy chocolate.
Couverture is the name given to a certain class of high-quality chocolate. All chocolate consists of these base ingredients: cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, and sometimes vanilla, soy lecithin, or milk powder. Couverture chocolate, unlike other chocolates, is ground to a finer texture during the production, and by definition must contain a greater percentage of cocoa butter relative to the other ingredients. The requirements are a minimum of 35% cocoa solids and 31-39% cocoa butter. The more cocoa butter, the more fluid it is when melted, making it preferable for tempering and other candy work. The additional cocoa solids provide stronger flavor, and both factors combine to create the most refined chocolates.
There are many excellent brands. Here are a few I know and love: Valrhona, Callebaut, Cacao Barry, Cordillera, Scharffen Berger, and Amedei. Some of those, you may have to mail order, but they usually have Cacao Barry or Callebaut at Whole Foods.
In the regular world, tempering chocolate is a real, fussy, fiddly pain. Enter our friend, Mister Circulator!
Note: as said before, water is the enemy. Keep the bag sealed, and carefully dry it before using it. If you keep the water under control, this technique is really a snap. Maintaining dry conditions is the only hard part, so just take care.
Method: (I used this for Valrhona Milk and White Chocolates recently)
-Chop chocolate finely (melts more evenly)
-Bag it (remember, Ziploc Freezer bags, accept no substitute)
-Heat circulator to 118F(48C) and drop the bag in
-Agatiate bag to help align crystals (simulate stirring)
-Drop the circulator down to 81F(27C). You can throw a little ice in there to speed the cool-down along.
-Heat circulator to 118F(48C) and drop the bag in
-Agatiate bag to help align crystals (simulate stirring)
-Drop the circulator down to 81F(27C). You can throw a little ice in there to speed the cool-down along.
-Continue to agitate as it cools
-After the chocolate cools to 81F, reset your circulator to 90F(32C)
-Once the chocolate hits the temperature of the circulator water, you're good to go.
Every brand is a little different, but here are some rule of thumb temps to work around when you're getting started. You have three temps to think about. The first is your melt temp. It will generally be at least 115F/46C. The second temp is your cool-down temp. This is when the chocolate crystalline structure comes together to set the temper. This will happen below 88F/31C, sometimes a good bit below. Finally, you have your working temp. You want to bring it up to between 88-92F(31-33C). This will melt it enough to work with without breaking down the crystal structure.
Some websites (including the links above) will throw other steps at you, like seeding the tempered base with some already-tempered chocolate to help the crystals form. Honestly, I've never messed with that, and this technique has always worked for me.
Every brand is a little different, but here are some rule of thumb temps to work around when you're getting started. You have three temps to think about. The first is your melt temp. It will generally be at least 115F/46C. The second temp is your cool-down temp. This is when the chocolate crystalline structure comes together to set the temper. This will happen below 88F/31C, sometimes a good bit below. Finally, you have your working temp. You want to bring it up to between 88-92F(31-33C). This will melt it enough to work with without breaking down the crystal structure.
Some websites (including the links above) will throw other steps at you, like seeding the tempered base with some already-tempered chocolate to help the crystals form. Honestly, I've never messed with that, and this technique has always worked for me.
{I'll just interject. As Nate's long-time sous-chef, if HE says a step isn't necessary, you can bet your ass it's not necessary. Dude is the KING of unnecessary steps. -JS}
So anyway, we are all tempered up, let's make those
So anyway, we are all tempered up, let's make those
Hot Coco Bombs!
-Temper chocolate
-Cast into demi-spheres (You can get a silicon mold on Amazon, or they have them at Michael's)
-Fill half of your demi-spheres with instant hot cocoa powder and marshmallows
-Temper chocolate
-Cast into demi-spheres (You can get a silicon mold on Amazon, or they have them at Michael's)
-Fill half of your demi-spheres with instant hot cocoa powder and marshmallows
{Right about now I wish I had an image of Nate in the Swiss Miss outfit. -JS}
-Cap each filled demisphere with an unfilled one. (You can warm them with a torch, or tack them on with a little more tempered chocolate for glue.) Let them set, pop them out, and you're good to go. If you have the time and desire, go ahead and temper a little white chocolate, too, and use a disposable piping bag with a tiny hole cut in it to drizzle on some decoration.
-Cap each filled demisphere with an unfilled one. (You can warm them with a torch, or tack them on with a little more tempered chocolate for glue.) Let them set, pop them out, and you're good to go. If you have the time and desire, go ahead and temper a little white chocolate, too, and use a disposable piping bag with a tiny hole cut in it to drizzle on some decoration.
Second Technique: Culturing Dairy
The Goal: Cultured Butter
I've made plenty of cultured butter, yogurt, creme fraiche, and other fermented dairy products in my day, but I’ve never made butter in a circulator, so this recipe was really intriguing to me. As with all Chef Step recipes. I had high expectations, because if you're following along, I'm just a little bit of a fanboy. I knew I was going to try it, so i ordered the Flora Danica mesophilic culture they recommend, which made me feel validated, because as it happens, that's the only brand I'm familiar with.
Freeze-dried cultures are simply one of the greatest modern advances in dairy production. They absolutely rule, for so many reasons, safety being a big one. I’m familiar with both thermophilic and mesophilic cultures, but for those who aren't, here's a quick rundown. I urge you to read the entire recipe on Chef Steps, I can't overstate how outstanding the writing is, and how relatable.
Thermophilic cultures are heat-loving (up to 130F), commonly used in parmesan, Swiss, mozzarella and yogurt, to name just a few.
Mesophilic cultures are non-heat-loving, used for items heated below 102F, e.g. soft cheeses, Camembert, cottage cheese, buttermilk, and sour cream.
Both of these cultures have been carefully isolated into single strains of “good bacteria” over many years of selective “breeding." Dairy (cream and milk) is a fertile medium for both good and bad bacteria to grow, so it's important to make sure you're raising the right kind of bacterial colony. When a good culture inoculates the milk, it multiples by consuming lactose (milk sugar) and excretes acid as a by-product, thus choking out the bad bacteria. It's basically like an arms race, between good and bad, who ever builds the biggest army first, wins. Seeding your milk with the right culture takes the fight out of nature's hands. When doing home fermenting, you really want to keep guesswork to a minimum, am I right?
My thoughts on the final product are as follows:
It's pretty spectacular, and worth the effort. Its not economically viable, so if you think this is a way to skirt out on buying good high-fat butter, you're going to find out its cheaper to just buy it. . If you're looking to dip your toes into the cultured dairy world, this is a great thing to start with.
This the first time i've made butter at home and it kinda blew my 9 year olds mind! (The guys at work had a name-Nate's-baby-contest, so as a result, he is known as Trinidad Scorpion Whiting, but don't tell his mom.) Little Trinidad Scorpion's mind was totally blown that dad could just make butter. (Never mind how many more difficult things he's seen me do. You never know what's gonna knock them back... Kids...)
Anyway, because I used regular old UHT heavy whipping cream (Costco brand, if it matters), which is basically the only thing available to us civilians, I opted for the carrot juice color correction. I split the recommended difference and went with 10.5% juice. It fixed the color nicely. As for all the other steps, I followed them meticulously. The only flaw I can say I found was a subjective one. For my tastes the recommended % of MSG was, for some reason, too high on the batch I made. Maybe it was the tang from the culture that clashed with the MSG. I'm not sure, and flavor chemistry is incredibly complicated, so I won't pretend to have the answer, I just know the batch wasn't exactly perfect. And generally, MSG used at .25% percent is well in range of “normal” levels that I've seen and used. Next time I’l probably just omit the MSG (aka Tasty Salt) altogether. Other than that, if you're looking for something unique to make, or perhaps give as a gift, I say go forth, and sous-vide thy butter.
It's pretty spectacular, and worth the effort. Its not economically viable, so if you think this is a way to skirt out on buying good high-fat butter, you're going to find out its cheaper to just buy it. . If you're looking to dip your toes into the cultured dairy world, this is a great thing to start with.
This the first time i've made butter at home and it kinda blew my 9 year olds mind! (The guys at work had a name-Nate's-baby-contest, so as a result, he is known as Trinidad Scorpion Whiting, but don't tell his mom.) Little Trinidad Scorpion's mind was totally blown that dad could just make butter. (Never mind how many more difficult things he's seen me do. You never know what's gonna knock them back... Kids...)
Anyway, because I used regular old UHT heavy whipping cream (Costco brand, if it matters), which is basically the only thing available to us civilians, I opted for the carrot juice color correction. I split the recommended difference and went with 10.5% juice. It fixed the color nicely. As for all the other steps, I followed them meticulously. The only flaw I can say I found was a subjective one. For my tastes the recommended % of MSG was, for some reason, too high on the batch I made. Maybe it was the tang from the culture that clashed with the MSG. I'm not sure, and flavor chemistry is incredibly complicated, so I won't pretend to have the answer, I just know the batch wasn't exactly perfect. And generally, MSG used at .25% percent is well in range of “normal” levels that I've seen and used. Next time I’l probably just omit the MSG (aka Tasty Salt) altogether. Other than that, if you're looking for something unique to make, or perhaps give as a gift, I say go forth, and sous-vide thy butter.
-NW
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