The best Sous Vide beetroot leather

Making sous vide beetroot leather

I love beetroot, its sweet earthiness and dense texture lend it to an amazing number of culinary applications. These are a few variations using the molecular cooking techniques of sous vide to retain purity of flavour, and Agar Agar based fluid gel to create body and stability while retaining a vegetarian product. Beetroot leather with its delicious and chew texture can be transformed to a crisp base by simply cutting it to a desired shape with scissors and deep frying it in vegetable oil.

As a fluid gel this recipe can be used to enhance many dishes as garnish or the glue to keep a canape together. Our sous vide beetroot recipes here are all made using fresh organic beetroot, water and Agar everything else is modern cooking techniques used to create these amazing flavours, textures and temperatures.

Beetroot chip

450 gm beetroot washed peeled and chopped
50 ml water
5 gm Agar

Place the washed peeled and chopped beetroot and water in to a suitable vacuum pouch for cooking sous vide. Vacuum seal the beetroots and water, then cook sous vide at 85C for 3 hours in a preheated water bath. Whilst still hot empty the sous vide beetroot in to the jug of you MyCook thermal blender.

Blend to a smooth paste in the MyCook on speed 4, add the agar powder through the hole in the lid to the beetroot and set heat on your MyCook to 100C for 2 minutes. Pour the beetroot puree in to a tray and allow it to set in to a firm jelly in the fridge. Then, puree the jelly in a MyCook until completely smooth, using a little water or beetroot juice if needed to achieve the desired consistency.

You can add salt or a few mls of balsamic vinegar to the blender at this stage if desired. Push the mix through a drum sieve. Reserve 2/3 of this mix. Lightly oil an acetate sheet and thinly spread the mix evenly over the sheet, about 2 millimetres thick. Dehydrate the squares for 3 hours at 65C or until the leather is completely dry to the touch.

Peel the beetroot sheet off the acetate and cut it into squares. Deep fry each chip at 180C for 1 minute and shape over the back of an egg tray to form cups or with your fingers to form cones. From sous vide beetroot to an amazing crisp pure vegetable chip.

Beetroot Fluid Gel

The puree you have made from above is called a fluid gel. It is neither a solid or a liquid. This method can be used to create any number of fruit or vegetable From above, place ½ of the reserved pureed beetroot gel in a disposable piping bag.

Frozen Beetroot foam

From above, place the other ½ of the pureed beetroot gel into an ISI whip canister. Charge the whip canister with the correct amount of nitrous oxide for the canister that you are using. Shake the canister vigorously to mix, then refrigerate for 2 hours. When ready to serve, hold the canister upside down and shake. Release small mounds onto the anti-griddle and allow to half freeze before serving.

The Breville|Polyscience Anti-griddle is a flash freeze plate that allows the cook to create and build dishes with varying frozen textures and temperatures. The Grant Achatz inspired tool was designed to make a rapidly cooling surface that would give liquds and semi solids a crispy crust and a creamy interior. But imagine the possibilities it has created in the kitchen. To make an olive oil “cracker,” most chefs would bake some sort of crisp fortified with oil. Achatz uses the antigriddle to freeze the oil itself into a wafer. Also check out Darren Purchese using the Anti-Griddle here

Limoncello Meringue sous vide cocktail

Limoncello Meringue

Sous vide cocktail Beginner

Chickpea liquid—yes!—creates a luxurious (and vegan) meringue in this summer drink.

Ingredients

HONEY LIMONCELLO:

10 organic lemons
500 gm sugar
250 ml clover honey
1 liter vodka
750 ml water

COCKTAIL:

45 ml sous-vide honey limoncello
45 ml vodka
30 ml fresh lemon juice
30 ml canned low-sodium chickpea liquid, strained
Angostora bitters

Directions

FOR THE HONEY LIMONCELLO:

Preheat water bath to 60°C.
Wash and peel lemons, trimming off any of the white pith from the peels. Juice the lemons and reserve.
In a large sous vide pouch, combine the lemon peels with the rest of the ingredients. Chill liquid to 3°C or colder, then seal the pouch.
Cook in water bath for 3 hours, gently shaking once or twice to make sure the sugar is evenly dissolved. Remove the pouch from the water and strain the limoncello, while still warm, through a coffee strainer.
Chill, then transfer to a bottle or lidded container. Makes two liters.

TO BUILD:

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake for about 20 seconds. Remove shaker lid and fill with ice, then cover and shake well for another 20 seconds. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish the top of the drink with a few drops of bitters, running a toothpick through the drops to create a swirled effect.

Rhubarb Mimosa sous vide cocktail

Rhubarb Mimosa

Sous Vide cocktail Beginner

Elevate mothers day brunch—or any meal—with this elegant and bold take on a mimosa.

Ingredients

FOR THE RHUBARB EXTRACT:
250 gm rhubarb, sliced
125 ml water
20 ml grapeseed oil

FOR THE RHUBARB INFUSION:
500 gm rhubarb, sliced
250 ml St. Germain liqueur

FOR THE COCKTAIL:
20 ml fresh lemon juice
1 bottle Champagne

Directions

FOR THE RHUBARB EXTRACT:
Combine all ingredients in a sous vide pouch and seal.
Cook in water bath at 181.4°F (83°C) for 12 hours.
Strain the liquid. Chill until ready to serve.

FOR THE RHUBARB INFUSION:
Combine rhubarb and St. Germain liqueur in a sous vide pouch and seal.
Cook in water bath at 181.4°F (83°C) for 30 minutes.
Strain the liquid and chill. (Extra cooked rhubarb can be used as topping for ice cream or yogurt, or dried.)
Recipe will yield 1¼ cups of extract and infusion combined.

TO BUILD:
For each cocktail, pour 4 tablespoons of the St. Germain-rhubarb infusion, 2 tablespoons of the rhubarb extract, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice into a Champagne glass.
Top with Champagne or sparkling wine.

Developed by Chef Bruno Bertin, Executive Chef at Cuisine Solutions, and team. Featured in Sous-Vide magazine Spring/Summer 2018.

Sous Vide Dashi glazed melt in the mouth lamb shoulder

Sous vide is the only way to prepare delicious moist, falling apart lamb shoulder. High quality ingredients will make all… Read more

Sous vide is the only way to prepare delicious moist, falling apart lamb shoulder. High quality ingredients will make all the difference with this recipe, so look for an ethically raised local lamb shoulder from your butcher and top quality soy sauce such as Shibanuma.

This is not your usual long and slow sous vide cook. The aim here is to produce, for all intensive purposes, a traditional looking braised shoulder of lamb deep with flavour and umami yet soft and moist with a consistent grey tinge to the meat.

The advantage of sous vide cooking here is being able to cook the lamb well in advance and to prepare the sauce at leisure, carefully skimming all of the lamb fat and leaving a shimmering brown liquor that can be used as both a glaze and the sauce.

Dashi stock
10 grams dried kombu
450ml filtered water
15 grams bonito flakes

In a pan, combine the kombu and filtered water, and leave to soak for 20 minutes. Bring to a temperature between 60-65⁰C/140-150⁰F (or until you can see a little steam), then remove from heat and set aside for 30 minutes. Discard the kombu and return pan to the stove. Bring the stock back to a simmer, then add the bonito flakes, and cook for 30 seconds. Strain, and chill.
(Alternatively, the dashi stock can be made with 1½ teaspoons of hon-dashi to 450ml of warm filtered water, stirring until dissolved. Chill.)

Sous Vide cooking the Lamb
300ml mirin
2.5kg boneless lamb shoulder
400ml dashi stock (from above)
200ml good quality soy sauce
150ml shiro dashi Preheat a water bath to 88°C

In a saucepan, reduce the mirin by half over medium heat. Chill. Place the lamb in a vacuum pouch with the remaining ingredients, and seal on high. Cook in the preheated water bath for 6 hours, then transfer the pouch to a cold-water bath to bring it back to room temperature. Cut a corner off the pouch and drain the braising juices into a small pot. Bring the pot to a high simmer over medium heat, removing any fat that rises to the surface. Continue cooking, skimming regularly, until reduced to a tare (Japanese glaze).

To finish
Remove the lamb from the vacuum bag and place in a baking tray. Preheat the oven to 225C and roast the lamb for 10-15 minutes or until well browned and hot through. I like to spoon the tare over the lamb every few minutes to give it a glazed look.

This lamb is melt in the mouth, great to shred up with two forks and fill a wrap with. Top with fresh lettuce, tomato and lashings of tzatziki. Leftovers – if there are any – can make a delicious ragu tossed with pasta or gnocchi, you could also use it to fill steamed buns.

Chef Talk – Seriously Inspiring Source Dining’s Quinn Spencer

Chef Talk 👨‍🍳

A chat with the Seriously Inspiring Source Dining’s Quinn Spencer on sous vide cooking

Source Dining is the beautiful heritage listed building on Piper Street, Kyneton that used to house Annie Smithers Bistro. Tim and Michelle Foster took over the restaurant in 2013 and have maintained the restaurants One Hat rating. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Quinn Spencer (bottom left image), the head chef of Source dining to talk all things food, but mostly sous vide.

ABOUT Source dining

At Source Dining the source or origin is where it all begins. Our desire to be hospitable is what shapes our service philosophy. This desire, coupled with passion, knowledge and the experience gained from a lifetime in the hospitality industry combine to create the dining experience we offer today.

When creating menus each season, it all starts with the produce we are able to source around us and from our garden. The source of all products is so important

At Source Dining we are passionate about providing you with a truly unique dining experience. Our menus seek inspiration from the produce we can source through our local suppliers and in our gardens – it evolves constantly with the change of seasons.

So Quinn, what are your cooking roots?

I started in French bistro cooking then moved to Tommy Collins, the high-end office catering business. Tommy Collins was purchased by the Atlantic group in 2016. I was commuting from Woodend into the city putting in long days with ‘Tommy Collins’ so when the opportunity to work in Kyneton at the heritage listed, One hatted Source Dining with Tim came up, I couldn’t resist. That was November last year. I have a bit of land and grow quite a range of vegetables that we use at the restaurant alongside what Tim produces from his small farm.

You have been cooking sous vide for years, where did it all start?

When I started at Tommy Collin’s. The chef’s running Tommy Collins where two chefs from Vue de Monde and one from the Point. Sous vide cooking was second nature to them, and it suited the environments that we had to deliver in. Tommy Collin’s specialty was office catering onsite, we would take 2 circulators, one for the chicken and one for the beef and the sauce guns tucked into the water bath as well. We could plate for 300 with very little equipment using well prepared sous vide, maybe a pre-seared steak with a little smoked olive oil in the bag. Often much of the work was in city buildings, you would show up to do a sit down for 30 people and the kitchen turned out to be a tearoom with smoke detectors and no exhaust, you just had to adapt and sous vide suited all applications. Sous vide was a great resource.

How do you use sous vide here at Source Dining?

Sous Vide fits in to my cooking style, so everything from slow cooked lamb shoulder to smoked duck breast and a lot off the smaller service items are cooked this way. The Kitchen is heritage listed so we can’t change a lot, this means that bench top items like the sous vide really come in to play. Source dining has maintained ‘The Age Good Food Guide’ One Chefs hat rating since Annie Smithers owned the property, the level of dining is warm but sophisticated, we use the tools that we need to maintain a standard.

We have a lamb dish on the menu at the moment that has a 56C sous vide lamb rump, and a croquette of slow braised sous vide lamb shoulder and a chive Espume, which is made in a cream gun with sous vide egg yolk and chive oil held warm in a sous vide water bath. Served with chick pea puree and fromage frais.

You can check out the recipe HERE

Heartwarming Luxurious sous vide lamb dish

Source Dining Chef’s Recipe

Rockwood Cottage Sous Vide Lamb – By Quinn Spencer, Head Chef, Source Dining, Kyneton

Head Chef, Quinn Spencer, has masterfully created a succulent seared sous vide lamb rump, with an insanely good croquette of long and slow sous vide lamb neck, garnished with green onion, beautiful herbs and Holy Goat’s fromage frais. Here’s a word of warning however, this recipe is not for the faint hearted. You’ll need your sous vide water circulator and a couple of days to prepare this dish, but the end result is simply divine.

Croquette of SOUS VIDE LAMB neck, seared SOUS VIDE LAMB rump, green onion, winter herbs, Holy goat fromage frais

SOUS VIDE LAMB CROQUETTES (30)

½ onion brunoise
1 clove garlic crushed
¼ bunch chopped thyme
¼ bunch chopped tarragon
100g roasted and chopped pistachios
750g braised sous vide lamb neck
Zest of 2 lemons
Half a bunch chopped parsley
150 g butter
75 g flour
150 ml port
80 g lamb jus
Salt/ pepper
Panko bread crumbs

Sauté onions until translucent add garlic and cook out, add lamb and thyme and soften meat. In a separate pan cook out butter and flour and add port Add to lamb mixture, fold in pistachios, lemon zest, parsley, Tarragon and jus, season to taste and roll into 40 g portions Flour, egg wash and crumb. Let set in cool room for at least 2 hours

SOUS VIDE LAMB RUMP (20)

20 lamb rumps, fat trimmed off
10 garlic cloves, sliced
20 sprig of thyme
Salt
Pepper

To cook the sous vide lamb rumps, preheat the water bath to a temperature of 56⁰C.

Rub a little salt and pepper into each rump, then seal the meat inside a vacuum bag with the sliced garlic and the sprig of thyme. Place the bag in the water bath and leave to cook for 45 minutes

CHIVE OIL

300 g chopped chive
600 g sunflower/grape seed oil
Blend chive and oil for 8 minutes in a Thermomix until the oil goes dark green.
Sieve the oil through an oil filter and let it cool

COMPRESSED CUCUMBER

2 continental cucumbers peeled and deseeded with the skin reserved
350 ml of chive oil
Salt and pepper

Dry the skin of the cucumber in a cool oven and grind to a powder. Cut the cucumber into 8cm long strips, mix the cucumber batons and oil together and put in a vacuum bag and seal at full compression

CHIVE ESPUMA

10 g tarragon vinegar
5 g salt
10 g water
65 g egg yolk
250 g chive oil

Cook egg yolks sous vide in a vac bag @ 68C for 20 min. Refresh yolks in iced water to stop cooking process.

Place sous vide yolks into Thermomix and gently sheer the oil, water and vinegar into the yolks into the egg mixture little by little. Pour the mixture in half a litre siphon bottle and add 2 siphon cartridges,

Keep the siphon at 40 ‘C in an immersion circulator.

SMOKED MT ZERO CHICK PEA PUREE

300 g cooked, drained & cooled Mt Zero chickpeas
100 g tahini
150 ml hot water
2 garlic cloves, crushed
125 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained
2 tsp sea salt flakes
60 ml olive oil
PolyScience Smoking Gun
Hickory Wood chips for smoking gun

Place chick peas into a flat ½ gastro tray, cover with cling film. Fill the Smoking Gun chamber with wood chips, turn it on, light and apply the smoke under a corner of the tray with plastic wrap. Trap enough smoke to form a dense cloud under the plastic. Let stand, undisturbed, for 10 minutes. Release smoke, remove plastic wrap and mix to incorporate smoke flavour. Place chick peas into thermo mixer with all other ingredients and sheer into a fine puree

VINAIGRETTE

300 ml olive oil
100 ml apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. full grain Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Store refrigerated after using

GARNISH

Salad Burnette
River mint
Warrigal greens tips
Holy Goat Fromage frais
Bronze fennel tips

TO ASSEMBLE

Remove sous vide lamb rump from water bath pat dry, season and sear rump in hot frypan with a little oil, thyme and brown butter. Fry croquettes of sous vide braised lamb neck at 170⁰C for 4 min then season with rosemary salt. Place a line of warm chick pea puree down one side of plate. Slice rump and assemble atop. Cut croquettes in half and serve 3 halves per plate. Place a quenelle of fromage frais on lamb and add cucumber batons, greens and a little finishing salt. Drizzle with vinaigrette and siphon chive espuma to the other side of plate.

Serve.

Dulse potato, cherry smoked roe and fermented potato chips

This cute little dish is served as an Amuse bouche at the start of a meal or the potato course in a full-on traditional degustation dinner. The potato takes on all of the divine salt umami character of the two Japanese seaweed’s as well as the more European ‘Fondant Potato’ texture from being cooked in butter. Once you have cooked the potato sous vide you can serve it as is, as I had done here, or you can pan fry both sides in some of the butter to create a crisp surface to contrast the lush interior.

4 Medium size Dutch cream potatoes
100 gm unsalted butter
50 gm salted kombu
50 gm Dulse

Cut the potatoes top and bottom to give them a flat surface. Place all ingredients in a vacuum bag and seal. Cook in a preheated water bath at 95°C for one hour until fork tender.

Fermented Kipfler potato chips

2 small Kipflers
2% salt by weight

Wash the Kipfler’s and slice 2 mm thick. Vacuum pack with 2% by weight salt then allow them to ferment for 24 hours. Cut open the vacuum bag, drain and dry the potatoes, fry at 175°C until crisp, season with salt and malt vinegar. I use a small pot of sunflower seed oil on my Control Freak to give a very clean taste to the chips. The Control Freak give 1C control on my oil temperature and the display helps me monitor if I am trying to do to many at once and lowering the temperature of my oil. I always use a small amount of fresh oil to cook garnishes so that they do not take on the taste of the deep fryer.

To Smoke the Salmon roe

1 Tablespoon Salmon caviar
50 ml Japanese Shiro Shoyu, white soy Sauce

Place the caviar and soy in a covered dish. Fill the dish with cherrywood smoke using the smoking gun and allow the smoke to settle with the cover on the dish. Repeat two more times to develop a deep cherry smoke flavour.

To Serve

Serve with cherry smoked Salmon roe, micro herbs, pickled wood sorrel, sorrel flowers, nasturtium leaves and fermented Kipfler potato chips.

Japanese Lamb Shoulder with Pea and Wasabi

Kerby Craig uMe, sydney
Kerby Craig served this delectable lamb dish to me at Ume in 2012. High quality ingredients will make all the difference with this recipe, so look for a great, ethically raised local lamb shoulder from your butcher, top quality soy sauce such as Shibanuma, and fresh or frozen wasabi paste rather than the ordinary coloured radish paste or powder.
Note: Freezing the peas instead of precooking them ensures they retain their freshness. The technique was adapted from
Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold and Chris Young (The Cooking Lab, 2011).
Time: 7 hours, includes 6 hours cooking time. Serves 4

Dashi stock
10 grams dried kombu
450ml filtered water
15 grams bonito flakes

Lamb
300ml mirin
2.5kg boneless lamb shoulder
400ml dashi stock (from above)
200ml good quality soy sauce
150ml shiro dashi

Preheat a water bath to 88°C/190⁰F.
In a saucepan, reduce the mirin by half over medium heat. Chill. Place the lamb in a vacuum pouch with the remaining ingredients, and seal on high. Cook in the preheated water bath for 6 hours, then transfer the pouch to a cold water bath to bring it back to room temperature. Cut a corner off the pouch and drain the braising juices into a small pot. Bring the pot to a high simmer over medium heat, removing any fat that rises to the surface. Continue cooking, skimming regularly, until reduced to a tare (Japanese glaze).

Pea purée
150 grams fresh baby peas
(use frozen if out of season) 30 grams fresh or frozen wasabi
75 grams organic soy milk
50 grams water
3 grams sea salt flakes

Pod the fresh peas and place in an airtight container. Freeze.
When frozen, place the peas in a blender along with the remaining ingredients, and blend on high for 2 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve
2 sushi (yaki) nori sheets
1 bunch red radishes shiso vinegar
yarrow leaves nasturtium leaves

Barbecue the lamb over a moderate flame, turning constantly until evenly coloured all over, then set aside to rest in a warm place. Slice the sushi nori into strips, then gently and repeatedly flap each strip over a medium barbecue flame until crisp, being careful not to let them burn. Wash and slice the radish paper-thin using a mandoline. Gently stir the pea and wasabi sauce to recombine.
Carve lamb shoulder into desired portions and brush with reduced braising juice tare. Dress the plate with the pea purée, then arrange the lamb on top, adding 1 teaspoon of shiso vinegar. Place a strip of sushi nori next to the lamb, and garnish with radish slices and the yarro and nasturtium leaves.

Recipe from – At Home With Sous Vide By Dale Prentice

Salad of Pickled Baby Beetroot, Crispy Quinoa and Manchego Custard

Garen Maskal Black Toro, Sezars and Shuka Melbourne Garen Maskal honed his skills at Ezard in Flinders Lane, Melbourne, before… Read more

Garen Maskal Black Toro, Sezars and Shuka Melbourne

Garen Maskal honed his skills at Ezard in Flinders Lane, Melbourne, before opening his own restaurant, Black Toro, in 2012. Garen’s creative use of quinoa in this recipe adds a delightful crunch that works so well with the creamy Manchego custard and tart beetroots, while the hints of orange and fennel combine with the sweetness of beetroot jelly to further enhance the overall flavour.

Pickled beetroot

200ml hot tap water
100ml rice wine vinegar
50 grams sugar
8 grams salt
1 bunch red baby beetroot 1 bunch golden baby beetroot
1 large red beetroot

Preheat a water bath to 83⁰C/181.4⁰F.

In a bowl, combine the hot tap water, rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt.

Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved, then allow to cool.

Trim the ends of the baby beetroots, leaving a little stem attached, then scrape around the ends with a small knife and wash the beets thoroughly. Do the same for the large red beetroot. Place the red baby beets into a vacuum pouch with the large red beetroot and place the golden baby beets into a separate pouch. Add 100ml of pickling liquid to each pouch, and seal on high. Cook for 2 hours in the preheated water bath. Allow the beetroots to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the vacuum pouches, keeping the colours separate. Use paper towel or a cloth to remove the skins and cut the baby beets into halves or quarters, depending on the size. Dice the large red beetroot.

Set aside in 3 separate bowls.

The rest of the recipe can be found in At home with Sous Vide by Dale Prentice

Slow cooked duck egg with creamed spinach and dukkah

Serves 4 It’s winter… time to crack out the supper rich and decadent dishes. Sous vide yolks take on a… Read more

Serves 4

It’s winter… time to crack out the supper rich and decadent dishes. Sous vide yolks take on a velvety custard texture and are so easy to make. Duck eggs have a larger yolk and deeper flavour.

Ingredients

4 Duck eggs
160 gm Baby spinach
Pinch Allspice
1 Shallot
40 mls Cream

4 Pita crisps

For the Dukkah

8 tablespoons         Sesame seeds
4 tablespoons         Coriander seed
3 tablespoons         Cumin seed
50 gm.                     Hazelnuts toasted and peeled
1 teaspoon              Salt
½ teaspoon White pepper ground

Place the duck eggs carefully into a 61?C water bath for two hours.

For the dukkah roast each ingredient separately until coloured and fragrant. Grind or pound the seeds to a course powder then place nuts, seeds and spices to a food processor and pulse to achieve a course mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Thoroughly wash, blanch, refresh, squeeze and chop the baby spinach. Finely dice the shallots and sweat in a little oil until soft. Add a pinch of ground allspice and cook one minute. Add the cream mixed with a pinch of corn flour and heat to a simmer. Add the spinach and stir gently until even and heated through. Adjust the seasoning and serve immediately.

Place a spoon of the creamed spinach in the centre of the plate, make an indent in the spinach with the back of the spoon. Crack the eggs, one at a time in to your hand and pinch the white from the yolk, discarding the white. slip the warm yolk onto a spoon to make it easier to place on to the spinach. Sprinkle generously with the dukkah.

An aperitif with a twist – Smokin’ Champagne Cocktail

Cocktails are super fashionable, elegant and chic, and we love the combination of different ingredients that go into just one drink. And this delicious aperitif has indeed a twist! By combining both theatre and flavour, you’ll be adding another dimension to this celebratory champagne cocktail.

Ingredients

1 Mint Leaf finely sliced

1 Diced fresh Strawberry

2 tsp Strawberry Liqueur

Champagne

Maple or Cherry wood chips for smoking

Method

Combine mint, fresh strawberry and strawberry liqueur in a bowl.

Cover bowl with cling wrap leaving an opening for the smoking gun hose.

Using either Maple or Cherry wood chips, use the smoking gun to direct smoke into the covered bowl for a few seconds.

Leave for one minute.

Place strawberry mixture in a champagne glass.

Top with champagne.

Notes

The smokiness of the drink is determined by the length of time the strawberries are exposed to the smoke as well as the amount of smoke placed in the bowl.

For a subtle smoke flavour, minimise the strawberries exposure to the smoke.

For a little extra theatre, finish off the drink with some smoke on top.

Hiramasa Kingfish with Fresh Ginger and Pomegranate Salad

The king fish texture in this dish by Michael Lambie is surreal, it tastes neither cooked nor raw, just sublime! The daikon is crisp and translucent with sweet sharp bursts from the pomegranate.

Continue reading “Hiramasa Kingfish with Fresh Ginger and Pomegranate Salad”

Beetroot Relish

There is truly no reason why plant based food cannot be wonderful, tasty and healthy. As chefs, being sustainable and continuing to cook for the increasing population of the world is our responsibility. More and more, the future is looking like a plant-based one. That doesn’t mean we have to completely give up meat or change our style of cooking, just changing the ingredients sometimes. The techniques are still the same. To get you started we have delicious Beetroot Relish recipe that you need to try. It’s absolutely delicious!

This is my sous vide version of a great recipe by highly regarded Australian chef and award-winning food writer Christine Manfield. Don’t be afraid to make a good batch of relish—beetroot cooked this way is very moreish and goes with everything.

Note: The ginger in this dish will take over if you add too much, so be a little reserved.

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, includes 1 hour cooking time. Makes 1 cup

1 beetroot

small knob of fresh ginger

1 garlic clove

2 teaspoons brown sugar

salt

30ml cider vinegar

. teaspoon fennel seeds

. teaspoon black peppercorns

1 clove

1 bird’s-eye chilli, split open

Preheat water bath to 85⁰C

Peel and grate the beetroot and ginger, and thinly slice the garlic on a mandoline.

Place beetroot, ginger and garlic in a vacuum pouch with the brown sugar, a generous pinch

of salt and the cider vinegar. Wrap the fennel seeds, black peppercorns, clove and the chilli

in a piece of baking paper, then add this to the vacuum pouch and vacuum-seal on high.

Cook in the preheated water bath for 2 hours.

For a thicker relish, the juice from the vacuum pouch can be reduced by half in a small saucepan

over moderate heat, then the spices discarded, and the grated beetroot stirred back in.

Variations: This recipe works just as well with whole beetroot peeled and washed as it does with wedges and slices.

There is no need to adjust the recipe irrespective of the shape or variety of the beetroot.

Hollandaise sauce with the Control Freak

Making hollandaise sauce has always been the test of a great chef – it’s the fine art of using the natural lecithin found in egg yolks to bind carefully clarified butter into a slightly tangy creamy delicious sauce. But this is process is very time consuming, and not everyone can be a chef, nor have the patients to create these traditional sauces. But this is where the Control Freak by Breville | Commercial is a game changer. This recipe break all of the rules of of hollandaise and is so easy to make too…

Hollandaise Control freak style

For the vinegar reduction

All good hollandaise sauce is based on a good vinegar reduction, if you are going to make hollandaise on regular occasion make a batch of this so it is ready to go, it keeps well at room temperature for several weeks.

1/8 teaspoon Peppercorns, crushed
1/8 teaspoon Salt, (kosher preferred)
45 ml White Wine Vinegar
30 ml cold water

Place salt, vinegar and crushed peppercorns into a sauce pan and reduce by 2/3. Remove from heat and add water. This should give you 40ml of finished reduction. strain out the peppercorns and we are ready to make hollandaise.

40 ml vinegar reduction from above
4 egg yolks
250gm block of unsalted butter, cut in to cubes
A dash of lemon juice and salt to taste

This is where we break all of the rules of hollandaise making.

Place a small induction ready saucepan on the Control Freak, push the silicon probe holder onto the side of the pot. Plug the probe in to the Control freak and slide it in to place on the side of the pot. Place the egg yolks and vinegar reduction in the pot and whisk together, now throw in all of the butter. Push the intensity button on your Control Freak twice to adjust it to medium and set the temperature to 75°C, press the probe button once and set to Probe control.

Now just stir gently with your whisk until your hollandaise come together as the lightest fluffiest hollandaise you have ever made. once you are happy with your sauce turn the temperature down to 68°C to hold the hollandaise until you are ready to spoon it over your poached eggs. Adjust the seasoning at this stage with your lemon juice and salt.

Here is Dave from Polyscience taking us through his slightly different version

How to make – Smoked Butter

How to make – Smoked Butter Smoked everything, all the time! That should be our motto. This simple recipe will… Read more

How to make – Smoked Butter

Smoked everything, all the time! That should be our motto. This simple recipe will add an element of surprise to corn on the cob, salmon off the grill, mashed potatoes, sautéed spinach or even fresh crusty bread. Your restaurant guests will want to know your secret!

Make several days ahead and keep for up to three weeks in your refrigerator.

Ingredients

500 gm Unsalted Butter, large dice

16.5 ml Pedro Ximenez Solera Vinegar

Kosher Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

Maple or Applewood Smoking Gun™ Chips

Method

Let butter soften to room temperature in a stand mixer bowl or stainless steel mixing bowl.
Season the butter and add vinegar.
Whip the butter on medium speed in a stand mixer with whip attachment or use silicone spatula, if a stand mixer is not available.
Wrap the top of the bowl with plastic wrap. Use the Smoking Gun Pro and trap enough smoke to form a dense cloud under the plastic. Let stand, undisturbed, for 5 minutes.
Release smoke, remove plastic wrap and whip/fold to incorporate smoke flavor.
If a stronger smoke flavor is desired, repeat steps 4 and 5.

Recipe and Image by Polyscience

How to cook your goose!

Christmas lunch to Thanksgiving

The perfectly cooked bird is a symbol of wellbeing and family celebration

Sous vide brings control and perfect juiciness

Lush moist breasts with undefinable sweetness

And the richness of well-cooked thigh and drumstick

Master stock and confit add complex rich flavours and delicate saltiness with unparalleled ease and simplicity.

Goose’s Cooking

By Bruno Goussault – CREA –Cuisine solutions

How to cook a goose is a celebration recipe, the perfect roast goose or turkey is the center of every Christmas and thanks giving table. Bruno is often referred to as the founder of sous vide cookery. The exactness of this recipe reflects a true master of sous vide sharing a glimpse in to his world and making our joyous celebrations a feast fit for kings.

Time: 30 minutes preparation 3-15 hours cooking depending on the type of goose.

Goose breast

Goose breast has thinly spread out collagen and little fat, for those reasons its cooking for optimum texture requires complex sous-vide cooking process.

1 goose breast skin on
200 ml good gelatinous goose or chicken stock

Keep the skin on the goose breast, then sear it on the breast side in a hot pan until nicely coloured. Chill the breast to below 6ºC/42.8⁰F. Once chilled, vacuum pack the goose breast, with the stock in a vacuum pouch designed for cooking in. Don’t compress the breast too much. If using a digitally controlled chamber vacuum machine set it to residual pressure 20 mbar and add 10 sec.

Place the pouch in a water bath at 83⁰C for three minutes. Then transfer the pouch to a bath at 66ºC until the core temperature of the breast is at 60ºC, you will need a thermometer with fine probe and closed cell tape to check this or estimate it using the SousVide Toolbox. Reduce the temperature to 62ºC – adding cold water or a hand full of ice to the water bath will drop the temperature quicker – then cook thirty minutes for a farm raised goose and three to five hours for a wild goose.

To cool the goose for later use rest it in the pouch for 15 minutes at ambient temperature, then 15 minutes in sink water (18ºC) and finally 2 hours in iced water (0ºC to 2ºC). The goose will have a shelf life of 21 days at 0ºC to 2ºC.

Goose Leg

1 Goose leg
200 ml Good gelatinous goose or chicken stock

Follow the same process to prepare the leg as you did the breast, but to vacuum seal it is important to remove the air out of bone without pulling the bone marrow. The vacuum setting is 20 mbar plus 25 seconds extra vacuum.

The cooking temperatures are quite different to the breast, cook the leg 83ºC until 72ºC at the core temperature, then transfer to a 66ºC water bath for 90 minutes for farm raised goose or 6-12 hours for a wild goose. To cool for later use follow the directions for the breast. Shelf life 21 days at 0ºC to 2ºC.

Whole Goose

1 whole goose
400ml Good gelatinous goose or chicken stock

To cook the goose whole prepare it in the same way as you would just the leg. To cook submerge just the legs in the water bath at 83 ºC until the temperature in core of the leg arrives at 70 ºC. Then put the whole goose in a water bath at 66 ºC until the core temperature of breast arrive at 62 ºC. Reduce the temperature of the bath at 62 ºC and cook the whole goose for 90 minutes if farm raise or 8 or 12 hours for a wild goose.

To serve

Reheat the goose for thirty minute in a 62 ºC water bath. The skin can be brown in a hot pan with a little oil or under a hot grill if more colour is desired. Keep in mind that the goose is fully cooked at this point and should not be exposed to further cooking.

This method works just as well with turkey as it does goose.

Taxi 12-hour sticky pork with red chili dressing

Taxi’s sticky pork was cooked sous vide in an Instanta water bath at 70°C for twelve hours then cooled and pressed. The pork was then deep fried and rolled in a palm sugar and fish sauce caramel. Sticky, tender, pink and juicy, this pork was served on a chili sauce with warm spicy depth, a scallop seared to crisp on one side and delicate and moist on the other and a salad of cucumber with toasted coconut.

Continue reading “Taxi 12-hour sticky pork with red chili dressing”

Poached Atlantic Salmon with Iberico Jamon, Asparagus and Coffee Oil

Another wonderful dish from Taxi Dining Room.

Lightly cured salmon, cooked briefly sous vide, matched to the richness of Jamon, the crispness of pear and asparagus and finished with sweet sharp balsamic and coffee essence.

Continue reading “Poached Atlantic Salmon with Iberico Jamon, Asparagus and Coffee Oil”

Fennel lime sumac prawn on Russian salad

This dish is summer itself. Rich juicy king prawn in sweet citrus spice, on a tipsy salad of vegetables. The spice powder for the prawns I learnt of Greg Malouf – Melbourne’s Middle Eastern maestro of cuisine – when we used to do our Sunday Arabesque banquets together at Stones of the Yarra Valley. Greg is now off sharing his cooking talent with the world and I am totally absorbed in all things sous vide.

For the Prawns

8 as an entree 16/20 Prawn cutlets
¼ tsp Fennel seed, toasted
1 lime zest only, grated and dried
¼ tsp Sumac
Salt to taste

For the Salad

3 Kiphler, peeled and sliced
3 Baby carrot peeled and sliced
50 gm Peas blanched and refreshed
2 Marinate artichoke hearts
2 tsp Pure olive oil
Sugar
Salt to taste

For the Mayonnaise dressing

½ clove Garlic mashed to a paste with salt
2 Yolks 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
250ml Sunflower oil
20 mls Gray Goose vodka
1 sprig Dill, finely chopped
1 sprig Tarragon, leaves only, finely chopped

Devein the prawns and set aside in the fridge. In a mortar and pestle or spice mill grind the fennel, lime zest and sumac to a powder, season to taste and rub gently in to the prawns. Seal in a vacuum pouch with a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil on medium. Cook for thirty minutes at 56°C using your Polyscience immersion circulator. For the salad seal the potato in a vacuum pouch with salt and oil, and the carrot in a separate vacuum pouch with sugar, salt and oil to taste. Cook for sixty minutes at 85°C using your Polyscience immersion circulator. Whisk the garlic, yolks and mustard until light. Continually whisk whilst adding the oil in a thin stream to produce a thick mayonnaise. Stir the vodka in to the mayonnaise , add the herbs in at the last minute and season to taste. Toss all salad ingredients with dressing and serve topped with prawns.

Butter poached lobster, so devine!

SOUTHERN ROCKLOBSTER, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, PARMESAN CREAM, OLIVE OIL, LEMON AND ROSEMARY

Recipe Courtesy of Luke Stepsys and southern rock lobster

Serves 4

Parmesan cream ingredients
50ml EV olive oil
100g leek, white part only, finely chopped
100g celery, chopped, finely chopped
100g shallots, peeled weight, finely chopped
30g garlic, peeled weighed, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
3 thyme sprigs
5g whole white peppercorns
100g white wine
500g fish stock
225g cream
100g Parmigiano Reggiano rind
300g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
8g sea salt, this may vary according to the type of sea salt you use

Method
Heat oil in a heavy based saucepan and sauté leek, celery, shallots and garlic without colouring for 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves, thyme sprigs, peppercorns and parmesan rind then deglaze with the white wine. Reduce until almost dry, then add the fish stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and strain through a fine sieve into a clean pot and bring back to the boil. Add the cream and simmer for 5 minutes then stir in the finely grated parmesan. Adjust seasoning to taste and strain hot mixture into a cream siphon and charge with 2 gas bulbs. Refrigerate for several hours until the canister is cold and smooth, stable foam is formed.

Parmesan Crisps ingredients
125g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
70g egg white at room temperature or warmed over hot water

Method
Place parmesan and egg white in a large bowl and combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Place the mixture between two greased Silpat mats and roll out until thin, then gently peel away the top mat. Place onto a tray and cook in a 150°C oven until evenly browned and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before breaking into small pieces.

Brussels Sprout Puree ingredients
50g butter
25g shallot, peeled weight, finely chopped
20g garlic, peeled weight, finely chopped
400g small young Brussels sprouts, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
300g chicken stock
sea salt
freshly ground white pepper
10g watercress puree to add colour

Method
In a heavy based pan gently melt the butter and sauté the shallot and garlic without colour for 5 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts and sauté for another 5 minutes then add the thyme, bay leaf and chicken stock and bring to the simmer. Cook for 20 minutes then remove from the heat and strain, separating the Brussels sprouts from the liquid, but reserving both. Place the Brussels sprouts into a blender and add enough of the poaching liquid to blend and form a smooth puree. Add the watercress puree and adjust the seasoning to taste before passing through a fine sieve. If you are using a Thermomix it may not be necessary to pass it through a fine sieve.

Butter poached Southern Rocklobster ingredients
300g cold unsalted butter, cubed
60g water
green rocklobster tail from 1 x 2kg plus Southern Rocklobster
2g Sea salt, or to taste

Method
In a small saucepan bring the water to the boil then immediately add the cubes of butter, one at a time and whisk over a low flame until all of the butter has emulsified.
De–vein the tail and divide the green meat into 150g main course portions and put into individual bags with some of the butter emulsion and a pinch of salt, cryovac on high and immediately refrigerate. The Southern Rocklobster is cooked to order.

Brussels Sprouts ingredients
12 small Brussels sprouts
300g Southern Rocklobster tail meat, chilled
140ml cream, chilled
1 lemon rind, finely grated
salt and white pepper

Method
Peel away outer layers of Brussels sprouts and use to form the outer casing to hold the Southern Rocklobster mousse. Chill the bowl of a blender and add the Southern Rocklobster and blend quickly until a smooth puree has formed, then add the cream and grated lemon rind and place into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle.
Meanwhile pair up Brussels sprout leaves in 3’s and begin to form, leaving a small gap to pipe in the Southern Rocklobster mousse. When they are full, wrap each one in a small roll of plastic wrap and twist tight on each end. Steam for 5 minutes then unwrap and toss in lemon juice and olive oil, seasoning well.

Lemon jelly ingredients
100g strained lemon juice
300g clarified fish stock
4g agar agar

Method
Combine lemon juice with fish stock and agar agar and bring to the boil. Strain and pour into a shallow tray and refrigerate until set. Remove and cut into 4mm squares.

Brussels sprout and parmesan salad ingredients
100g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
100g tiny Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed and finely sliced
strained lemon juice, to taste
EV olive oil
sea salt

Method
Combine the Reggiano and Brussels sprouts and make a simple vinaigrette to taste with the lemon juice, olive oil and salt.

To assemble dish other ingredients per serve
rosemary flowers
1 de–stemmed Cavalo nero leaf, softened in EVOO
Heat a water bath to 59.5°C and poach a lobster portion for 15 minutes, and rest in a warm place.
Heat up a portion of Brussels sprout puree and spread onto a warm plate. Make a small pile of salad on the puree and place a portion of Rocklobster on top. On each side of the Southern Rocklobster, place a poached Brussels sprout.
Discharge the parmesan foam in two piles and top with crumbled parmesan wafers. Garnish the dish with some cubes of lemon jelly, rosemary flowers, fried Cavalo Nero leaves and give it all a good dash of extra virgin olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper.

Pickled quince

Quince add a delicate perfume to the kitchen larder in late Autumn. This simple recipe produces a white poached quince flesh with sweet and sour flavours. Serve with rich pork dishes or confit duck as a foil to their fattiness.

Time: 7 ½ hours, 30 minutes preparation, 7 hours cooking

2 quince
50 ml cider vinegar
30 ml water
1 tablespoon Honey
1cm of vanilla pod
½ Cinnamon stick
¼ teaspoon whole allspice
1 clove
½ teaspoon mixed black and white peppercorns
1 bay leaf
½ star anise

Attach your Polyscience Sous Vide Chef Series to a container, fill to maximum mark with water. Set the Chef series sous vide to 77.5⁰C and allow to preheat.

Wash the quince then peel and cut in half, I leave the seeds in. Place in a vacuum pouch with the vinegar, water, honey and vanilla. Using a square of baking paper wrap the remaining ingredients to form a sachet and place this in the vacuum pouch away from the quince so that it will not damage the flesh when vacuum sealed. Vacuum seal the pouch at full vacuum and cook in the water bath for seven hours.

by Dale Prentice “At home with Sous Vide”

Maintaining your Henkelman Vacuum machine

Henkelman vacuum machines provide the greatest advancements in packaging technology available. As a world class leader in vacuum packaging, Henkelman’s commitment to you their customer does not stop when you leave the showroom with your new machine.

The built in conditioning cycle in all henkelman bench top vacuum machines is designed to make sure that your vacuum machine gives you years of reliable service in the most demanding environments. This video will take you through what you as the customer can do to keep you Henkelman vacuum packaging machine in top condition.

Sous Vide Australia can assist you with Australia wide support for your Henkelman vacuum machine. Replacement Oil and consumables can be purchased here. You can also follow this schedule to make sure you get the very best from you Henkelman vacuum machine.

Henkelman maintenance Schedule

Packaging Liquids

When packaging moisture-containing products, such as soups and sauces, it is important to closely monitor the vacuuming process. The moment bubbles are formed or the product starts to bubble, you should immediately proceed to the next step in the cycle. See Proceeding to the Next Step in the Cycle on page 19.
By letting products cool down sufficiently prior to starting the vacuuming process, a higher vacuum can be achieved.

When packaging moisture-containing products, it is important to run the pump cleaning program at least once a week. When moisture-containing products are vacuumed on a daily basis, it is recommended to run the pump cleaning program at the end of the day.

Henkelman offers a 3 year warranty on parts and 1 year on labor.

LIMITS AND EXCLUSIONS

This warranty does not apply to:

Damage caused by the user
Damage caused by spillages, corrosion or moisture
Neglect, abuse or misuse, including but not limited to the failure to install or use the products for their normal purpose in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions for usage, failure to properly maintain the vacuum sealers in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, and the failure to use the products in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications
Problems to the pump, such as corrosion or severe pollution and the consequences of it are never covered under warranty
Normal wear and tear
Combination with parts not manufactured or authorized by Henkelman
Modifications or repairs conducted by persons or service centers not authorized by Henkelman
Damage to any products where the model and/or serial number of has been altered, removed or made illegible
Accidents or acts of god or any cause beyond the control of Henkelman

Henkelman Vacuum machines

If you are going to cook sous vide in any kind of serious way, whether for home, a restaurant, hotel or value adding in a butcher shop, a good vacuum packaging machine is you most crucial investment. It is essential that your vacuum machine be built around a quality vacuum pump of a size that suits the chamber of the machine. Busch manufacture some of the most solid vacuum pumps in the world and have many years of proven reliability. You will find a Busch vacuum pump of generous size at the heart of every model in the Henkelman range. We start with the Jumbo range in both a 35 cm and 42 cm seal bar size. A simple, hard working machine, the Jumbo range use a touch pad interface with straight forward timer switching to control the length of the vacuum cycle and sealing. The 16 m³h vacuum pump is powerful enough to reduce your vacuum cycles to 15-25 seconds, allowing high volume consistent use in busy restaurant environments.

If you package for presentation like cheeses or sliced meat, or if you are chasing a little more control over the whole process the Boxer range with either ‘digital programable sensor control’ or the even more ‘Advanced Control System’(ACS) matched with a powerful 21m³h is for you. The 42cm seal bar option comes standard with ACS control giving you 20 programmable options, to control vacuum settings, seal time and soft air release. The ACS controller also has USB interface for both programming, software updates and printer control. The Boxer 52 is our biggest bench top vacuum machine with twin 40cm seal bars, one on the left and one on the right. If volume is your key to success the Digital control Boxer 52 is for you, able to vacuum and seal multiple bags each time.

For Hotels, large butchers and meat works our Marlin and Polar range come in a large range of configuration to suit your specific needs. The largest machine in our range boasts 6 meters of sealing bar with a 300 m³h pump in a swing over design.

We offer a full range of factory options including custom seal bar placement, H²O sensors and gas flushing on Boxer, Marlin and Polar ranges.

There are a lot of vacuum packaging sealer on the market, but like your car, a machine that works that hard needs quarterly service and support. Buy quality from a dealer that can support your investment. Be very careful on pump size, if it is under 12 m³h it is not suitable even for the smallest restaurant. Cleanliness and hygiene are the next most important features, make sure your seal bars are wireless and that the chamber is easily cleaned, spacing boards should not have screwed on feet and avoid air bag raised seal bars as they are impossible to keep clean.

Made in the Netherlands, built to last and to be used, Henkelman vacuum machines are the best around when it comes to reliability and quality for price.

A chat with Andrew Ballard

Chef Talk

I had the great pleasure to talk with the Andrew Ballard this week. Andrew is the chef and owner of Simmer Culinary, which is involved in a large range of events including staging pop up restaurants and haute cuisine private events. Possibly the most challenging part of Andrew’s role is running all kitchen operations for large events nationally around Australia such as The Good Food and Wine Show, Taste Festivals and The Cake Bake & Sweets Show.

I asked Andrew a few questions about his career highlights and the benefits of sous vide cooking using the Oliso SmartHub, where you’ll often see him carrying it about with him…

Tell me about yourself and being a chef?

I started cooking at 16 years old, and have never considered another field to work in. I absolutely love what I do! Cookery offers me something new every day. I love that I am always learning, and have developed a real passion for creating tasty food that does more than just provide sustenance. In fact, professionally cooked food is a great conversation starter, whether it be ethical, artistic or technical. I think it’s amazing that modern industry provides chefs with the platform to start these discussions.

What is Simmer Culinary?

Simmer Culinary is a really diverse company. I like to have my finger in many pies as diversity is the key to keeping life interesting. We run pop up events and restaurants around Australia and New Zealand. As well as running the kitchen operations Australia wide for large events such as Good food and Wine Show, Cake Bake and Sweets Show, and Regional Flavours among others.

As a part of Simmer Culinary we developed the G.D.K (Gastronomique Development Kitchen). The purpose of this part of the business is to “give back” to the industry that has given me so much, and to provide assistance to help any other chefs’ train for cookery competitions at all levels. I also still like to compete as much as possible.

What is the standout competition in your career?

I have always enjoyed competing in culinary competitions and after 25 years I don’t see myself stopping any time soon. This year has been a big one for me personally. I travelled to Guong Zhoa, China to represent New Zealand in the Bocuse D’or Asia pacific finals, and competed at the Australian Culinary Challenge and was awarded “Most Outstanding Chef”. Now I am looking forward to travelling back to Shanghai to take part in the Asian Culinary Cup.

I believe culinary competitions are a great way to push yourself creatively, mentally and physically as a chef. Competitions are to cookery what the catwalk is to fashion. They are the proving ground for new and interesting techniques whilst still recognising the traditions that have formed the bedrock of our industry.

Why the Oliso SmartHub ™?

I love the Oliso as it is a compact unit that operates flawlessly. One of my favourite elements of the machine is that it comes to temperature very quickly and when the food product is added to the water it recovers to the optimum temperature really fast. I have other sous vide circulators that I love, but for competitions especially I prefer to work with the Oliso as it is more compact in design and therefore occupies a smaller footprint on the bench top.

Would you use it at home?

All the time! I probably use my Oliso at home more for long cooking items such as pork belly, etc., where I can leave the unit unattended for extended periods. I don’t have to be worried about evaporation due to the good seal the lid has with the actual water bath. Plus it also means I can whip the bath off the top when I have finished and use the induction cooker underneath to finish the item. So there’s less mess, less cleaning, and more eating.

What do you cook in it?

I really like Fatty king Salmon, cooked @43ºC. I’m also a big fan of making Mason jar cream brulee at home. Without the pump the jars don’t get jostled around as much as they do in circulator style machines.

Rochelle Godwin of Mörk Chocolate talks about the Smoking Gun Pro

I had the great pleasure to talk with the store manager Rochelle Godwin at Mörk Chocolate about how they use… Read more

I had the great pleasure to talk with the store manager Rochelle Godwin at Mörk Chocolate about how they use the Breville|Commercial Smoking Gun Pro to create their renowned theatrical (and now BuzzFeed-famous) Campfire Hot Chocolate: a smoke-enhanced hot chocolate that you’ll smell before you see! A Smoking Gun Pro charged with Beechwood produces the smoke responsible for the campfire element of this drink: a smoke-filled stemless wine glass, served with a handmade pottery beaker of hot chocolate, volcanic salt and a blow torched marshmallow on a stick (your edible spoon). It’s mouth watering just thinking about it!

I asked Rochelle a few questions about the origins of Mörk and some of the speciality hot chocolate (or iced chocolate in summer!) drinks they have on offer at their brew house in North Melbourne, and why they switched from the Polyscience Smoking Gun to the Breville|Commercial Smoking Gun Pro…

So, tell me about the origins of Mörk?

Husband-and-wife team Josefin and Kiril founded Mörk chocolate as a wholesale company in 2012. They originally met in Sweden, where Josefin comes from a chocolatier back ground and Kiril from a barista background.

When they arrived in Australia Josefin and Kiril realised that the chocolate scene in Australia was full of over sweetened drinking chocolates and there was little of the deeper, more savoury adult experience of cacao that they were familiar with from Europe. Mörk means ‘dark’ in Swedish, and their product is found in many of the leading coffee roasting houses and serious cafes in Australia. But if you want the full experience, then you need to visit the Errol Street shop front in North Melbourne.

I was greeted with a big bright smile and an insistence that I must have a hot chocolate even though I am dairy intolerant. The offer was a choice Mörk chocolate mixed with house made hazelnut milk, macadamia milk, oat milk, or coconut oat milk spiced with cardamom and cinnamon.

I chose the ‘Whole Nut’, which is a dairy free, gluten free, hazelnut hot chocolate served with a wafer-thin hazelnut biscuit made of the hazelnut meal used to make the milk, mixed with cacao nibs, pressed into a mould and baked. The moisture from the milk process and the oil in the nuts bind it together to make a super thin crisp wafer and zero waste. The wafers are not sold on their own as they have to make the hazelnut milk to make the wafer. The team at Mörk strive for zero waste, which is impressive.

How long have you worked at Mörk?

I have been with Mörk almost two years. So yes, I have made lots of Campfire hot chocolates during this time.

Campfire Chocolate was created using the Polyscience Smoking Gun. Why did you move to the Breville|Commercial Smoking Gun Pro?

With the old Polyscience Smoking Gun we use to have three smoking guns on rotation. We were always anxious that it would stop working in the middle of a rush, and every morning we had this arduous routine of cleaning them. Then after BuzzFeed picked up the Campfire Chocolate clip, the video went viral with over 21 million views. The Polyscience Gun was too hard to use to meet the demand, so Josefin knew we had to do something.

The new gun from Breville|Commercial is one hundred times better!

With the old Polyscience Smoking Gun we used to get stains on our hands and fingers, while the Breville|Commercial Smoking Gun Pro is clean to use and so now are our hands too. We are now just using the one Breville|Commercial gun. The other one has still not come out of the box, and we have it as back up.

The Breville|Commercial Smoking Gun cleaning is so much easier too. At the end of each day we twist the stainless-steel barrel off and put it through the dishwasher. We replace the mesh filter about once a week and that is it. Throughout the day the oils that come out of wood as it burns do not taint the quality of the smoke giving a cleaner white smoke. You also don’t get any of the darker colour from the oils, and it has a lot more power which is awesome when you have to make a lot of campfires. The extra power means it is quicker to light, faster and cleaner to use.

Where did the idea to smoke a hot chocolate come from?

For Josefin, campfires are a nostalgic experience of Sweden that translates well to the Australian life style. The drink is interactive and has all the childhood memories of campfires and toasted marshmallows. When BuzzFeed picked up the Campfire Hot Chocolate we were making over a hundred a day. It has slowed a little more recently with around 40 a day on weekends and 20-30 on the quieter weekdays. On a busy day the room fills with this heady sent of chocolate (of course), together with caramelised sugar from toasting the marshmallows and a faint cloud of Birchwood smoke. It’s so reminiscent of late nights camping.

It is nice to see some of the other amazing beverages and treats at Mörk gaining some interest as well.

Anthony Iscaro of Carne Grill

Anthony Iscaro is a very talented Melbourne chef, who originally trained in the beautiful Yarra Valley, then moved on to… Read more

Anthony Iscaro is a very talented Melbourne chef, who originally trained in the beautiful Yarra Valley, then moved on to a role as sous chef at Yarra Valley Lodge and The Melbourne Arts Centre before returning to the North-Eastern suburbs of Melbourne to launch the Eastridge Entertainment Precinct. This is a top notch development really lights up the region in terms of its class and gourmet offerings.
We asked Anthony a few questions about the benefits of sous vide cooking and how he uses it at the Carne Grill, which is one of the best steak and meat restaurants (let alone seafood and other grill dishes) in Melbourne, and some of the other great bars and cafes he looks after.

What is your role at Eastridge Precinct?
My role at Eastridge Precinct is Executive Chef looking after the restaurant Carne Grill, The Precinct Bar and also our café The Bosses Boots.
When did you first start using sous vide as a method of cookery?
I started using sous Vide back in 2009 when I was introduced to it by my Executive Chef Dale Prentice at Stones of the Yarra Valley. My passion for local produce and knowledge of the Yarra Valley combined with my impeccable attention to detail lends itself really well to sous vide cooking, as it is so accurate.
What equipment do you use?
I currently use the indestructible Polyscience Chef Series circulators. They are perfect industrial kitchen appliances and you really feel the quality compared to the cheaper models. They’re also super powerful and quickly heats up and maintains water temperature consistently.
What are you cooking sous vide at Carne Grill?
We currently use the sous vide for making our pork scratching for the bar, lamb short ribs, chicken ribs, our Pedro Ximénez beef cheeks and beef short rib.
Take a sneak peak at the Carne Grill menu. All dishes are worth a try!

Cheers Anthony

Garen Maskal Talks Sous Vide

Garen Maskal is a great chef and one of the partners behind Black Toro in Glen Waverley, Sezar in Melbourne, and most recently Shukah in Windsor. Garen first saw sous vide cooking whilst working as sous chef for Teage Ezard in 2011 when he had the opportunity to visit The Stars, Black by Ezard steak restaurant in Sydney. Many of the Steaks were pre-cooked using sous vide to achieve the perfect “doneness” before being finished on the open grill. On returning to Ezard in Melbourne, sous vide was introduced and Garen became a master.

We asked Garen a few questions about the benefits of sous vide cooking and how he uses it in his kitchens…

What gear do you use at your restaurants?

We use Henkelman Jumbo 35 vacuum machines at Black Toro and Shuka and an old Oved VM-12 we inherited when we purchased Sezar (formally St. Peters Seafood restaurant) which Sous Vide Australia restored for us. We use Polyscience Chef Series circulators on Custom Cambro tanks at all three venues.

Why sous vide?

All three restaurants have small kitchens, with Black Toro managing up to three seatings a day. We run a tight ship, and all our chefs are well trained at our venues, but with the organisation of cooking many items sous vide, it allows us to serve consistent, quality controlled produce at a fast pace. We also use sous vide machines to cook overnight or for extended periods of time, which makes us feel like someone is working 24 hours a day and helping us meet such high demand.

Your restaurants have such a diverse cuisine. Is sous vide a “one size fits all” solution?

I find sous vide suitable for many different purposes without compromising quality and flavour when used correctly. At Toro we cook Hispanic food which sous vide works perfectly for, as it caters well for slow cooked and pulled meats easily. At both Sezar and Shukah we cook modern Armenian food, and sous vide allows us to cook spiced vegetables, meats and seafood perfectly before finishing over charcoal and wood fired grills.

How has sous vide changed the way you cook?

Sous vide has definitely changed the way I approach cooking and menu writing for the better. As I can’t be across three venues at all times, simple instructions with our sous vide cooking allow food to be cooked consistently and perfectly every time. It’s opened the doors to doing things we might not have been able to achieve due to time constraints whether in prep or on the line.

Got a Question?

If you would like to find out more about how sous vide can change the way you cook, please get in touch with our friendly team by calling (03) 8560 6360 or email [email protected].

Sous Vide Course with Dale Prentice

February Newsletter 2020

Welcome to our February newsletter and to the end of the season!

You’re summer crop might be enjoying a final stint, but because it is warmer than summers 10 years ago, you might need to change what you normally do in February. You may find the tomatoes, eggplant and capsicum and still chugging along nicely.

In any case, it’s time to start thinking about preparing your garden for autumn planting. Try lettuce, spinach, leek, silverbeet, and some Asian greens right about now. Broccoli, leeks and spring onions could be worth the effort as the nights get cooler.

We have also put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, and great product reviews this month, which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

Take Your Food Smoking to the Next Level – Upgrade to the Smoking Gun Pro
What’s Probe Control™ – And why Probe Control is better than using a thermometer?
Sous Vide Australia Tips – You can do some really amazing things with the Smoking Gun Pro
Book Your Next Sous Vide Cooking Class – For beginners and advanced chefs
Sous Vide Australia Recipe Ideas – Barbecued Chicken with Moroccan Spices

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

All the best,

Dale and Libby Prentice

Take Your Food Smoking to the Next Level

Upgrade to the Smoking Gun Pro 🔥💨

The Breville | PolyScience Smoking Gun is a cult-favourite kitchen tool that’s been updated and we can guarantee that it’s well worth the investment.

Despite its ability to turn any dish or beverage into a showstopper, the original Smoking Gun feels a bit cheap and disposable, and maybe a fun gadget to use every now and then.

The step up to the Pro version makes a massive difference, and its large robust housing has been designed specifically to withstand commercial use, and is perfect for the time-poor chef or bartender looking for a shortcut to that smoky flavour.

The Smoking Gun Pro is also much easier to control than it’s previous version. The new variable speed setting makes a huge difference, which means it can not only go faster, but you can produce a much longer, deeper smoke out of it too. It’s also really easy to dissemble and many of the components are dishwasher safe.

If on the other hand, you’ve never heard of a Smoking Gun and are now considering one, then save your pennies a little longer and go the Pro – you won’t regret it!

Learn More >>

What is Probe Control™?

And why Probe Control is better than using a thermometer?

A question that we often get is… “Why is the temperature of my pan different than the temperature of my food?”

Simply put, the temperature of your cooking vessel is not always the same temperature as what is inside of it. If you have a small volume of liquid such as a 1-litre saucepan, their temperatures may quickly align. If you place a 20 Litre stock pot on the same burner, it will take far longer to heat that volume. It is also much harder to maintain a given temperature due to ambient factors and evaporative cooling.

Let’s switch gears and use a familiar analogy…

Consider heating / air conditioning. If you set your house to 22°C and the heat or cooling system turns on, it will blow very hot or very cold air to get you to your set point (22°C) quickly. The air coming out of the vents is not 22°C. If it were, it would take a very long time to reach equilibrium, if at all.

The same rules apply here. Because of the unique programming of the Control Freak, this is where we can deploy Probe Control™, which is designed to automatically monitor and adjust the temperature of your pan / pot in order to maintain your desired temperature.

Most induction units have a simple on/off control and which is why you need to constantly adjust them when you add or remove food. This saves time and keeps the cooking process in control. 🍳⏰

Probe Control is definitely one of the most unique and exciting features of the Control ºFreak. If you want to know more about this state of the art kitchen appliance then please visit our website.

Learn More >>

Sous Vide Australia Tips

You can do some really amazing things with the Smoking Gun Pro

Apart from adding natural smoke flavour to meat and fish, we’ve seen chefs use it across the menu in subtle ways, like adding nuances of flavour to vegetables, cheese and butter, or adding light whispers of smoke to help deepen the flavour of desserts.

Bartenders can even take their beverages to the next level and use the Pro to smoke a glass, the booze, or an entire cocktail to create different levels of smokiness. 🍹😋

Another novel way to amaze your guests would be to smoke in a carafe or decanter, where it will hover in there for a good few minutes. Then you just have to pour and the smoke will flow out on top of the alcohol for a wonderful effect. We used this method to create a smoked champagne cocktail with strawberry and mint, and the result is simply mind-blowing!

Learn More >>

Book Your Next Sous Vide Cooking Class

For beginners and advanced chefs 👨‍🍳

Whether you’re an aspiring chef or you’re just into the culinary arts, you might love to take some sous vide cooking classes. If you live in Melbourne and surrounds, then come and check out what’s happening at THE UPPER ROOM – the only sous vide cooking school in Australia!

Talented sous vide chef, Dale Prentice, is leading the way to enhance or finesse your skills in the kitchen with an advanced sous vide class for the experienced chef coming up on 16th March, and a class for the Home Chef being held on 4th April.

No matter your flavour, there is a great choice of team building cooking classes to choose from too. Enjoy with your teammates or have fun with friends and family, with every class ending in a delicious meal. 🍅 🍆🍮🍷

Plus you’ll receive a $20 gift voucher towards any appliance or cookbook from Sous Vide Australia. 🎁

Learn More >>

Sous Vide Australia Recipe Idea

Barbecued Chicken with Moroccan Spices 🍗😋

Enjoy the last days of summer with this beautiful recipe. This family favourite uses the process of sous vide to give a whole chicken a wonderful depth of flavour, with just a hint of fragrant Moroccan spices. The first step of gently cooking the meat inside the vacuum pouch releases the juices from the chicken, in turn creating an aromatic sauce that also helps keep the meat moist.

You can either finish off the chicken on a medium to hot BBQ, which will give it a delicate smokiness and crisp the skin, or you can cut the corner off the vacuum pouch and use The Smoking Gun Pro to infuse a smoky flavour to the meat before crisping the skin under a hot grill.

This delicious summer recipe can be found in “At Home with Sous Vide” by Dale Prentice.

Buy Now >>

January Newsletter 2020

Sous Vide Newsletter

Welcome to this month’s Sous Vide Newsletter.

Wow, these past few months have been history making. Like all Australians, we’ve been saddened by the devastation that the fires have brought across large parts of the country. It’s been a little overwhelming to say the least, but we’ve been inspired by the incredible efforts of our volunteer firefighters and the people whose homes and communities have been affected.

Please do your part to get involved, as it’s a great way to support regional communities and support those directly impacted by the ongoing bushfires across the state.

Sous Vide Australia will also contribute by donating 10% of all sales of our new cooking classes at The Upper Room coming up in February and March. Funds raised will be sent to The Bushfire Appeal.

All the best,

Dale and Libby Prentice

101 Sous Vide Cooking for the Home Chef

Kick start your sous vide cooking journey 👨‍🍳

A not-to-be-missed hands on workshop experience that’s designed to be fun, interactive and educational! You’ll enjoy a 3 Hour cooking class with Dale Prentice to learn the art of sous vide cooking and create some delicious recipes, which will include a vegetarian starter, how to cook red meat, vegetables and a fabulous dessert.

Date: Saturday, 8 February 2020
Time: 10:00am – 1:00pm pm AEDT
Where: The Upper Room, Lilydale VIC

Plus you’ll receive a $20 gift voucher towards any appliance or cookbook from Sous Vide Australia. 🎁

Book Now >>

Learn the Art of Spherification

Create molecular food spheres with ease 🍡

The best way to start experimenting with molecular gastronomy techniques is to do an introductory workshop. That’s why we’ve designed the perfect class for chefs and home cooks alike to perfect the art of spherification.

Working with Master Chef Dale Prentice, you’ll not only learn the art of molecular spherification, but you’ll create some delicious recipes, which will include the use of food spheres as canapés, vegetarian garnish, meat garnish and a fabulous dessert.

Date: Monday, 17 February 2020
Time: 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm AEDT
Where: The Upper Room, Lilydale VIC

Plus you’ll receive a $20 gift voucher towards any appliance or cookbook from Sous Vide Australia. 🎁

Book Now >>

101 Sous Vide Cooking for the Chef

Develop your sous vide cooking skills 👩‍🍳

Calling all chefs! This is your chance to take your Sous Vide cooking to the next level. This workshop has been designed just for you!

You’ll enjoy a 3 Hour cooking class with Dale Prentice to learn the art of sous vide cooking and create some delicious recipes, which will include vegetarian, grains, preparing meat for service, vegetables and pickling and a fabulous dessert.

Date: Monday, 16 March 2020
Time: 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm AEDT
Where: The Upper Room, Lilydale VIC

Plus you’ll receive a $20 gift voucher towards any appliance or cookbook from Sous Vide Australia. 🎁

Book Now >>

New Sous Vide Cooking School Opening Soon

I wanted to let you know about what we’ve been up to lately.

As you already know, we are a community focused, family based business that specialises in providing local access to the highest quality and specifically designed sous vide cooking equipment, and cooking experiences that bring people together.

Both my wife, Libby, and I have been working behind the scenes in an effort to launch an exciting new collaborative space and cooking school in Melbourne with the goal of exploring new ideas and to do recipe development with the latest sous vide and molecular equipment. We’ve called it The Upper Room – created to help wickedly talented chefs or aspiring home cooks to cook more, cook better, and get incredible results every time.

To be honest, we’ve actually been working on this project for the last six years but have found it increasingly difficult to gain access to appropriate training venues around Australia. That’s why we decided to create a purpose built space for our community. There is so much discussion about where chefs can share and collaborate and learn from each other. The benefits of collaborative learning at The Upper Room will go a long way by supporting chefs who operate in an often-stressful environment by providing a creative, fun and relaxed environment.

There is so much discussion about where chefs can share and collaborate and learn from each other. The benefits of collaborative learning at The Upper Room will go a long way to supporting chefs who operate in an often-stressful environment by providing a creative, fun and relaxed environment.

For the home cook, sous vide can be quite a daunting and technical undertaking. The Upper Room will totally transform your mindset by creating a simple, friendly, hands-on environment where you can cook sous vide with greater confidence.

For those in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, then this space will also provide an affordable studio for book photography, hosting cooking classes and YouTube content creation.

To achieve this, I’ve started a crowd funding project on Pozible to help raise the $15,000 we need to create Australia’s first sous vide kitchen and cooking school.

In the lead up to our launch, we are offering DISCOUNTED products and cooking classes, plus we have some amazing dining experiences.

I hope you’ll consider backing this great initiative so I can achieve these goals!

Thank you!

Dale Prentice

December Newsletter 2019

Sous Vide Newsletter

It’s that time of year again and Sous Vide Australia would like to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas. We hope you find some time to relax amongst all the eating and drinking and spending time with friends and family. Enjoy the holiday festivities and may the coming year be filled with joy, happiness and lots of delicious food! 🍓🍷😋❤️

In this issue we have loads of Christmas gift ideas that won’t break the budget. And if you get your order in as early as possible then we’ll do our best to deliver it before Christmas. 🎅🎁

Just a reminder again that our office and warehouse will be closed for the Christmas and New Year season from Friday 20th December and will reopen on Monday 13th January 2020. 📝 During this time there will be skeletal staff available to assist with enquiries and to dispatch any orders.

Make sure you stay in touch as we’re very much looking forward to sharing with you some amazing new sous vide products and fantastic recipes in the New Year.

All the best,

Dale and Libby Prentice

The Amazing Spherificator

The perfect gift for the foodie or chef in your life 👨‍🍳

It’s okay to play with your food when using the Spherificator. This amazing kitchen appliance is a world first that allows you to create hundreds or caviar-shaped pearls using virtually any ingredient.

The spheres explode in your mouth for a truly incredible experience. Just think – You could add cucumber melon pearls to a cocktail that will instantly give an extra burst of refreshing flavour for those hot summer days. Or create ginger caviar for you next sushi party. Or you could make your tacos a little fancier with some delicious salsa pearls. 😋

It adds colour, fun, and flavour to any food or drink, and party guests are sure to obsess over the delicious spheres. The options are endless with the Spherificator with this nifty device in hand.

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Learn More >>

Christmas Cookbook Ideas

At Home With Sous Vide – By Dale Prentice 📖❤️

If you’re looking for a great cookbook this Christmas, then we highly recommend At Home with Sous Vide, where chef, teacher and passionate sous vide advocate Dale Prentice, shares more than 70 recipes.

It’s full of sous vide tips and guides, and it also contains some truly mind-blowing recipes from world-renowned chefs. Each recipe is beautifully photographed and broken down into step-by-step components. From simple salads to easy dinner recipes for beginners to more elaborate dishes for the confident cook.

Get your hard copy today by visiting the website.

Learn More >>

Smoking Gun Pro

Create new culinary sensations with smoke! 💨

The PolyScience Smoking Gun is loved by professional chefs, mixologists, and home cooks alike. As a flexible hand-held device, it is easy to use for adding natural smoke flavour and aroma to meat, fish, vegetables, desserts, beverages and cocktails easily.

Plus the all new Smoking Gun Pro has seen notable improvements from the original version to enhance performance, usability and longevity to withstand commercial use, and will certainly make everything better! ✅

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Enquire Now >>

Oliso PRO – VS95A Starter Kit

Reclosable bags ♻️ + great with liquids 💦

Are you looking for vacuum sealer that can do both dry and moist sealing AND doesn’t cost the earth? Then you are going to love the Oliso VS95A Pro Vacuum Sealer!

The Oliso VS95A Vacuum Sealer Starter kit makes it a snap to prepare food pouches for sous vide cooking or food storage. It features revolutionary punch-and-seal technology for a super-airtight seal. Operation is simple with a no-touch start – just insert a bag and the sealer does the rest!

What we love about the VS95A is that design allows you to reseal the same bag over and over, saving you lots of money. Plus it’s the only out-of-chamber vacuum machine that can vacuum product with liquid.

And it makes a fantastic Christmas present too! 🎁

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Learn More >>

Stainless Steel Chef’s Tweezers

Make your dishes look fabulous! ❤️

Clifton Food Range® chefs’ tweezers are designed for aiding the cooking, dressing and presentation of dishes. These tweezers are fast becoming an indispensable piece of equipment for chefs who rely on working quickly with precision. They allow the chef to assemble intricate compositions on the plate with ease and consistency every time.

In this great Christmas set we have included tweezer tongs, micro tweezers and sushi tweezers. They are comfortable to hold, and are made from high quality stainless steel. The micro tweezers will even fit neatly into the sleeve pocket of the chef’s jacket.

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Learn More >>

Vacuum Packing Bags

Extend the life of your food!

Our vacuum sealing bags are designed to extend the shelf life of your dry and wet goods. In combination with a suitable domestic vacuum sealer (or commercial vacuum sealer), the oxygen will be removed from inside the bag, which extends the shelf life of your products or food items.

Many top restaurants use our vacuum sealing bags (or sous vide bags) to serve succulent, tender and juicy meals to their valuable customers.

Just make sure you have enough to last you through the festive season. 🎅 For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Learn More >>

November Newsletter 2019

Sous Vide News

Welcome to the Sous Vide Australia newsletter this month. We’ve got a great new product that we’ve reviewed, giveaways, cooking classes, tips and tricks which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:

Product of the Month – Turn anything into pearls with the Spherificator 🙌
Sous Vide Australia Giveaway – WIN a Spherificator 🎁
Team Cuisine – Breville Corporate Sous Vide Corporate Workshop 👨‍🍳
What’s On This Weekend – Sous Vide Cooking Class for the Home Chef + Italian Festival 🇮🇹🍅
Sous Vide Gardening Tips – November in Your Patch

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

New Product Launch

Turn anything into pearls with the Spherificator 🙌

Whether you’re a foodie, a chef that already has everything, or you’re just a fan of trying new something new, then the Spherificator is just for you! It takes whatever you’re eating to the next level, and if you choose the right type of garnish, the flavour of what you’re eating really comes through.

The Spherificator by Cedarlane allows you to turn virtually any liquid into caviar-shaped pearls or spheres! It is the world’s first automatic pearl former – a hand-held device that will produce up to 500 pearls or spheres per minute. This is a great tool for foodies, chefs, bartenders, cooks and anyone who loves to entertain!

For you gastronomists who have already tried this, say goodbye to your syringes and caviar boxes as the Spherificator makes the process incredibly fast and consistent.

What can you make with the Spherificator? I think the question really is what can’t you make. Coffee, avocado, tomato, cranberry, mint… the possibilities are virtually endless. It really adds a creative element and extra flavour to your dishes.

For more information and to find your nearest stockist please visit our website.

Learn More >>

Sous Vide Australia Giveaway

WIN a Spherificator

You might have a really well-stocked kitchen, but it probably doesn’t have a Spherificator. And you really, really want one, right?!

You can turn virtually any liquid into pearls using the Spherificator. Just think – cheesecake with blackcurrant pearls. Lemon and mint pearls. Even chicken with Tabasco pearls. This super-fun kitchen device will make your modernist cuisine dreams possible.

We’re giving away a Spherificator by Cedarline to one lucky winner and all you have to do to enter is:

FOLLOW @sousvideaust on Instagram 📲
LIKE the Competition Post 👍
TAG a friend who needs one (The more the merrier) 👉

That’s it! Reposts and shares are much appreciated too. 🙏

Entries close Friday, 6th December at 5pm.

The Winner will be announced on Monday, 9th December, and will receive their fabulous new Spherificator just in time for Christmas.

This competition is open to residents of Australia aged 18 years and over.

Good luck everyone!

Team Cuisine

Breville Corporate Sous Vide Corporate Workshop 👨‍🍳

Say no more to boring team events!

A great way to bring your team together and get the best out of them is to give them the occasional opportunity to socially interact without the pressures of their day-to-day job demands. Corporate cooking sessions provide a challenging, yet fun environment that requires problem solving, working together and good communication, with a rewarding and delicious outcome.

Dale Prentice of Sous Vide Australia’s ‘The Upper Room’ cooking school runs corporate cooking workshops and has just recently delivered a well-received Sous Vide cooking workshop for the Breville Sous Vide Design Team at their Sydney head office.

Although Breville’s cooking equipment design team work on creating some of the most amazing kitchen equipment, they rarely work with food and would never cook together. So this was a great opportunity to learn from a professional chef and put new skills to work in the team.

The day started out with three beautifully arranged displays of fruit, meat, vegetables and alcohols. In front of each display were recipes and a plain pen and note pad. As the group gathered, they are divided in to three teams, one for each display. Each team is introduced to the recipes, and then they have to create a workflow and share out the cooking jobs to be completed.

With Dale’s help they were amazed at what they cooked up, and by adding a little bit of healthy competition to the mix made for some extra laughs post cooking.

The Breville session was a 5 hours course that consisted of:

30 minutes to meet great and learn about the session
2.5 Hours of relaxed cooking
30 minutes of mixing the sous vide cocktails and plating our creations
1 hour of eating, comparing and talking food
30 minutes left at the end to clean up

All the tasks were easily completed with some great music vibes to cook along to. The guided cooking of new and different food combined with a shared eating experience is a great way to get people talking and sharing. It’s also a fun and affordable team activity that you can really laugh about. 😂

The Upper Room @Sous Vide Australia run three and five hour immersive cooking experiences for corporate groups by appointment. Book your Christmas function today!

Enquire Now >>

What’s On This Weekend

Sous Vide Cooking Class for the Home Chef + Italian Festival 🇮🇹

If you’re in Melbourne this weekend and stuck for ideas, then we have a great suggestion for you…

From 10am – 1pm this Saturday (16th Nov) we are welcoming anyone and everyone to our Sous Vide Basics Class @ The Upper Room Cooking School. You will need to bring a big smile, an apron, and plenty of enthusiasm. The Class will start with 2 hours of hands on cooking, followed by a sensory evaluation of our efforts over a complimentary glass of wine.

Then in the afternoon you could venture to the Italian Festival called Festa di via Verde in beautiful Healesville, which is only a short drive from The Upper Room. Here you’ll be treated to tomato throwing, cooking demos, food and wine, market stalls and loads of music. The festival also coincides with the spectacular motor event Targa Florio and a mass gathering of 500 car clubs! It will certainly be a grand spectacle when they arrive.

To book your Sous Vide Basics Cooking Class, please click the link below. You won’t regret it!

Get Tickets >>

Sous Vide Australia Gardening Tips

November in Your Patch 🍅

This is probably the busiest month of the year for gardeners with the warmer temperatures making it perfect planting conditions. Cup week is traditionally the ideal time to get your tomatoes into the ground. They’re easy to grow… and very easy to eat, it’s little wonder they are so popular. In the rest of your garden, plants are either busily flowering or pushing out new growth.

Put in everything that loves the heat to grow well. The first thing that comes to mind is basil. Any cold nights and cold soil will set this plant back so feel free with planting basil from now until January.

It’s not too late to plant all the wonderful warm season annuals like eggplant, tomato, chilli, pumpkin, rockmelon, watermelon and capsicum. Get in now or wait until next spring, as they like warm soil and need a long growing season to perform. You can also put in the usual suspects now like celery, corn, beetroot, leek, spring onion and all your favourite herbs!

Watering is a must for most productive vegies and trees. Keep your soil moist by mulching and having plenty of organic matter in your soil. Greywater is fine for your trees and vines ♻️, but you’ll need to look at other ‘safe’ water to harvest for your herbs and vegies. 💦✅

September Newsletter 2019

Sous Vide News

We’re excited to announce that we have set the first sous vide class at Australia’s only sous vide kitchen – The Upper Room.

This class will be small, hands-on, will feature modern Australian cuisine and will be led by Director of Sous Vide Australia, teacher and chef, Dale Prentice. Then we’ll celebrate our delicious and flavoursome food by enjoying our sumptuous feast at the table.

But that’s not all the news we have this month. We’ve also got some great new products that we’ve reviewed, delicious recipes, tips and tricks which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:

3 Hr Sous Vide Basics Cooking Class – With teacher and chef, Dale Prentice
Oliso PRO Vacuum Sealer – Has the power and speed of a professional vacuum sealer
The Bun Mobile’s Pork Belly – By Harold and Christine Fleming, Brisbane
2019 Catalogue Out Now – Get the latest sous vide products and accessories
Sous Vide Australia Gardening Tip – It’s tomatoe season! 🍅

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

3 Hr Sous Vide Basics Cooking Class

With Teacher and Chef, Dale Prentice 👨‍🍳 🍅 🍆🍗

When you cook using the sous vide technique you will achieve absolutely delicious and consistent results every time. The key is in low temperature cooking, which retains more flavour, nutrients and texture in harder to cook meats and vegetables with very little fuss and no mess.

In this not-to-be-missed hands on workshop experience for beginners you’ll enjoy a 3 Hour cooking class with Dale Prentice to learn the art of sous vide cooking and create some delicious recipes, which will include a vegetarian starter, how to cook red meat, vegetables and a fabulous dessert.

The class will have no more than 10 guests to provide the most attentive learning environment, and will finish with sharing a meal from the delicious creations you make.

Plus all participants will receive a $20 Gift Voucher towards any appliance from the Sous Vide Australia store. (Valid for 6 months).

Book Now >>

Oliso PRO Vacuum Sealer

Has the power and speed of a professional vacuum sealer

Every sous vide cooking enthusiast needs to take a look at this out of chamber vacuum sealer called Oliso PRO Vacuum Sealer. We currently stock two different sealers – the Oliso VS95A Vacuum Sealer Starter Kit for the aspiring home cook and the Oliso PRO VS97A Vacuum Sealer, which features a durable carry case and 12 volt DC adapter cord for the chef on the move. 👨‍🍳🏃🏻

What we love about this product is that it uses revolutionary punch and seal technology with liquid detection to provide next level vacuum sealing. The Oliso PRO Vacuum Sealer seals food automatically. Also, the Oliso vacuum sealer bags makes the vacuum sealing process easier and their reusability feature makes them economical as well. It’s super light and the size of this product is so small that it even fits in a drawer.

The Oliso PRO Vacuum Sealer is also a really good deal with respect to its price. The quality of the product is high. The quality of vacuum seal is also better, which can compare with any high-end food saver model. The maintenance cost is very low as the vacuum seal bags can be reused 10+ times. Considering these features, the price of Oliso Vacuum Sealer is spot on. ✅

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

The Bun Mobile’s Pork Belly

By Harold and Christine Fleming, Brisbane

Back in 2012, veteran chef Harold Fleming and wife Christine started selling handmade steamed buns from The Bun Mobile, Brisbane’s first gourmet food truck. Delivering high-end food at street-level prices, The Bun Mobile boast a fusion of world flavours with an exotic twist all made from local ingredients. And this steamed bun with pork belly, sugared peanuts, orange and ginger hoisin sauce was clearly our favourite. ❤️

You can find this delicious recipe in “At Home with Sous Vide” by Dale Prentice. Buy online now by clicking the link below.

Buy Now >>

2019 Catalogue Out Now

Get the latest sous vide products and accessories 📲

You can now download the latest Sous Vide Australia Commercial Catalogue. Inside you will find over 70 pages of our latest products featuring immersion circulators, vacuum packaging machines, molecular cooking tools, food smoking appliances, plus so much more.

View the brochure as a PDF on your device right now or email us at [email protected] to receive a traditional printed brochure, delivered straight to your door.

Download Now >>

Sous Vide Australia Gardening Tip

It’s tomato season! 🍅

With the weather warming up nicely, there’s no better place to be than the backyard. October is a huge month in the patch. With so many varieties to plant, you’ll be struggling to get it all done. So let’s start with everyone’s favourite – tomatoes. This is the moment we have all be waiting for. Don’t forget their mates Basil and French Marigolds, and also good with chives, onion, parsley and carrots. They are great companions, and no tomato patch is complete without them.

August Newsletter 2019

Sous Vide News

We’re excited to announce that we have achieved our $15,000 goal! So many wonderful and generous people have opened their hearts to help us reach this big milestone. Thank you so much!! It’s been amazing to feel so much love coming from so many different directions. We truly are blessed to be part of such a great sous vide community. Now, thanks to such giving hearts, we have all the funds that we need to complete The Upper Room – Australia’s first Sous Vide kitchen.

For those of you who purchased rewards and gift vouchers through Pozible, then you should receive these in the mail by next week, and some of you may have received them already. If you purchased a Sous Vide Gift Pack, then these will take just a little bit longer and we thank you for your patience. Classes and dinners will be delivered after the build is complete and the Yarra Ranges Health department have given their thumbs up. We expect it to take two more weeks to complete the fit out.

The space will also be available for catered meetings, menu and product development, food photography and video, and we will also be working on some secret dinners with guest chefs. 👨‍🍳 📷 ❤️

In the meantime, please enjoy our monthly newsletter where we have put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, industry news, tips and tricks, and product reviews which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:

Want to Learn the Art of Sous Vide, Molecular Gastronomy or Spherification? – Cooking Classes Are Coming!
Chef Talk – A chat with Source Dining’s Quinn Spencer
Source Dining Chef’s Recipe – Rockwood Cottage Lamb
PolyScience Anti Griddle – Cool, creamy centres and crunchy surfaces
Sous Vide Tips – Master technique: cook and chill

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Want to Learn the Art of Sous Vide, Molecular Gastronomy or Spherification?

Cooking Classes Are Coming Soon! 🍅 🍆🍗

We will be running the first sous vide, molecular gastronomy and spherification classes on several dates between September and Christmas so that you can choose a date and time that suits. This applies to anyone that has already purchased a class via the Pozible campaign and any new people that are interested in attending.

All classes will be no bigger than 10 guests to provide the most attentive learning environment. The Upper Room is a hospitality space and all classes will finish with sharing a meal from the delicious creations.

We will also run a range of sous vide classes, so you can choose one that suits your experience and interests, including:

Sous Vide for the Home Cook
The Sous Vide Vegetarian
Sous Vide BBQ
Sous Vide for Chefs
Advanced Sous Vide

Other classes available include:

Spherify – The Art of Molecular Food Spherification
Molecular Techniques
New Age Cooking

We will notify you in the coming weeks with more information and you will be able to book classes directly through Eventbrite. Again, THANKYOU for believing in us and being a fantastic community!

Enquire Now >>

Chef Talk 👨‍🍳

A chat with Source Dining’s Quinn Spencer

Source Dining Chef’s Recipe

Rockwood Cottage Lamb – By Quinn Spencer, Head Chef, Source Dining, Kyneton

If anyone has had the pleasure of venturing up to Source Dining in Kyneton, then you’ll fall in love with this beautiful, impressive dining setting. The exceptional local, seasonal produce are used to create a wholesome, yet refined dining experience. Fortunately I was able to get my hands on their delicious Rockwood Cottage Lamb recipe. Head Chef, Quinn Spencer, has masterfully created a succulent seared rump, with an insanely good croquette of neck, garnished with green onion, beautiful herbs and holy goat fromage frais.

Here’s a word of warning however, this recipe is not for the faint hearted. You’ll need a couple of days to prepare this dish, but the end result is simply divine.

Get Recipe >>

PolyScience Anti Griddle Flash Freeze

Cool, creamy centres and crunchy surfaces ❄️😋

The Polyscience Anti Griddle is for serious home cooks, chefs and mixologists. This is one major piece of equipment that not many people will need or use. But for the few that want the top of line equipment for the fanciest recipes, this is the only model you should consider. In fact, Polyscience developed the anti-Griddle for famed Alinea chef, Grant Achatz.

The anti griddle flash freezes food through placing food on a plate that is -34.4°C. This enables you to quickly take sauces, creams, mousses, or whatever you can imagine from liquid to a semi frozen or completely frozen treat with varying textures. Go from a thin crunchy shell on the outside to a creamy frozen interior in just seconds.

It’s perfect for creating garnishes for raw or chilled preparation that help keep them cool. You could also chill salads with slowly melting dressings, or use it for cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. The flash freezing process even provides guests with a unique, personal and exciting experience.

Let your culinary imagination run wild! For more info and to find your nearest stockist visit our website.

Find Out More >>

Sous Vide Tip

Master Technique – Cook and Chill

Pre-cooking certain foods Sous Vide such as chicken thighs allows you to not only get ahead on M.E.P., but also ensures that they are perfectly cooked and safe to eat. Foods that have been cooked and chilled only need to be reheated at the last minute and possibly seared to have a delicious, crispy, exterior. Cook at 73°C for 3 hours followed by an hour of ice bath.

May Newsletter 2019

Sous Vide Newsletter

Ok, it’s official, winter is on our doorstep. And while it may seem easier to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and a good book, it is the perfect time to get amongst it in the veggie patch! There is a sense of hibernation for a lot of us but wherever you are in this nation it’s time to don the boots and get to it.

There are so many good winter crops to plant – think about some leeks, rocket, beetroot, celery, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, onions, kale, and spinach. Stick in some spuds too. They’re easy to grow and incredibly rewarding. Don’t forget about sweet potatoes, they are great fun to grow as well!

This month we have also put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, industry news, tips and tricks, and product reviews which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:

Vacuum Sealing is so Easy with the Oliso Pro – Keep your food fresher for longer 🍅
Foodservice Australia 2019 – Claim your FREE ticket for this exclusive 3-Day event 🎫
We Want You! – Come work with us at Foodservice Australia 2019 🙏
Recipe Idea – Sous Vide Dashi glazed melt in the mouth lamb shoulder 😋
Sous Vide Tip – Vacuum packaging reduces food waste and your energy bill ♻️

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Vacuum sealing is so Easy with the Oliso Pro

Keep your food FRESHER for LONGER 🍅 🍆🍗

Easy to clean and simple to use, Oliso’s Smart Vacuum Sealer is powerful enough for commercial use, yet compact enough that it can easily fit in a drawer. Using reusable, dishwasher-safe BPA-free bags, this hands-free vacuum sealing system makes it easy to keep foods fresh longer in the fridge or freezer—and it also opens up a world of options for sous vide. Seal dry or wet foods using different detection modes, or use the accessory setting with bottle stoppers and jar sealers. A “stop vacuum” feature even protects fragile items, so you can vacuum-seal most anything without worry.

The best part is that operating the Oliso Pro is so simple with a no-touch start – just insert a bag and the sealer does the rest. What more could you possibly want?!

We have two of the Oliso Pro Vacuum sealers on offer:

Oliso Pro VS95A Smart Vacuum Sealer Starter Kit – For the aspiring home cook.
Oliso Pro VS97A Smart Vacuum Sealer with 12V Power and Carry Case – Perfect for the great outdoors or the chef on the move.

For more information and to find your nearest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

FoodService Australia 2019

Claim your FREE ticket for this exclusive 3-Day event 🎫

If you work in the food or hospitality industry then you should be planning a visit to Foodservice 2019, which will be held from 23 – 25 June at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. It is the only tradeshow focused on the foodservice industry, where you’ll get new ideas for restaurants, cafés, takeaway stores or commercial kitchens.

Sous Vide Australia will also be located at stand L32 at the event, showing the latest kitchen appliances including the award winning Oliso Pro Vacuum Sealer. We’ll also have a 14L Clifton Built-in Bath on display – the smallest and most compact in their range – allowing chefs to cook in a precise temperature controlled environment, to produce perfect results every time.

If you have any questions about our extensive range of chef and kitchen appliances, or would like to know more about the art of sous vide cooking, then please stop by our stand for a chat.

We also have a FREE ticket to the event which you can claim by clicking the link below. We’d love to see you there! 👋😀

We Want You!

Come work with us at Foodservice Australia 2019 🙏

Foodservice Australia has entered an exciting new era and has become the country’s fastest-growing food trade exhibition. That’s why we are looking for help to manage our trade show stand at what will be an amazing event for the industry.

If you’re friendly, energetic, make a great first impression and possess excellent communication skills, then this is the perfect job for you!

This is a fully paid gig which includes 1 day of training plus working with the Sous Vide Australia team on their stand from 23 – 25 June at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

If you, or someone you know may be interested in helping us at the event, please get in touch with us on (03) 8560 6360 or email us at [email protected]

Enquire Now >>

Recipe Idea

Sous Vide Dashi glazed melt in the mouth lamb shoulder😋

Get Recipe >>

Sous Vide Tip

Vacuum packaging reduces food waste and your energy bill ♻️

Vacuum packaging is one of the best tools for managing your kitchen inventory. You can portion exactly what you need and preserve it for when you need it. The great benefit of doing this is that it also drastically reduces food waste, which is often overlooked. And although it does require the use of plastic pouches, sous vide cooking is the most energy efficient of any method of modern cookery.

April Newsletter 2019

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our monthly newsletter.

After a long Indian summer, most parts of Australia are still enjoying some wonderful sunny autumn days. Regardless of the conditions in your vegie patch, there is still loads to do this month. By putting in peas and broad beans now, you are giving them the winter to extend their roots deep. This means that when the weather does start getting warmer and the frosts disappear you are ahead of the game. Radish, Swedes, turnips, spring onions and spinach will also crop well if planted now. Also set aside a bit of space and pop in an artichoke! These are amazing additions to the patch, look amazing and taste pretty good too, especially when you sous vide them.

In this issue:

2019 Catalogue Out Now – Get the latest sous vide products and accessories
FoodService Australia – The industry event of 2019 ‍
Introducing the Anti Griddle – Flash freeze your way to new terrain ❄️
Sous Vide Tips – Enhance the flavour of your veggies
Chefs are Raving About the Control Freak – Now only $1,899.95 while stocks last

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

2019 Catalogue Out Now

Get the latest sous vide products and accessories

Get your FREE copy of the new Sous Vide Australia Commercial Catalogue. Inside you will find over 70 pages of our latest products featuring immersion circulators, vacuum packaging machines, molecular cooking tools, food smoking appliances, plus so much more.

Download your free copy right now!

Download Now >>

FoodService Australia

The Industry Event of 2019 ‍

We’re getting excited about the upcoming industry event – Foodservice Australia, which will be held from 23 – 25 June at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Sous Vide Australia will be showcasing their latest range of products and accessories and also we’re very excited to watch the best chefs competing in the illustrious and demanding competition on the show floor – Battle of the Pacific.

The Battle of the Pacific will see 8 teams compete over 2 days to cook off against the clock to prepare a 2 course meal for 44 covers in total, served in just 45 minutes. There will be teams representing Victoria, Queensland, NSW, Western Australia, South Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

This is going to be such an exciting event and I’ll expect to see an interesting blend of techniques, menu descriptions and elements on the plate, which is always present when international teams cross our shores.

If you work in the food or hospitality industry then you should be planning a visit to Foodservice 2019 and watch the competition for FREE, and come and say “Hi” to us while you’re there too.

Introducing the Anti Griddle

Flash Freeze Your Way to New Terrain ❄️

Brought to you by Breville and PolyScience, The Anti-Griddle is like a traditional cooktop, but with an amazing twist: the device quickly freezes sauces and purees instead of heating them!

Now you develop solid or semi-frozen creations with crunchy surfaces and cool, creamy centres. The tantalising dual-textures create a surprising and unique experience in restaurants.

On buffets and at catering events, the Anti-Griddle always attracts diners when preparing a frozen appetiser or dessert right in front of their eyes.

Here are some more examples of dishes created using the Anti-Griddle:

Crème brûlée lollipops
Frozen English pea lollipops
Bay scallops with Concord grape
Frozen basil peppermint olive oil
Carbonated sorbet
Mango and sesame oil lozenge
Layers of frozen espresso, apricot, and cream semi-freddo
Organic yogurt and strawberry canapés
Semi-frozen vinaigrettes
Whipped cauliflower with orange glace and ginger salt

Let your culinary imagination run wild! For more info and to find your nearest stockist visit our website.

Find Out More >>

Sous Vide Tips

Enhance the flavour of your veggies

Vegetables take a tremendous amount of resources to prepare including both utilities and labour. By cooking vegetables sous vide, many can be cooked at the same time, in the same bath, reducing both of these costs. If your concern is browning, you can still achieve that during pick-up. Another consideration for cooking vegetables sous vide is that they retain their colour, flavour, and aroma. We’d be interested to know what the colour of your blanch pot is when you’re done?

Chefs are Raving About the Control Freak

Now only $1,899.95 while stocks last

“The Control Freak is one of the most aptly named devices we have used. While other induction burners can be powerful, this one combines power (fast heat delivery) with precision (set to a specific temperature), which is something we haven’t experienced with other induction burners.”
,

There’s no doubting you will absolutely love what this compact cooking system can do. The Control Freak by Breville | PolyScience can accurately measure, set and hold 220 cooking temperatures from 30°- 250°C – and it fits into just one square foot of counter space.

At the moment we have a special price just for you at $1,899.95. Normally $2,250. But it’s only available while stocks last. To find out more and to locate your nearest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

March Newsletter 2019

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our monthly newsletter.

As April is just around the corner, it’s not only the perfect month for chocolate lovers and practical jokers alike, but it’s a top time to get into the garden patch! There’s (hopefully) a little bit of rain around, the weather is cooling down, and shed loads of stuff is ready to plant! So hop into the garden and get started. Try Chinese cabbage, most Asian Greens, spinach, rocket, broccoli, spring onions, asparagus, celery, endive, squash, onions, silverbeet, leeks and lettuce. Don’t be a bunny, remember to plant some carrots during April too!

This month we have also put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, and product reviews which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:
Stainless Steel Chef’s Tasting Spoons – Sample sauces, glazes and purees with ease
Built-in Clifton Water Baths – Where precise temperatures are standard
Chef’s Recipe – Dulse potato, cherry smoked roe and fermented potato chips
Sous Vide Tips – Add more flavour with less salt 😋
Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Stainless Steel Chef’s Tasting Spoons

Sample sauces, glazes and purees with ease

Every professional kitchen needs a chef’s tasting spoon to make sure their food tastes great and we’ve got the best of the best at Sous Vide Australia.

The double-ended chefs’ tasting spoons from the Clifton Food Range are a great product to enable any serious chef to monitor the standards and quality of their food as it is being prepared.

They’re perfect for sampling sauces, glazes and purees, but they’re also ideal for stirring, saucing plates and forming quenelles out of purees and sorbets. You can even use the small spoon for placing soft, delicate foods such as caviar eggs onto canapés.

The stainless steel spoons are available in three sizes 150mm, 180mm, 210mm and have a streamline handle with a deep, rounded bowl on both ends. The smallest spoon fits neatly into the sleeve pocket of the chef’s jacket giving the chef the comfort and convenience of having a spoon on hand when tasting.

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

Built-in Clifton Water Baths

Where precise temperatures are standard

Clifton built in water baths are designed to be installed into your kitchen work surface, freeing counter top space where it is at a premium in a busy kitchen. A choice of 14 litre and 28 litre tanks are available and can be installed as single or double units of either size.

Using the same high precision PID controller found on all Clifton Food Range products, accuracy and repeatability are 100% guaranteed.

The space saving bath can be integrated into a new or existing kitchen establishment and easily assembled using the clear, concise instructions.

This is one really sturdy appliance that will stand the test of time! For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

Chef’s Recipe

Dulse potato, cherry smoked roe and fermented potato chips

This cute little dish is served as an Amuse bouche at the start of a meal or the potato course in a full-on traditional degustation dinner. The potato takes on all of the divine salt umami character of the two Japanese seaweed’s as well as the more European ‘Fondant Potato’ texture from being cooked in butter. Once you have cooked the potato sous vide you can serve it as is, as I had done here, or you can pan-fry both sides in some of the butter to create a crisp surface to contrast the lush interior. The result is exquisite!

Get Recipe >>

Sous Vide Tips

Add more flavour with less salt 😋

We often add salt to food to enhance and bring out some of its natural flavours. But because of the way ingredients are sealed during sous vide cooking, they retain their flavours requiring less salt. No need to compensate for lost flavour with added sodium as sous-vide keeps the natural flavours intact. The verdict – delicious meals every time!

February Newsletter 2019

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our February newsletter and to the last day of the season! As your summer crop is having a little bit of a last hoorah, there are a number of incredible edibles ready to go in now. Try lettuce, spinach, leek, silverbeet, and some Asian greens right about now. Broccoli, leeks and spring onions could be worth a shot as the nights get cooler. ❄️

This month we put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, and great product reviews which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:
Introducing the Oliso PRO VS95A Starter Kit – For the Aspiring Home Cook
Oliso PRO VS97A Vacuum Sealer – For the Chef on the Move
Recipe Idea – To be added
Sous Vide Tips – Mouth Watering Ribs! 😋
Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Introducing the Oliso PRO VS95A Starter Kit

For the Aspiring Home Cook 👨🏼‍🍳
Resealable bags ♻️ + Great with liquids 💧👍

What we love about the VS95A is that design allows you to reseal the same bag over and over, saving you lots of money along the way. Plus it’s the only out-of-chamber vacuum machine that can vacuum product with liquid.

Overall, we think the Oliso PRO Vacuum Sealer is a great deal for any aspiring home cook. The quality of the product is high and the quality of vacuum seal is excellent, and compares well with any high-end model.

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

Oliso PRO VS97A Vacuum Sealer

For the Chef on the Move 🏃🏻

Yes, it’s hard to believe that a device the size of your palm has the power and speed of a professional vacuum sealer. But the Oliso PRO VS97A Vacuum Sealer does exactly that and more!

The VS97A is perfect for any professional chef as it features a commercial-power dual motor system that provides fantastic vacuum sealer results.

Liquid detection ensures precision when sealing wet foods or liquids, while Dry mode is perfect for sealing herbs and spices. There’s even a flexi tube attachment that seals bottles and jars.

It’s such a clever device, and its compact size and the durable carry case and 12 volt DC adapter cord make it a breeze to use on the go in your car, boat or RV. 🚙 🚤 🚐

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

Sous Vide Tips

Mouth Watering Ribs! 😋

Ribs are one of the few ingredients that really stand out when cooked sous vide, and are every bit as good as traditional barbecue, not to mention more replicable and achievable year-round. Whether they’ve been marinated, rubbed with spices or pickled, sous vide ribs will get the same answer every time: “Please sir, can I have some more?”

January Newsletter 2019

Sous Vide News

On behalf of all the team here at Sous Vide Australia, we would like to wish everyone a happy, prosperous and above all, a healthy year ahead!

The longest, hottest days of summer are upon us–and what’s not to love! People are so much happier at this time of year. It’s the season completely devoted to leisure and good times with the people you love. Summer eating and drinking is also the best. And you don’t even have to feel guilty about all of the extra calories you consume either because we’re more active at this time of year.

So to get you in the summer spirit we have some great product and recipe ideas that are absolutely perfect for bars, restaurants, nightclubs and hotels to keep their cool while dealing with the masses. ❄️🍸🍹

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

GlassChill Froster & Cleaner

Rapidly chill any type of drinks glass in less than 5 seconds ❄️

A cold glass is one of the keys to making a great cocktail and chilling your glassware should be one of the first steps you take when making any drink. By using a chilled glass, your cocktails will stay crisp and cool longer and the frost adds a nice aesthetic to the final presentation.

We also know that preparing a bar during the summer months can be quite stressful. Putting glasses in the freezer takes why too long and using an ice bucket is just plain clunky. But there is a faster way to cool your glasses…

GlassChill is the fastest glass chilling machine in the world, and can rapidly cool any type of drinks glass below freezing in less than 5 seconds. With a simple, single button operation, the GlassChill is quick, easy and safe to operate, making it the most user-friendly machine we’ve seen in the market today. It’s amazing to watch it in action too!

As a busy bartender or mixologist would appreciate, GlassChill also has a timed button operation, leaving your hands free to continue to prepare the drink whilst the glass is chilled. 💙

Rebrand GlassChill for your Company

Here’s another great benefit – We can professionally engrave the glass and the LED lid with your company logo which looks sophisticated and has great impact.

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

Introducing JetChill

The world’s first dry ice drinks machine

Designed for bars, restaurants, nightclubs and hotels, the JetChill adds flair to any cocktail. This world first system consists of a dry ice making chamber that is used with specially designed drinking glasses, and creates dry ice “snow” at the push of a button.

The dry ice collects in a compartment in the base of the glasses, so when liquid is added, not only is the drink chilled, but it will have that famous dry ice smoke effect as well.

The dry ice can be used to create amazing theatre and has a number of applications, from chilled smoking drinks, to carbonating drinks and smoking ice creams. You’re customers will be totally amazed, and will look very cool walking around the bar with a smokin’ cold drink. 🍹💙

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

JetChill Cocktail Idea

Miami Vice – Ultra cool with every sip ❄️

What oozes 1980’s music, fashion and cool vibes? It’s Miami Vice of course, and this classic drink will make you look as cool as a cucumber, especially if you’re wearing an expensive pastel sports jacket worn over a T-shirt just like in the hit TV Show…

1 oz. Amaretto
1 oz. Midori
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Cranberry Juice
Dash Fresh Lemon Juice 🍋

PROCEDURE: Shake all ingredients in a small shaker with 2 cubes of ice. Pour into a JetChill cocktail glass 🍸

GARNISH: Pink Flamingo Stirrer

GLASS: #JetChill Glass

JetChill Cocktail Idea

Mango Fire – Prepare to be dazzled! 🎉

Just when you thought the perfect summer cocktail couldn’t get any better. This Mango Fire cocktail is the perfect blend of amaretto and fresh lemon juice that makes perfect sipping as you watch the sun set. Here’s the recipe:

1 oz. Amaretto Liquor
1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice 🍋
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup

PROCEDURE: Shake all ingredients in a small shaker with 1 cube of ice. Pour into a JetChill Shot glass

GARNISH: Maraschino Cherry

GLASS: #JetChill Shot Glass

December Newsletter 2018

Sous Vide News

In this issue we have a festive summer recipe with fennel lime sumac prawn on a Russian salad, plus we have loads of pre Christmas offers and gift ideas. And if you get your order in as early as possible then we’ll do our best to deliver it before Christmas. 🎁🎅

Just a reminder again that our office and warehouse will be closed for the Christmas and New Year season from Friday 21 December 2018 and will reopen on Monday 7 January 2019.

Make sure you stay in touch as we’re very much looking forward to sharing with you some amazing new sous vide products and fantastic recipes in the New Year.

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Festive Summer Recipe Idea

Fennel lime sumac prawn on Russian salad 🍤

Looking for some inspiration to make your Christmas or New Year’s Eve a sensational hit? Try this Fennel lime sumac prawn on Russian salad. This dish is perfect for a summer celebration, with a rich juicy king prawn in sweet citrus spice on a tipsy salad of vegetables. The spice powder for the prawns I learnt of Greg Malouf – Melbourne’s Middle Eastern maestro of cuisine – when we used to do our Sunday Arabesque banquets together at Stones of the Yarra Valley. Get the recipe here…

Get Recipe >>

CHRISTMAS OFFER – The Control Freak™

The first truly accurate induction plate. Perfect for Sous Vide!

We have a very special Christmas price for the Breville|PolyScience Control Freak at only $1,899.95 this month. Normally $2,250.

What we love about the Control Freak is that it makes everyday cooking tasks really easy, and is amazing at tackling those tricky dishes such as chocolate work, custards and hollandaise, toffees, sous vide, oil poaching, cheese making and yoghurt, and the list goes on. You could even use it as a fryer just by choosing the desired temperature.

But you have to hurry as this offer ends on 30 December 2018. For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

Breville | PolyScience Smoking Gun Pro™

Create new culinary sensations with smoke

The Smoking Gun™ is loved by professional chefs, mixologists, bartenders, and home cooks alike because it has a unique way of adding clean, fresh cold smoke to food items and cocktails.

It is super easy to use for infusion and finishing with a variety of smoky flavours and aromas including various wood chips, teas, herbs, spices, and even dried flowers.

The step up to the Smoking Gun Pro® has also seen notable improvements over the original version to enhance performance, usability and longevity to withstand commercial use, and will certainly make everything better!

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

Christmas Cookbook Ideas

At Home With Sous Vide – By Dale Prentice

If you’re looking for sous vide recipes or cookbooks this Christmas, then we highly recommend At Home with Sous Vide, where chef, teacher and passionate sous vide advocate Dale Prentice, shares more than 70 recipes – including some from the world’s top chefs.

At Home with Sous Vide celebrates the gentle art of low-temperature cooking. In this beautiful cookbook you’ll discover the way an exact approach to cooking can transform food, and the incredible flavour and texture that can be achieved when cooking meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and even fruit sous vide.

Get your hard copy today by visiting the website. 😊

Find Out More >>

Stainless Steel Chef’s Tweezers

Make your dishes look fabulous!

For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

November Newsletter 2018

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our November newsletter and to the last day of spring! Life is really starting to ramp up with Christmas festivities at this time of year, and things are certainly starting to bear fruit in your patch too. Hopefully you’ve already put in loads of produce plants but it’s not too late to get some more growing. Despite the rising heat you could still pop a few things in your patch such as capsicum, chilli, eggplant, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes and zucchini.

This month we put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, competitions and product reviews which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:
Christmas Recipe Idea – How to cook your goose!
Product of the Month – PolyScience CHEF series sets the standards for sous vide cooking
Facebook Competition – We’re giving away an Oliso SmartHub for Christmas!
How to Sous Vide – Fill Your Vacuum Pouch The Right Way
Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Christmas Recipe Idea

How to cook the perfect goose!

The perfectly cook bird is a symbol of wellbeing and family celebration, especially around Christmas time. The exactness of this recipe created by Bruno Goussault, often referred to as the founder of sous vide cookery, reflects a true master sharing a glimpse in to his world and making our joyous celebrations a feast fit for kings. What you will love about this recipe is that it brings control and perfect juiciness, lush moist breasts with undefinable sweetness and the richness of a well-cooked thigh and drumstick. It is truly magical! ❤️

Get Recipe >>

Facebook Competition

We’re giving away an Oliso SmartHub for Christmas!

You will absolutely love what this compact two piece cooking system can do, which includes a sous vide water oven and induction burner – and it fits into just one square foot of counter space!

We’re running a special competition on our Facebook page this month where you could win the Oliso SmartHub. 😀

To enter all you have to do is:
FOLLOW US: www.facebook.com/sousvideaust
COMMENT: Tell us the first dish you would create using the Oliso SmartHub in the comments section of the Facebook post.

That’s it! Reposts are much appreciated too. 🙏

Entries close Friday, 7th December at 5pm. We’ll announce the winner shortly after on Facebook. And the lucky winner will receive it just in time for Christmas. 🎅

Good luck everyone!

Enter Now >>

Product of the Month

PolyScience CHEF series sets the standards for sous vide cooking

Without a doubt, the PolyScience CHEF series has been created with the busy chef in mind. Performance is impressive, and ease of use is top-notch. You can really tell that this is an industrial kitchen appliance with its high-grade stainless steel heating coil and pump, and you can really feel the quality compared to the cheaper models as soon as you pick it up.

What we love about the PolyScience CHEF Series circulator is that it rocks a powerful 1100W heater which quickly heats up and maintains water temperature with 0.1 degree Celsius. Because it has such a powerful heater, you can use a water bath up to 30 litres in size, which is higher than many other sous vide machines.

A unique and useful feature with this particular model is the ability to control the flow of water, enabling more precise temperature controls. This is especially useful to point the flow into a more open area of your container (creating better water flow) instead of it pointing directly at food in front of it.

Overall, the PolyScience CHEF Series immersion circulator matches or exceeds the competition in every way. And if you plan on cooking sous vide very regularly and putting your device through a lot of use, the CHEF Series will hold up a lot better than the cheaper alternatives since it is commercially approved and so durable.

The PolyScience CHEF Series is available at various stockists throughout Australia. For more information and to find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Out More >>

How to Sous Vide

Fill Your Vacuum Pouch The Right Way

It goes without saying that choosing the correct vacuum pouch is essential for sous vide cooking. Make sure they are from a reputable source and are specified as cook-in or boil-in-the-bag pouches.

When filling a vacuum pouch fold the top few centimetres of the pouch out, as this leaves the top of the pouch where it will be sealed nice and clean when filled with food or marinades. Never fill a pouch more than two-thirds, as it will be extremely awkward to manage when sealing. The seal that is formed by the vacuum-sealer is simply a melting of the two sides of the pouch together. If the seal is not perfectly flat or if it has a fold in it, it will not remain airtight during cooking. If this happens, it’s back to the drawing board – transfer the food to a new pouch and try again. You’ll get it second time round.

September Newsletter 2018

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our September newsletter and to the start of spring. The chill is almost gone from the mornings, and the afternoons are getting longer. Blossoms are bursting and you can smell spring in the air wherever you go. If you have been hibernating through winter now is the time to get out and about.

If you’re avid gardeners like us, then you’d know there is bit a bit happening in the veggie patch this month. You could try planting leeks, onions, parsley, parsnips, cauliflower, peas, radish, carrots and turnips. All good for sous vide! But don’t get over excited… it’s too early for tomatoes just yet, especially if you live in the southern parts of Australia.

This month we put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, chef interviews and industry news which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:
Chef Talk – Andrew Ballard of Simmer Culinary talks about life, competing and the Oliso SmartHub™
Product of the Month – Oliso SmartHub™ does sous vide and induction cooking in 1 square foot
Japanese Lamb Shoulder with Pea and Wasabi – Recipe by Kerby Craig from Ume, Sydney
How to Sous Vide – The Perfect Steak
Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Chef Talk

Andrew Ballard of Simmer Culinary talks about life, competing and the Oliso SmartHub™

By Dale Prentice

I asked Andrew a few questions about his career highlights and the benefits of sous vide cooking using the Oliso SmartHub™, where you’ll often see him carrying it about with him…

Product Of the Month

Oliso SmartHub™ – Sous vide and induction cooking in 1 square foot

The Oliso SmartHub™ is a compact two piece cooking system that works as a works as a sous vide machine, stove and slow cooker. A water bath (the SmartTop) sits atop the burner, and the two are in constant communication with each other.

Designed for sous vide, the double-walled SmartTop holds its temperature to within within 0.1ºC, which means there’s no need to babysit those 48-hour ribs anymore. Just press the button and go!

In addition to a sous vide water bath, you can use the Oliso SmartHub™ for a variety of other applications. Try it for culturing yogurt, making infusions, poaching chicken, brewing beer or creating delicate broths.

The Induction SmartHub™ features 2000 watts of power for extremely fast heating. In fact, you can heat it up to 285°C to get the perfect that perfect sear on your food, plus it will maintain consistent temperatures, every.. .single… time.

But what we really love about the SmartHub™ is its versatility. Having worked in many, often compact kitchen environments, having a multi-functional appliance that only takes up 1 square foot of space and doesn’t require a cord makes it very a very smart choice indeed. And cleaning it is a breeze too!

The Oliso SmartHub™ is available at various stockists throughout Australia. To find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Stockists >>

Japanese Lamb Shoulder with Pea and Wasabi

Recipe by Kerby Craig from Ume, Sydney

Kerby Craig served this delectable lamb dish to me at Ume in 2012. High quality ingredients will make all the difference with this recipe, so look for a great, ethically raised local lamb shoulder from your butcher, top quality soy sauce such as Shibanuma, and fresh or frozen wasabi paste rather than the ordinary coloured radish paste or powder. This recipe is mind bogglingly good!

Get Recipe >>

How to Sous Vide

The Perfect Steak

Tender cuts of meat such as tenderloin steak, lamb backstrap and lamb fillets all follow the same cooking methods and temperatures. The delicate structure of these meats gain no benefits from long cooking, but instead they can become mushy if held at temperature for too long.

The consistently perfect results that can be achieved time after time with sous vide will win you over. I quickly sear these cuts in a very hot pan with a small amount of light oil after cooking to give a beautiful crust.

And you can achieve all this by using the Oliso SmartHub™, which can sous vide and sear your tender cuts with ease and precision.

August Newsletter 2018

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our August newsletter. If you have worked in as many different restaurant kitchens as I have, you’ll start recognising various tools of trade, both big and small: from palette knives to offset icing spatulas, portable induction cookers, and even immersion circulators. For years now, many of those kitchens also used something that looks like a cross between a black squirt gun and a battery-powered hookah. It’s called a Smoking Gun, and it has a wonderful ability to elevate any dish.

So this month we have put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, chef interviews and industry news that relate to the new Breville|Commercial Smoking Gun Pro – a great addition to any kitchen!

In this issue:
Chef Talk – Interview with Rochelle Godwin of Mörk Chocolate
Product of the Month – Upgrade to the Breville|Commercial Smoking Gun Pro®
How to Make – Smoked Butter
An Aperitif with a Twist – Smokin’ Champagne Cocktail
Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Main photo: Mörk Chocolate in North Melbourne

Chef Talk

Rochelle Godwin of Mörk Chocolate talks about the Smoking Gun Pro

By Dale Prentice

Product Of the Month

Upgrade to the Breville | Commercial Smoking Gun Pro®

As a flexible hand-held device, the Breville|Commercial Smoking Gun Pro is super easy to use for infusion and finishing with a variety of smoky flavours and aromas including various wood chips, teas, herbs, spices, hay, and even dried flowers.

Bartenders can even take their beverages to the next level and use the Pro to smoke a glass, the booze, or an entire cocktail to create different levels of smokiness.

If you have been using the original PolyScience Smoking Gun, then the upgrade to the Breville|Commercial Smoking Gun Pro is well worth the investment. In fact, everything about the Smoking Gun Pro is so much better that chefs and bartenders who have the original version ought to seriously consider replacing it. The improvements to enhance performance, usability and longevity to withstand commercial use will certainly make everything better!

“With the old PolyScience Smoking Gun we use to have three smoking guns on rotation. We were always anxious that it would stop working in the middle of a rush, and every morning we had this arduous routine of cleaning them. The new gun from Breville|Commercial is one hundred times better. The extra power also means it is quicker to light, faster and cleaner to use.”
Rochelle Godwin of Mörk Chocolate

The Smoking Gun Pro® is available at various stockists throughout Australia. To find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Stockists >>

How to make Smoked Butter

Get Recipe >>

An aperitif with a twist

Smokin’ Champagne Cocktail

July Newsletter 2018

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our July newsletter. We have put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, chef interviews and industry news which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:
How to make – Hollandaise sauce with the Control Freak
Product of the month – Breville | Commercial Control Freak
Have your say – Victorian food businesses regulation and compliance survey
Tip of the month – Start with fresh ingredients
Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

How to make…

Hollandaise sauce with the Control Freak

Get Recipe >>

Product Of the Month

Breville | Commercial Control Freak

This is the tabletop technology every chef should have in the kitchen. The Control Freak has a completely heating surface that will hold even, steady heat at 220 different cooking temperatures ranging from 30 – 250 degrees Celsius. You can use it for chocolate, eggs, custards and hollandaise, caramels, sous vide, oil poaching, cheese making and yoghurt, and the list goes on…

Brought to you by Breville | Commerical and PolyScience coming together to bring great design and unparalleled precision to the culinary world that will stand the test of time too. And Breville | Commercial are so confident with this product that they have backed it with a 2 year commercial warranty. Rest assured, the Control Freak will handle any busy kitchen with ease. See it in action right here.

Request a Demo Today

The Control Freak will be so much better, faster and cleaner than any appliance you have used before. In fact, we’re so confident that we invite you to request a live demonstration of the Control Freak to use in your kitchen for one week.

To request a demonstration please call Sous Vide Australia on (03) 8560 6360 or email [email protected]

Have your say

Victorian food businesses regulation and compliance survey

This is for all of our Victorian customers and we encourage you to have your say by taking time to complete a short survey.

As you may know, the Victorian Government is introducing reforms designed to make it easier for food businesses to understand and meet their obligations in relation to food safety. And by cutting red tape and reducing regulatory burden, the Government is giving small businesses the chance to grow and thrive, make more contributions to the economy and create jobs throughout the state. Which is a good thing!

By completing this survey, you are helping the Department to understand your experience of complying with food safety requirements in Victoria.

Your feedback and ideas will help identify ways that food safety regulation can be best applied to encourage a diverse and vibrant food business sector.

The survey will only take 10-15 minutes to complete. Thanks!

Take survey >>

Tip of the month

Start with fresh ingredients

This is even more important with sous vide cooking because the method amplifies whatever the quality of the raw material is. Fresh will taste even fresher since sous vide accentuates flavours – good ingredients from reputable supplier will be even better and substandard ingredients will be worse. You’ll be far more successful armed with the best ingredients to cook sous vide.

Find recipes >>

June Newsletter 2018

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our June newsletter. We have put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, chef interviews and industry news which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:
Chef Talk – Anthony Iscaro of Carne Grill
Product Of the Month – Clifton Sauce Bottle Warmers
Slow Cooked Duck Egg with Creamed Spinach and Dukkah – Recipe by Dale Prentice
Flashback Friday – How a Chef Helped Transform Modern Fine Dining

We would also like to remind small business owners that the end of financial year is fast approaching, and if you’re looking for a way to take advantage of depreciation and tax deduction laws, then now is the time to invest in a premium quality sous vide appliance. Plus all of our products are backed by full warranties and local repairs, which will surely give you peace of mind.

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Main photo: Anthony Iscaro at Carne Grill, Melbourne

Chef Talk

Anthony Iscaro of Carne Grill talks Sous Vide

We asked Anthony a few questions about the benefits of sous vide cooking and how he uses it at the Carne Grill, which is one of the best steak and meat restaurants (let alone seafood and other grill dishes) in Melbourne, and some of the other great bars and cafes he looks after….

Product Of the Month

Clifton Sauce Bottle Warmers

A few years ago the MD of Clifton Commercial, Melvin, was chatting to a friend that owns an ice cream parlour. His friend wanted to be able to serve caramel sauces that were warm, which the customer could add to their dessert. Melvin took this idea to Clifton’s design team and voila! – the Clifton Bottle warmer was born.

Although the Clifton Sauce Bottle warmer was designed to keep sauces and liquids warm for ice cream shops, it didn’t take long before chefs started to show interest for dressing plates. The bottle size is ideal for fluid gels, sauces and oils that you need at a defined temperature for serving.

The Sauce Bottle warmers are safe for customer use and keep the pass neat and tidy with your sauces hot and ready to use. They can also be used in the pastry section for chocolate sauce, etc. Bars and front of house staff can also use this product for fluid gels, purees, and even cocktails.

The Sauce Bottle warmer is available in three different sizes…

Learn More >>

Slow Cooked Duck Egg with Creamed Spinach and Dukkah

Recipe by Dale Prentice

There’s nothing like the pleasure of enjoying a fabulously decadent winter dish. We love how sous vide egg yolks take on a velvety custard texture, which really combines well with the great dukkah flavours. And if you use duck eggs, then you’ll enjoy the larger yolk and deeper flavour this stylish dish deserves.

Learn More >>

Flashback Friday

How a Chef Helped Transform Modern Fine Dining

For those of you who may not have heard of Matthias Merges, he is a absolute culinary legend in chef circles. He is the chef and proprietor of Folkart Restaurant Management, which owns many famous restaurants and bars in Chicago, USA, including Hyde Park neighbourhood eatery A10, award-winning cocktail bar Billy Sunday, West Loop bar & restaurant Gideon Sweet, Wrigleyville destinations Lucky Dorr and Mordecai.

In the late 90s, Merges spearheaded developing in-flight meals for United Airlines. That hooked him up with a Virginia company, Cuisine Solutions, that introduced him to sous vide– the wonderful technique that involves circulating vacuum-sealed food in a low-temperature water bath to ensure even cooking and maximum juiciness.

Cuisine Solutions had pioneered sous vide on an industrial scale, using it to manufacture precooked food that it sold to large institutions like hotels, airlines, and the military. But Merges really wanted to discover a way to get this [technology] from this massive factory into a restaurant kitchen. He wanted a solution that could manipulate the temperature and control it to a point that is so much more refined than he could do with his hands.

Trouble was, there were no affordable, readily available immersion circulators on the market. Merges picked up the phone and called PolyScience, which manufactured high-precision temperature-controlled medical and industrial equipment at the time. He reached a customer service rep who had no idea what he was talking about but transferred him to the company’s president, Philip Preston, an avid home cook.

Within eight months Preston had formed a culinary unit in his company. Today sous vide cooking is found everywhere in fine-dining restaurants in the US and Australia, and PolyScience is the leading supplier of immersion circulators to restaurant kitchens. And there is very good reason for this! Chefs at all levels believe it adds a whole new level of control of their kitchens because they’re simple, reliable and super accurate.

If you want to achieve perfect, repeatable results every time in your restaurant, then find out more about our PolyScience products by clicking the link below…

Article Source: www.chicagoreader.com

Learn More >>

May Newsletter 2018

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our May newsletter. We have put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, chef interviews and industry news which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:
Chef Talk – Garen Maskal Talks Sous Vide
Salad of Pickled Baby Beetroot, Crispy Quinoa and Manchego Custard – Recipe By Garen Maskal
Product Of the Month – Henkelman Vacuum Machines. The MasterChef’s Choice!
How-to Sous Vide – Cook the Perfect Egg
We would also like to remind small business owners that you can still benefit from the Government’s Small Business tax benefits this financial year. If you’re turnover is under $10 million then you can make an immediate write-off of assets up to $20,000 if you buy BEFORE the end of June 2018. So if you are looking to purchase any premium quality sous vide appliance then this is a great to invest and save.

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

Chef Talk

Garen Maskal Talks Sous Vide

We asked Garen a few questions about the benefits of sous vide cooking and how he uses it in his kitchens…
Read More >>

Salad of Pickled Baby Beetroot, Crispy Quinoa and Manchego Custard

Recipe by Garen Maskal from Black Toro, Melbourne

This month we’re using our precisely controlled water bath to transform baby beetroots into something really delicious. This often-overlooked vegetable has been gaining in popularity as a new super food in recent times due to its effectiveness in improving cardiovascular performance and lowering blood pressure.

This delicious recipe was created Garen Maskal, who honed his skills at Ezard in Flinders Lane, Melbourne, before opening his own restaurant, Black Toro, in 2012. Garen’s creative use of quinoa adds a delightful crunch that works so well with the creamy Manchego custard and tart beetroots, while the hints of orange and fennel combine with the sweetness of beetroot jelly to further enhance the overall flavour.

Time: 3 Hours, which includes 2 hours cooking time. Serves 4.
Get Recipe >>

Product of the Month

Henkelman Vacuum Machines. The Masterchef’s Choice!

When it comes to crunch time on MasterChef Australia, the dinky home vacuum sealer will make way for more reliable, high quality equipment. The Henkelman Vacuum Sealers are without question the MasterChef’s choice, and will make major appearances at the semi-final and final of the competition in Season 10. Be sure to look out for them in the coming weeks!

Which brings us to our next point – if you are going to cook sous vide in any kind of serious way, whether for home, a restaurant, hotel or value adding in a butcher shop, a good vacuum packaging machine is the most crucial investment you can make.

Made in the Netherlands, and built to last a really long time, Henkelman Vacuum Machines are the best around when it comes to reliability and quality for price hands down. Here’s why…
Learn More >>

How-to Sous Vide

Cook the Perfect Egg

For most of us, cooking the perfect egg is our first sous vide adventure. The promise of that creamy yolk and that delicate ‘just-set’ white can only be achieved using sous vide. And with Local truffles coming in to season, an ordinary breakfast could be turned into something very special indeed.

To start, preheat your waterbath to 64 degrees Celsius. Then use a pair of tongs to carefully place your egg (still in its shell) in the waterbath. After that, you’ll have a spare 45 mins to read a good book our scroll through your favourite social media channel to get your fix for the day. When your egg is ready, crack it straight from the shell on to buttered toast or perhaps some blanched asparagus topped with freshly grated truffle.

If you like a firmer white or just can’t bare the thought of waiting any longer for your egg to cook (but it really is worth the wait), set the waterbath to 75 degrees, then follow as above but only cook for 13 minutes. Alternately, you can cut top off and serve them in an eggcup with toast soldiers.

April Newsletter 2018

Sous Vide News

Welcome to our April newsletter and my favourite season of the year – Autumn! I love the change of season and the cooler nights it brings, plus it’s the time where comfort food and warm meals start to take more of a centre stage.

Autumn is also quince season, and now is the best time to get out there and start making the most of this amazing fruit. I believe the magical flavour is really enhanced with some heat, where the texture and flavours can be really developed over hours of slow cooking.

Here’s a great tip – when cooking quince sous vide, it can safely cook for hours unsupervised, which gives you plenty of time to curl up in front of the fire and read a good book.

To other news, I am very excited to announce that demolition has commenced on the second floor at our Sous Vide Australia offices to make way for our exciting new demonstration space, and research and development kitchen. I’ll keep you posted with further development updates. And a few good pictures too!

That’s all from us this month!

Dale & Libby Prentice

Product of the Month

Polyscience Chef Series

Did you know that the Chef Series by Polyscience is the most used circulator worldwide? And there is very good reason for this! Chefs at all levels believe it adds a whole new level of control of their kitchens because they’re simple, reliable and super accurate.

Breakfast cafes use the Chef series for slow cooked eggs. Famous restaurants like Movida use them to hold chocolate sauce for service and to slow braise overnight, and Tetsuya’s use them every day for service.

When you do a comparison to cheaper models such as the Apuro sous vide, you’ll find that the quality of manufacture of the Apuro sous vide is simply not there. Another important aspect is that the unit takes up too much of the tank, not leaving room to cook, and it has a smaller heating capacity, which isn’t listed anywhere in the manual. Another key factor to consider when purchasing a sous vide appliance is the level of service repairs and support provided. Needless to say that Sous Vide Australia has you fully covered with every Chef Series by Polyscience purchase.

Do you want to achieve perfect, repeatable results every time? Click here to find out more…

Pickled Quince Recipe

By Dale Prentice

Quince adds a beautiful and delicate perfume to the kitchen larder in late Autumn. This simple recipe produces a white poached quince flesh with sweet and sour flavours. You can serve it with rich pork dishes or confit duck as a foil to their fattiness. There’s only 30 mins of prep time and 7 hours of slow, delicious cooking time. Click here to see the full recipe.

Making it easy for you

We provide full warranties and expert repairs

The good news is that all of Sous Vide Australia’s products are covered by a minimum 12 month full labour and parts warranty. Henkelman, Clifton and the Control Freak carry 24 months full labour and parts warranty.

Heaven forbid your appliance ever fails! But at the end of the day, all we want is for you to be happy with your appliance fully repaired and functioning as soon as possible. That’s why we make it the process easy for you, servicing all makes and models and no job is ever too big or too small.

All you have to do is call us on (03) 8560 6360 to get your free phone consultation and we’ll guide you in the right direction. Then one of our friendly, expert technicians will come out to your business and try to fix your appliance on the spot where possible. If we need to take your appliance off-site, then we can turn this around within 48 hours, and also provide loan units by arrangement (Melbourne only).

We all like a feel good story, and on this occasion we were able to assist Ginger boy and Ezard with extra units for their popup at the Australian Open when one of their older sous vide’s failed within 12 hours. Luckily we were just a phone call away to save the day and keep the ball in play!

To get in touch with us directly please click here.

New sous vide user?

What is your burning question?

If you’re new to sous vide or even new to Sous Vide Australia, or perhaps you’ve been a loyal customer for years – I’d like to hear all of your burning questions!

Lots of people in our extensive community (along with myself) can help with them. No question is too silly to ask. Feel comfortable and ask away by simply emailing [email protected] with the subject “My burning question is…” and we’ll answer your question in our upcoming newsletters.

Thanks!
Dale Prentice

Sous Vide – September News

This month we put a lot of work into compiling the best recipes, tips and tricks, chef interviews and industry news which we hope will inspire you for continued success with sous vide cooking.

In this issue:

Chef Talk –
Product of the Month – Oliso SmartHub™ does sous vide and induction cooking in 1 square foot
Japanese Lamb Shoulder with Pea and Wasabi – Recipe by Kerby Craig from Ume, Sydney
How to Sous Vide – The Perfect Steak

Thanks and enjoy the read this month!

Dale and Libby Prentice

__________________________________________________________________________

Chef Talk

I asked Andrew a few questions about his career highlights and the benefits of sous vide cooking using the Oliso SmartHub, where you’ll often see him carrying it about with him…HERE

___________________________________________________________

Product of the Month
Oliso SmartHub™ does sous vide and induction cooking in 1 square foot

Designed for sous vide, the double-walled SmartTop holds its temperature to within within 0.1ºC, which means there’s no need to babysit those 48-hour ribs anymore. Just press the button and go!

The Oliso SmartHub™ is available at various stockists throughout Australia. To find your closest stockist please visit our website.

Find Stockists >>
__________________________________________________________________________

Japanese Lamb Shoulder with Pea and Wasabi
Recipe by Kerby Craig from Ume, sydney

__________________________________________________________________________

How to Sous Vide – The Perfect Steak

Tender cuts of meat such as tenderloin steak, lam back strap and lab fillets all follow the same cooking methods and temperatures. The delicate structure of these meats gain no benefits from long cooking, but instead they can become mushy if held at temperature for too long. The consistently perfect results that can be achieved time after time with sous vide will win you over. I quickly sear these cuts in a very hot pan with a small amount of light oil after cooking to give a beautiful crust. And you can achieve all this by using the Oliso SmartHub™, which can seal, sous vide, and sear as one perfect solution.

__________________________________________________________________________

The staff you never knew you had

Almost every chef has had the same thoughts after a shift – “Did I ice the fish?” “Did I close the walk-in door securely?” “Will the prep team be in early enough to take the stock off?”… There are plenty of things that can go wrong overnight, especially when leaving a stock over a low flame. See how the Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa controls the chaos.

Never overdo the stock again

The Control Freak™ induction cooking system is the first of its kind to accurately measure, set and hold 220 cooking temperatures from 30°- 250°C. The unique real-time sensing system uses a through-glass sensor to directly measure surface temperature. Probe Control™ remote thermometer precisely controls the temperature of both water and fat-based liquids, meaning you’ll never overdo your chicken stock again.

The Intensity function gives incredible control over the heat up speed to the set temperature. A Create function stores frequently used custom temperature profiles for a simple one-touch recall.

Brought to you by Breville | Commercial coming together to bring great design and unparalleled precision to the culinary world.

Get yours today

Only the perfect eggs

There’s nothing quite like a breakfast rush. All of the diners want eggs cooked to their preferred doneness and aren’t afraid to send them back if they are over or undercooked. At the Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa, the most popular breakfast menu item is eggs Benedict. With a small window for error, a broken hollandaise or overheated poaching water can bring the line to a screeching halt.

The perfect poacher

The Control Freak™ induction cooking system is the first of its kind to accurately measure, set and hold 220 cooking temperatures from 30°- 250°C. The unique real-time sensing system uses a through-glass sensor to directly measure surface temperature. Probe Control™ remote thermometer precisely controls the temperature of both water and fat-based liquids. This gives you the perfect control for the perfect poached egg.

The Intensity function gives incredible control over the heat up speed to the set temperature. A Create function stores frequently used custom temperature profiles for a simple one-touch recall.

Brought to you by Breville | Commercial coming together to bring great design and unparalleled precision to the culinary world.

Get yours today

Changes in the bar at Marriott Resort & Spa

To a bartender, misé en place is the back bone to their success. At large hotels and resorts, the bar is open all day long. See how the Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa uses the Control ºFreak to behind the bar to control the chaos.

The real deal.

The Intensity function gives incredible control over the heat up speed to the set temperature. A Create function stores frequently used custom temperature profiles for a simple one-touch recall.

Brought to you by Breville | Commercial – coming together to bring great design and unparalleled precision to the culinary world.

Get yours today.

Anytime, anywhere

At large hotels and resorts, food may need to be served in a variety of settings from private dining rooms, conference rooms, lobbies, or even outdoors at any time of day. All of these locations bring their own challenges. See how the Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa uses the Control ºFreak to control the chaos of cooking outdoors.

Windproof

The Control Freak™ induction cooking system is the first of its kind to accurately measure, set and hold 220 cooking temperatures from 30°- 250°C. The induction system endures complete consistency, even in the harshest environments. The unique real-time sensing system uses a through-glass sensor to directly measure surface temperature. Probe Control™ remote thermometer precisely controls the temperature of both water and fat-based liquids.

The Intensity function gives incredible control over the heat up speed to the set temperature. A Create function stores frequently used custom temperature profiles for a simple one-touch recall.

Brought to you by Breville | Commercial coming together to bring great design and unparalleled precision to the culinary world.

Get yours today

Is induction cooking really that much better?

Induction cooking has been around for a while now. It offers the extreme convenience of setting up a stove top… Read more

Induction cooking has been around for a while now. It offers the extreme convenience of setting up a stove top anywhere that there is a power point and a flat surface. Pastry chefs love them, popup kitchens rely on them, they have even made their way in to our home kitchens. But what do we really know about our induction plates and how they work?

Induction cook tops fall in to two categories: the first is the cheap under $500 units often purchased to just get a job done, no frills, just heat when and where it is needed. The second expensive class are sleek easy to clean and powerful. Unfortunately, with all of them, they just lack interface, they still treat heat as High, Medium or Low, relying on the chef to respond and control the cooking.

Induction cook tops cheap or expensive have always shared similar flaws; overheating and shutting down, simplistic temperature control, a lack of power or a 15amp plug that doesn’t fit into a standard power point.

Although the concept of induction cooking is clearly genius, no one has ever really explored the potential that this cutting-edge technology should lead us to.

Design has always been sleek with a focus on simplicity of cleaning. The elegant glass however has been one of the great setbacks of induct capabilities. Seamless heat proof glass is elegant and yes, it is very easy to keep clean, unfortunately in all our technological advances we have not been able to develop a temperature sensor that can judge the temperature with any accuracy through glass. Many of the induction cook tops on the market display temperatures, even though we know that they are not able to judge the temperature of the item to which they are applying heat. Early and cheaper induction plates told us the wattage of power being applied to the induction cook wear, like the gas concept of low, medium and high heat, more recent induction cook tops have attempted to insinuate temperature, but temperature of what? Is the cook top telling us the heat applied? For those that have used induction cooking you will be aware that no heat is applied, only magnetic waves that the cookware turn into heat through molecular vibration of the iron in the cookware. Most induction tops that display temperatures are just giving a different name to Low, Medium and High.

Breville realised the down fallings of induction technology several years ago, but how do you get over a hurdle that no one else has and why would anyone need to know the temperature of a pan to such accuracy? Breville were not just chasing accuracy but 1°C Accuracy. How and why? In the past sensors in induction cook wear were simply there to protect the device from overheating and self-destructing from its own cleverness. Sous vide cooking had achieved better than one degree accuracy, yet induction cooking with all its potential was still vastly inaccurate in controlling temperature. That was until Breville and Polyscience joined forces, intelligent design matched with years of precise temperature control. Design genius has ensued, if you can’t measure temperature through glass, drill a hole in it and set a multi-point temperature sensor against the cook ware being heated. If the greatest problem with induction is self-overheating, separate the control from the induction and independently cool both with variable intelligent fans.

Still the challenges ensued, if you know the temperature of the base of a pot of water, what temperature is the top of the pot? A separate probe to measure liquid at multiple points and software to intelligently interpreted and react to 1°C variation of temperature.

Suddenly, the possibilities with induction design and control are now limitless. Programmability, loops, auto sequencing, cook and hold, cook and turn off, cook and repeat, all of this based now on either temperature or time. Do you know the exact temperature that batter caramelizes for the perfect pancake, have you ever melted butter and held it foaming and yellow for 2 hours? Did you know that you could?

Introducing the Breville/Polyscience Control°Freak, 1°C controlled induction cooking, beyond your imagination. If you thought, you knew how to cook this will blow your mind. Control is power, accuracy is exact control giving you as the chef control and consistency in your kitchen.

The Control°Freak uses a standard power point, yet has intensity control layered with exact temperature accuracy to 1°C, programmable steps and USB updateability future proofing its sleek design. Made for commercial kitchens yet Brevilles design team have smoothed its commercial grunt to make it just as at home in your kitchen.

The Control Freak™ induction cooking system is the first of its kind to accurately measure, set and hold 220 cooking temperatures from 30°- 250°C. The unique real-time sensing system uses a through-glass sensor to directly measure surface temperature. Probe Control™ remote thermometer precisely controls the temperature of both water and fat-based liquids. The Intensity function gives incredible control over the heat up speed to the set temperature. A Create function stores frequently used custom temperature profiles for a simple one-touch recall.

Brought to you by Breville | PolyScience coming together to bring great design and unparalleled precision to the culinary world.

PERFORMANCE
Performance Range: 30ºC – 250ºC
Dual NTC Probe Resolution: 0ºC – 300ºC
Temperature Stability: ±1°C
Power Range: 100 – 2400 Watts
Electricity Rating: 240V ~ 50 Hz / 2400 W

OPERATION
Control Functionality: 220 Possible Holding Temperatures
Timer: 72 hr with “Repeat, Continue, Keep Warm and Stop Cooking” functions

Pre order your Control°Freak to today and set the accuracy of your kitchen.

Polyscience Sous Vide Toolbox app has been updated!

You may have noticed that the Sous Vide Toolbox had stopped working with iOS 11.

We are pleased to inform you that an update for the PolyScience Sous Vide Toolbox is now available.

Feeling left out?

The PolyScience Sous Vide Toolbox is an amazing tool thatdemystifies the thermal conductivity of proteins. What does that mean? Well.. when cooking sous vide, proteins conduct heat in a way that is frankly not intuitive. A 1-inch thick beef steak reaches equilibrium with bath temperature in an hour and thirty nine minutes. Raising your cooking temperature a mere 1ºC cuts that cooking time down to an hour and seven minutes! The good news is that this behavior is both mathematically predictable and repeatable.

Confused? Don’t worry.
Let us guide you!

Get the toolbox

Is it cooked yet? who would know

Sous Vide cooking………How does it work in practice? Sous vide has the distinct advantage over other methods of cookery in… Read more

Sous Vide cooking………How does it work in practice?

Sous vide has the distinct advantage over other methods of cookery in that recipes are temperature specific with a window of readiness in which it is safe to leave the food at the cooking temperature for as long as a few hours without significant change.in the final result. In practice this means that cooked items can be held at temperature during a service period until required.

There are three ways that sous vide cooking is used, each with a different desired outcome.

Short cook

Short cook items include primal cuts, poultry, vegetables and eggs. These items are cooked below 64.5°C for 30min-2 hours, the exception is poultry leg meat on the bone which is cooked between 68-75°C for 1 ½ – 2 hours to cook out the blood in the joints and bones. Short cook items although they look fine will start to eat mushy if held more than three hours at temperature.

Continue reading “Is it cooked yet? who would know”

At Home with Sous Vide, by Dale Prentice

This review of ‘At home with sous vide’ is from ‘ANZ LitLovers LitBlog’ by Lisa Hill. Lisa Hill Reveiw: The… Read more

This review of ‘At home with sous vide’ is from ‘ANZ LitLovers LitBlog’ by Lisa Hill.

Lisa Hill

Reveiw:

The Spouse and I are devoted to Masterchef: we watch it religiously and this 2014 series is the best yet. The spouse is a keen cook, you see, and so he’s always looking for beaut new ideas that are do-able at home. But until recently, there was one method of cooking that couldn’t be replicated at home, and that was sous vide, i.e. cooking in a low temperature water bath. It’s a fabulous way of cooking that results in perfectly tender, evenly-cooked meat and fish, with delicious flavour and texture.

Continue reading “At Home with Sous Vide, by Dale Prentice”

The rise of sous vide in restaurant food preparation

What is sous vide ? Sous vide cooking is a combination of two distinct process. The first is vacuum packaging.… Read more

What is sous vide ?

Sous vide cooking is a combination of two distinct process.

The first is vacuum packaging.

Food items are prepared either raw or partly cooked then chilled to below 3C before being seal in plastic pouches under 99.9% vacuum.

This process has many benefits to the chef;

marinade volumes can be reduced with enhanced results,
likely hood of cross-contamination after sealing is greatly reduced,
likelihood of accidental food spillages are minimised
food is held firmly so that the rigors of cooking will not damage the presentation of the food item.

The negatives are; Continue reading “The rise of sous vide in restaurant food preparation”

Thrill your customers with GlassChill

The perfect cocktail bar set up requires more planning than you would think. Tools and equipment include measures, shakers, blenders, seives, pippettes, rotary evaporator, sonic homogenizer, smoking gun, JetChill, decanters and that is before you consider the required fridge space for ten different types of glassware, syrups, fruits for garnishes, juices and alcohols. Most cocktail bars are set up with a lack of fridge space to be as functional as a talented mixologist would like.

Imagine if you didn’t need fridge space for glassware, imagine if you could chill your glassware to order…..

Introducing the GlassChill

The GlassChill by JetChill rapidly chills any type of drinks glass below freezing. With a simple, single button operation, the GlassChill is quick, easy and safe to operate. At the push of a button the GlassChill will automatically inject super-cool CO2 into any drinks glass through its patented multi directional nozzle, giving the fastest complete -40C chilled glass on the market. Timed button operation leaves your hands free to continue preparing the drink whilst the glass is chilled and assured safety that the unit can not accidentally release CO2 if the glass is not instantly removed. The GlassChill creates fantastic theatre that will amaze your Customers and ensure they drink from ice cold, clean glasses every time.

The GlassChill can be used to chill and sanitize drinking glasses as well as small to medium bowls and liquid containers in either glass or food grade plastic.

Cold sanitation of glassware is crucial not only from a strictly hygienic point of view: the invisible residue that remains after washing may adulterate the taste and odour of drinks, compromising the quality of the products served. The GlassChill takes just a few seconds to thoroughly sanitize the glass, leaving the product completely free of any unpleasant odours or aftertaste. Fridge tainted glassware is a thing of the past with GlassChill.

Make the GlassChill your own with glass engraving and company branding on request.

Features:

Lightweight & Portable
Automated Twin Charge
15 second charge time
4 CO2 jets for even distribution of glass chilling
Powerful LED lighting
Branding available on request – engraved glass and LED lid with company logo

Click here to see GlassChill details and specifications

See you @ Foodservice Australia 2019

We’re getting excited about the upcoming industry event – Foodservice Australia, which will be held from 23 – 25 June… Read more

We’re getting excited about the upcoming industry event – Foodservice Australia, which will be held from 23 – 25 June at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Sous Vide Australia will be showcasing the latest range of sous vide products and accessories from PolyScience, Oliso, Henkelman and Clifton.

If you work in the food or hospitality industry then you should be planning a visit to this event, and come and say “Hi” to us at stand L32 while you’re there too.

It’s a bit cheesy – but comes out fighting

Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake with Hazelnuts The texture of this dish is the same as the centre of a baked… Read more

Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake with Hazelnuts

The texture of this dish is the same as the centre of a baked cheesecake without the crust, and you can make it using any baked cheesecake recipe. Once cooked, the mix can be pressed into moulds to create fun desserts—use animal-shaped cookie cutters to make an edible cheesecake farmyard, or ninja cutters for an action-packed dessert.
Time: 3 hours 30 minutes, includes 2 hours cooking and 1 hour chilling time. Serves 4

Cheesecake
400 grams cream cheese
¼ cup sugar
3 eggs
6 tablespoons flour
½ cup cream
½ cup Baileys Irish Cream
pinch of salt
Continue reading “It’s a bit cheesy – but comes out fighting”

Nsw Health department launch Sous Vide guidelines

NSW sous vide Health department come onboard with new rules On the 12/12/2012 the NSW health department launched their proactive… Read more

NSW sous vide

Health department come onboard with new rules

On the 12/12/2012 the NSW health department launched their proactive response to the gaining popularity of sous vide at home and in restaurant kitchens. The new guidelines are based for the main part off Douglas Baldwin’s works and charts, this is a very positive move by a health department and hopefully the other Australian health departments follow suit.

Read the guidelines NSW sous vide appendix

The conclusion sets out the basics

Conclusion

Sous vide seems like a new food service technology but it has a history spanning four

decades in France and two decades in other countries. It has been found in many markets including extended shelf life ready meals. Today it is used by catering companies, restaurants and, increasingly, home cooks.

Sous vide has concerned regulators at times during its history. There are risks with sous vide that must be managed. Leading sous vide chefs are aware of these risks and food safety has been prominent in their kitchens and recipe books. As far as can be determined from the scientific literature and foodborne illness databases, sous vide chefs have been successful in managing food safety and food poisoning attributed to sous vide has not been identified.

The risks associated with sous vide foods will be reduced if:

• thinner portions of food are prepared so that heating and cooling are rapid.

• water bath temperatures of at least 55°C are used so that the growth of Clostridium

perfringens is first prevented and then destruction of the cells commences.

• the time food is held at temperatures below 54.5°C during cooking is limited to 6

hours.

• professional equipment with adequate heating capacity and excellent temperature

control is used.

• water and/or food temperatures are checked using a tip sensitive digital

thermometer that is accurate to 0.1°C.

• prepared foods are not stored for extended times unless processes have been

validated.

• risks are not compounded. Cooking large portions of mechanically tenderised meat

for extended times at low temperatures would be irresponsible.

• if you choose to include on your menu foods that remain essentially raw they should only be served following a request by an informed, healthy adult who willingly accepts the risks associated with raw foods.

New practitioners of sous vide must be aware of the food safety risks and avoid overly experimental applications of the technology.

Nsw Government sous vide guide lines – the first ingredient is saftey is a one page guideline, both documents should be added to you food safety plan if you use the sous vide cooking method in your work place.

Lemon thyme chicken, spinach mousse, quinoa and pinenuts

4 x 250gm Chicken breast skin on
4 x Sprigs Fresh thyme
1 x Lemon
100 gm. Baby spinach
50 mls Cream
Allspice ground
For the quinoa
1 Spanish onion
80 gm Button mushrooms
20 gm Unsalted butter
100 gm Organic red quinoa
1 bunch Baby carrots
20 gm Large pine nuts

For the sauce

1 kg Chicken bones
1.5 litres White chicken stock
1 Carrot
1 Brown onion
½ Celery
left over leek from above

Roast the chicken bones in a perforated tray at 120°C until golden and fat has rendered.

Make a miropoix of onion, carrot, celery and leek. Place in a large pot with the brown bones, some thyme, peppercorns and a bay leaf, cover with cold chicken stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for two hours. Pass the stock and then reduce over a moderate heat by half, skimming regularly.

Peel the skin of the chicken breast back leaving it attached at the top. Trim the chicken breast up square and remove the tenderloin. Carefully toss the trimmed chicken breasts with chopped thyme leaves, grated lemon zest and a touch of oil. Set aside in the fridge covered. Wash, blanch, refresh and squeeze out the baby spinach. Place in a food processor and chop very finely. Add the chicken trimmings, tenderloins, and a pinch of allspice, thyme leaves and process to a fine paste. Add just enough cream to make a smooth stiff mousse, season to taste.

Lay a square of glad wrap on the bench; season a trimmed chicken breast and using a pallet knife paste a quarter of the mousse onto the breast under were the skin would go, pull the skin over the mousse and reform into a neat shape. Using the glad wrap, roll into a tight bonbon and tie off the ends. Place into vacuum a bag and vacuum seal on medium. Cook for one and a half hours at 62°C using your hypodermic probe thermometer.

Peel the red onions leaving the core intact then cut in to thin wedges. Lay out on baking paper on flat tray and dry out in a medium oven. Trim and quarter the button mushrooms. Vacuum pack with butter and thyme and cook at 82.5°C for thirty minutes.

Wash peel and trim the baby carrots, place in a vacuum bag with a pinch of salt and a splash of oil, then vacuum seal on high and cook at 82.5°C for forty minutes. When cooked tip contents of bag into a hot pan and sauté until glazed and slightly browned.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil add quinoa and cook for 13 minutes strain and cool spread out on a tray.

To finish cut open the bag of mushrooms, remove the thyme and discard. Tip the contents of the bag of mushrooms into a hot pan, sauté for a minute add the onions then quinoa and deglaze with a little brown chicken stock. Cook out until nearly dry and season.

Toast the pinenuts and chop roughly. When the chicken breast is cooked remove all plastic and line the breasts up in a tray. Finish in a very hot oven til skin is golden, slice to serve on the quinoa, garnish with baby carrots, pinenuts and sauce .

Sous vide equipment for low temperature cookery

Thermal immersion circulators, digital water baths and cook chill tanks are the only reliable way to transfer exact temperatures to… Read more

Thermal immersion circulators, digital water baths and cook chill tanks are the only reliable way to transfer exact temperatures to sealed food packages in an even consistent manner. Although combination steam ovens are often considered for sous vide due to their castored trolley loading systems there can be large variations in heat transfer. Sheard and Rodger (1995) found that none of the convection steam ovens they tested heated sous vide pouches uniformly when fully loaded. Indeed, it took the slowest heating (standardized) pouch 70%–200% longer than the fastest heating pouch to go from 68°F to 167°F (20°C to 75°C) when set to an operating temperature of 176°F (80°C). They believe this variation is a result of the relatively poor distribution of steam at temperatures below 212°F (100°C) and the ovens dependence on condensing steam as the heat transfer medium.

Low temperature cooking

The thermal conductivity of water is 23 times greater than that of air which makes it far more stable for achieving accurate temperature transfer. Immersion circulators also use PID technology to achieve accuracy without over shot of temperature in reheat.

Vacuum packaging of the item to be cooked is the crux of sous vide. Not only is the item sealed in a completely non-stick environment, oxidisation is removed from the equation. The vacuum seal also enhances the ability of the cooking medium to have 100% direct contact with the food to be cooked. Flavour potential of all additives is enhanced by vacuum extraction which means less marinade and lower or no oil, fat or sodium additions.

In larger scale productions separate chill tanks may be used for better work flow.

One power point, 300 perfectly poached eggs!

Do you poach a lot of eggs? It is so hard and time consuming to poach the perfect egg every… Read more

Do you poach a lot of eggs?

It is so hard and time consuming to poach the perfect egg every time. No matter how good you are at this time old art, distractions will cause at least one or two fully set yolks.

Fresh eggs, perfect acidulated water just simmering, not to deep, not to shallow, constantly skimming out loose albumin, there has to be an easier cleaner way.

I was struggling with this the other day. The perfect breakfast scenario would be an egg perfectly poached in its shell. How good would it be if every time you needed that next poached egg for the two hundredth time in a morning, it was just sitting there at the perfect temperature, waiting to be cracked straight on to the piping hot toast. Just add a rash of bacon and a confit tomato and “table 52 away!”

How hard could it be to soft cook an egg in its shell and hold it hot, accurate temperature would have to be the key.

I put it to the test with my Polyscience Chef Series circulator 63°Celcius for 45 minutes, see below, WOW! It looks perfect, and the yolk, ahh soft and creamy and just runs when you cut it with a knife.

The real test was one hour later, half of my eggs were still in the water bath. How would they be after one hour forty-five?

I cracked one out on to a piece of toast, it was exactly the same. It had a set white and a soft just runny yolk and was warm all the way through. Just to be sure I cracked another, and another, and another. They all slipped straight out of the shell as identical soft cooked eggs.

I used my Chef series by Polyscience for this trial as it has very low water movement even though it is a circulated bath. The water is circulated constantly, this moves the water around the temperature probe and the heating element with very little disturbance of the cooking food. I used two deep fryer baskets to hold the eggs so that I could lift them out without putting my hand in to the bath all the time. 63°C is a little hot for my precious fingers. The two baskets held so many eggs I lost count but I think it was around 120 to 150 and everyone came out just like the others, again and again and again. When the first basket is empty I simply slide the back one to the front refill the empty basket, place it in the back half of the bath and reset my timer.

No wounder Phillip Preston from Polyscience keeps harping on about ” Perfect repeatable results every time with sous vide”

JetChill Cocktail – Miami Vice

Miami Vice – Ultra cool with every sip

What oozes 1980’s music, fashion and cool vibes? It’s Miami Vice of course, and this classic drink
will make you look as cool as a cucumber, especially if you’re wearing an expensive pastel sports
jacket worn over a T-shirt just like in the hit TV Show…

1 oz. Amaretto
1 oz. Midori
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Cranberry Juice
Dash Fresh Lemon Juice 🍋

PROCEDURE:

Shake all ingredients in a small shaker with 2 cubes of ice. Pour into a JetChill cocktail glass 🍸

GARNISH:

Pink Flamingo Stirrer

GLASS:

JetChill Glass

JetChill Cocktail – Mango Fire

Mango Fire – Prepare to be dazzled! 🎉

1 oz. Amaretto Liquor
1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice 🍋
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup

PROCEDURE:

Shake all ingredients in a small shaker with 1 cube of ice. Pour into a JetChill Shot glass.

GARNISH:

Maraschino Cherry

GLASS:

#JetChill Shot Glass

Welcome to the Sous Vide Australia blog

Saturday 1st May 2010

Smoked chicken with panzanella was todays sous vide dish. I brine the breasts on the bone in 4 cups of salt and 1 cup of sugar mixed with 10 litres of water for 32 hours. I then rinse and dry the chicken vac pac it with 1 cup of chicken stock and cook it for 3 hours at 68.5°C. The chicken is then smoked in my hot fish smoker for 20 minutes over rosmary wood.

This produces a very fragrant and moist meat which combines well with the rich flavours from the hierloom tomatoes that Brad and Helen Harvey www.bradsproduce.com.au are some how ripening this late in autumn.

Wednesday 21st April 2010

I delivered an SV25 Sous Vide to Fed Squares Taxi Dining Room this morning.

Over the coming weeks Michael Lambie has agreed to provide a recipe and Redfish Bluefish will venture into Taxi to take some photo’s of the dishes that they are creating for this blog.

The Age Goodfood guide 16/20

Brown Brothers Wine List of the Year

Contemporary
Consider it Melbourne’s money shot: the moment the sun dips below the Flinders Street skyline and the blinds at Taxi retract, leaving gobsmacking views of the station and the bustle of St Kilda Road and Southbank. The wow factor of this smart dining room means it remains one of the city’s must-visit propositions, its status helped by the ongoing tenure of executive chef Michael Lambie and a smart team of mostly young waiters who make up for any gaps in experience with their enthusiasm. Taxi inhabits a genre of its own making, best summed up as modern food with a strong Japanese presence. There’s superb, straight-up sushi and sashimi and a nightly special of gyoza with a reliably luxe filling (Moreton Bay bug, perhaps), while elsewhere the menu displays Lambie’s classical roots. Atlantic salmon and yabbies poached and chilled in aspic served with a dollop of caviar showcases reliably brilliant presentation; super-crisp Sichuan duck, aggressive on the heat and tempered by a sweet puddle of peach jus, is a cross-cultural showpiece unafraid to go for the flavour jugular. Desserts, too, can go from a traditional lemon souffle to the infectious cheekiness of mini chocolate waffle cones.Open Daily noon–3pm, 6–11pm
Typical prices E $24 M $42 D $19.50
Cards AE DC MC V Eftpos
Wine Well-composed list of big names, Old and New World; good sake, too
Owner Sovereign Hotel Group Chef Michael Lambie
Seats 115; outdoor seating; private room; bar

Monday 12th April 2010

Fennel, lime and sumac prawns on Russian salad

For the Prawns

2 16/20 Prawn cutlets
Fennel seed, toasted and ground
Dried lime zest, ground
Sumac
Salt

For the Salad

1                             Kiphler, peeled and sliced
1                              Baby carrot peeled and sliced
10                           Broad beans blanched and peeled
50 gm                  Peas blanched

For the dressing

Mayonnaise
Vodka
Dill, finely chopped
Tarragon, finely chopped

Devein the prawns and rub with a mix of equal quantities of fennel, lime and sumac season to taste and seal in a pouch with a squirt of extra virgin olive oil on medium. Cook for thirty minutes at 56°C in your water bath.

For the salad seal the potato in a pouch with salt and EVOO, and the carrot in a separate pouch with sugar, salt and EVOO to taste. Cook for thirty minutes at 80°C in your water bath. Toss all salad ingredients with dressing and serve topped with prawns.

Wednesday 7th April 2010

I will be sad to say good-bye to – 12-hour lamb noisette with organic zucchini flowers, pine nuts and currants from our restaurant menu this week. Meagan Bertram and Steven Briggs Yarra Valley Gourmet Greenhouse zucchini flowers have been consumed by powdery mildew at last, so it is time to move on.

We were buying the lamb noisette in one piece, removing most of the sinew and trimming the fat cover to even it up. Then rubbing the inside of the noisette with Greek oregano, lemon zest dried under the heat lights, confit garlic, EVOO and seasoning it very well. The noisette was then rolled and tied to form a tight cylinder and bagged with a ladle of cold chicken stock on medium high.

We cooked the lamb for 12 hours at 54ºC then cooled it quickly in ice slurry for two and half hours. We found that cooling was necessary to set the fat layer on the out side of the roll or sealing it was impossible.

After cooling, the lamb was returned to the bath at 54ºC for 30 minutes to an hour during service. As ordered the portions were removed from the bath, unbagged, sealed in a hot pan with olive oil, seasoned, then rested for ten minutes before serving.

The resultant dish is a beautiful pink roll of lamb, with a dark crisp well seasoned skin and a soft almost confit texture to the meat.

Monday 29th March 2010

I am currently serving this Chicken and Pistachio terrine with baba ganouche on the platter at Stones of the Yarra Valley.

This terrine can be rolled as a whole chicken or as two smaller terrines.

1 Whole chicken
50 gm Pistachio’s blanched and skinned
5 gm   Thyme, leaves only
5 gm   Basil, leaves only torn
6           Garlic cloves, confit in oil
Salt
Pepper

Skin the chicken starting at the back being careful to remove the skin in one piece. Remove all of the meat from the chicken and cut in to strips. The thigh meat is best if cut across the grain.

Weigh the meat and add 1% of its weight in salt, add all other ingredients and massage them into the meat. Allow the mix to rest for an hour letting the flavours develop.

In the mean time make a white stock from the bones. Pass it and then chill it.

Lay a piece of commercial glad wrap on the bench and spread out the chicken skin. Season the skin with salt and pepper, then carefully form the meat mix into a cylinder shape on the skin. Wrap the skin over the filling then roll in the glad wrap to form a bonbon, twisting the ends tightly.

Slip the wrapped terrine into a vac bag with a bay leaf and 125 ml of the chilled chicken stock. Seal on medium high using the liquids plate for vac machine.

Cook for three hours at 68ºC in a sous vide then cool rapidly in an ice slurry or blast chiller.

Serve cold.

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Salmon sous vide was the dish that hooked me. I have slow cooked salmon for years, in oil at 60ºC, in the rational at 80ºC with low fan till half cooked then down to 50ºC. Nothing can give you the clean velvet feel of the dish below.

Salmon with A la grecque fennel and spanish onion

For the Salmon

Clean and pin bone salmon removing all traces of the blood line. Portion fillet. Vacuum pac on medium high with a touch of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of Scilian air dried sea salt. Cook to order for 12 minutes at 56ºC. Allow to rest for 2 minutes before serving.

For the Spanish onion

3 Spanish onions, peeled and cut into wedges
125 ml White wine vingar
75 gm Caster sugar
1 Clove
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
1/4 tsp Black pepper corns
1/4 tsp Caraway seed
1 Slice Ginger

Wash onion and drain well. Wrap spices and ginger in cling film to make an herb sachet (can be seen with fennel on recipe page). Mix sugar with vinegar and add to vacuum pouch with onion and herb sachet, vacuum on medium high. Cook at 65ºC for 90 minutes, cool in ice bath or serve immediately.

For the Fennel

3 Small fennel, washed, trimmed and cut in wedges
100 ml Water
20 ml Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp Coriander seed
A few Black peppercorns
A pinch Salt
1 Bay leaf
1 sprig Thyme
5 ml Lemon juice
5 ml Pernod

Wrap spices, thyme and bay in cling film to create an herb sachet, add to a vacuum pouch with fennel and all other ingredients. Vacuum on medium high. Cook at 70ºC for 90 minutes, cool in ice bath or serve immediately.

To serve I would toss the drained fennel and Spanish onion with a little mint, parsley, wild fennel sprigs a some lugarian olives dressed in a simple lemon and thyme dressing.

Cumin salted duck breast wrapped in wombok with rocket and figs.

1 Duck breast skin removed well seasoned with cumin salt
1 Blanched wombok leaf
1 Fig
2 Rocket leaves

Lay the wombok leaf out on a sheet of cling film. Place the duck breast in the centre of the wombok leaf. Roll the leaf around the breast then roll tightly in the cling film and twist the end to form a bon bon. Vacuum in a pouch with a spoon of chicken stock.

Cook in your sous vide at 60ºC for 25 minutes. Remove from the water bath and rest for five minutes. Unwrap duck breast and slice, serve with fresh fig and rocket, maybe a little 25 year old balsamic and EEVO.

SO GOOD !

Blog

Making sous vide beetroot leather

Beetroot chip

Beetroot Fluid Gel

Frozen Beetroot foam

Limoncello Meringue

Ingredients

HONEY LIMONCELLO:

COCKTAIL:

Directions

FOR THE HONEY LIMONCELLO:

TO BUILD:

Rhubarb Mimosa

Ingredients

Directions

Chef Talk 👨‍🍳

A chat with the Seriously Inspiring Source Dining’s Quinn Spencer on sous vide cooking

ABOUT Source dining

So Quinn, what are your cooking roots?

You have been cooking sous vide for years, where did it all start?

How do you use sous vide here at Source Dining?

Source Dining Chef’s Recipe

Rockwood Cottage Sous Vide Lamb – By Quinn Spencer, Head Chef, Source Dining, Kyneton

SOUS VIDE LAMB CROQUETTES (30)

SOUS VIDE LAMB RUMP (20)

CHIVE OIL

COMPRESSED CUCUMBER

CHIVE ESPUMA

SMOKED MT ZERO CHICK PEA PUREE

VINAIGRETTE

GARNISH

TO ASSEMBLE

SOUTHERN ROCKLOBSTER, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, PARMESAN CREAM, OLIVE OIL, LEMON AND ROSEMARY

Packaging Liquids

Henkelman offers a 3 year warranty on parts and 1 year on labor.

This warranty does not apply to:

Take Your Food Smoking to the Next Level

Upgrade to the Smoking Gun Pro 🔥💨

What is Probe Control™?

And why Probe Control is better than using a thermometer?

Sous Vide Australia Tips

You can do some really amazing things with the Smoking Gun Pro

Book Your Next Sous Vide Cooking Class

For beginners and advanced chefs 👨‍🍳

Sous Vide Australia Recipe Idea

Barbecued Chicken with Moroccan Spices 🍗😋

Sous Vide Newsletter

101 Sous Vide Cooking for the Home Chef

Kick start your sous vide cooking journey 👨‍🍳

Learn the Art of Spherification

Create molecular food spheres with ease 🍡

101 Sous Vide Cooking for the Chef

Develop your sous vide cooking skills 👩‍🍳

Sous Vide Newsletter

The Amazing Spherificator

The perfect gift for the foodie or chef in your life 👨‍🍳

Christmas Cookbook Ideas

At Home With Sous Vide – By Dale Prentice 📖❤️

Smoking Gun Pro

Create new culinary sensations with smoke! 💨

Oliso PRO – VS95A Starter Kit

Reclosable bags ♻️ + great with liquids 💦

Stainless Steel Chef’s Tweezers

Make your dishes look fabulous! ❤️

Vacuum Packing Bags

Extend the life of your food!

Sous Vide News

New Product Launch

Turn anything into pearls with the Spherificator 🙌

Sous Vide Australia Giveaway

**WIN a Spherificator**

Team Cuisine

Breville Corporate Sous Vide Corporate Workshop 👨‍🍳

What’s On This Weekend

Sous Vide Cooking Class for the Home Chef + Italian Festival 🇮🇹

Sous Vide Australia Gardening Tips

November in Your Patch 🍅

Sous Vide News

3 Hr Sous Vide Basics Cooking Class

With Teacher and Chef, Dale Prentice 👨‍🍳 🍅 🍆🍗

WIN a Spherificator