Vacuum sealing vs. water displacement method when doing longer sous vide cooking
Modernist Cuisine recommends that for longer sous vide cooking (times greater than 36 hours) that bags are vacuum sealed rather than just using the water displacement method to remove the air from a ziploc bag.
What is the reason for this? Will I be losing something essential if I just use a regular ziploc bag without vacuum sealing?
Best Answer
There is no real safety issue if you do a really good job removing ALL of the air with the displacement method. The challenge is in removing all of the air. According to J. Kenji Lopez Alt at Serious Eats, "Excess air causes oxidation that can develop into off flavors or promote spoilage."
The second issue is with the seal if the Ziploc bags. Generally speaking, these bags are not designed to withstand high temperatures, especially not for long periods of time. It is quite possible the seal will fail during a long cook, ruing your food.
You could certainly use Ziploc bags and give it a shot, there is no dooming reason not to try it. Before cooking your expensive brisket or whatever you're looking to do a long cook with, I recommend trying to overcome these two issues with something cheap to see if you can get rid of all the air and if the seal will last.
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Should you vacuum seal sous vide?
\u201cSous vide\u201d is French for \u201cunder vacuum,\u201d but it's a very confusing name. In fact, you do not need a pricey vacuum sealer\u2014or even an inexpensive countertop one\u2014to successfully cook food at a low temperature in a water bath. To get started with sous vide, regular old ziplock-style bags will do just fine.When would you use the water displacement method in cooking?
This method works if you have a solid block of butter that hasn't been cut into quarters or if you are measuring shortening or coconut butter or other such scoopable solids like nut butters (as long as they're quite solid and not the runny kind.) It works like this: Say you need a 1/2 cup of shortening.What is the water displacement method for sous vide?
To do it, you simply place the food into a the resealable zipper lock bag, then slowly lower the bagged food into your water filled cooking container. The pressure of the water forces the air through the top of the bag. Once most of the air is out of the bag, carefully seal it just above the water line.Does vacuum sealing preserve food longer?
The shelf life of your food is greatly extended when you vacuum seal it. Vacuum sealing food preserves it 3 to 5 times longer than food stored in plastic containers or bags. The exact amount of time food will last in vacuum sealing varies depending on whether you are storing in the refrigerator, freezer or pantry.Using a Vacuum Sealer for Sous Vide Cooking
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Answer 2
Use the reccommended "freezer" bags. They are thicker and close more securely. If hot water bothers you when closing the bag, close it in tepid water then place in the bath.
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