Arpucci

I am concerning about SV cooking using Ziploc or Foodsaver pouches... Who know how about the composition of this pouches? Usually plastic pouches for cook-in are made from different products with different thermal and mechanical characteristics’: PA/PE 20/70 - 90um (max +70C/158F) PA/PE 20/80 - 100um (max +70C/158F) PA/PE 25/115 - 140um (max +70C/158F) OPA/PP 15/65 - 80um (max +115C/239F) I would recommend do not cook with regular plastic pouches over +70C/158F... Many vegetables has to being cooked over +85C/ 185F, so being careful!

I would suggest you to use a "Hot Air Gun" instead a propane "Blowtorch"...

Doug, you will not be able to "cold cook" some products without a chamber vacuum like: high chlorophyll green leafs, fruits like watermelons, peachs, strawberrys etc or making coullis on room temperature... You will need a "medium vacuum" level in order to do that...

Doug, I do agree with you to use Ziploc bags, JUST if you are cooking SV soft proteins for imediate use at HOME... I am not confident with barrier and thermal caracteristics of ordinary pouchs if you will cook tough proteins for long time...

Dears, I am new guy here, but I would like to contribute with this topic... First of all, if you are going to invest money to buy a vacuum chamber, you sould buy the best you can affort to... You will not use it for SV cooking only but also to preserve expensive products like proteins etc... With good vacuum level and good barrier pouchs, you can stock products for 2 years under freezer... Tips to buy a good vacuum chamber: 1- Good and powerfull "vacuum pump" (Busch!!!) 2- Stainless Steel vacuum chamber big enough, with round corners (easy to clean!) 3- Double seal bar, easy to disasemble to change/clean (without tools!) 4- Vacuum level control, not timer! 5- Easy access to maintenance...( oil exchange every 100 hours) 6- Sof air release and shut off / emergency switch... Best brands for small professional users: C-70 www.multivac.com Vacuboy www.vakuumverpacken.de SV-31 www.orved.it