What are the benefits of low temperature cooking?

Today there are many culinary techniques for preparing food, whether at health home or in a restaurant. One of the most recent is low temperature cooking, which can be done using vacuum bags, or without. In this article, we will introduce you to this technique and its advantages.

Low temperature cooking can be defined as the process during which the temperature is low. It requires great technical rigor. With this type of cooking, it is necessary to have a technology that guarantees precise control of the temperature and humidity of cooking.

The cooking at low temperature can be done using 2 methods:

  • With vacuum bags: they promote food safety and reduce the space taken up by the food

  • Without vacuum bags: it is important to control the humidity level so that the food does not dry out and does not shrink too much

Where does this concept come from?

The fashion for low-temperature cooking began in France in the 1970s, on the initiative of French chef George Praluz. Curiously, the foie gras was the ingredient chosen for the first experiment. Meanwhile, French scientist Bruno Goussault started to develop this procedure and today gives worldwide advice for chefs and restaurants.

There are always two variables in cooking, temperature and time. The lower the first, the longer the food takes to cook. In low temperature cooking, the degrees and minutes are carefully studied.

How to cook at low temperature?

The basic ingredients must be chosen very fresh, and not have been stored for two or three days. They must be worked in totally sanitized environments. Your hands should be disinfected and there should be no crossover between the products.

You can cook at low temperature using a thermal bath device, or an oven at low temperature. It is essential to have a pool with water and ice, because when you take the products out of the bath, they continue to cook, and since we have such precision in minutes and temperatures, we can no longer let them cook.

The discovery of the low-temperature cooking method has broadened the horizons of chefs. This allows them to work with new consistencies and to regulate the temperature according to the cooking of each food. For this, they use a table of values ​​where they indicate the temperature, the cooking time and the conservation.

What are the advantages of low temperature cooking?

Flavor

In nutritional and gastronomic terms, this technique is very advantageous. Since food is often inside a bag, it has no space to spill and the flavor is more concentrated. The dishes from this cooking therefore have more contrasting flavors. There are also textures milder compared to traditional methods of higher temperature and shorter time.

Protein

Food retains better protein. Indeed, animal proteins begin to denature from a temperature of around 70 degrees, which is not reached with this type of cooking.

More hydrated foods

Do not heat at too high temperatures to avoid loss of liquids as well as dehydration and drying food.

Improved digestion

Low temperature helps better digest food and nutrients are easier to ingest.

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