Hello everyone, I’m new to posting here, but after making my way through 20+ pages of sous vide info I’m still left with a question…. I’m wondering how important the vacuum part of sous vide is. It seems to me that using a Ziploc bag, getting most of the air out, and suspending it in a temperature controlled water bath might be enough to create “poor man’s” sous vide (being careful to avoid leaks into the Ziploc bag). If one were to make sous vide for immediate consumption I don’t see what vacuum packing adds to the process. It seems plausible to me that the use of a vacuum machine to start the process is a legacy of sous vide’s history: as a method to pre-cook high quality meals en-masse for distribution and rewarming later. If you give up the ability to keep your sous vide in long-term storage after cooking, is it possible to eliminate the need to purchase a vacuum machine? Aaron
