Sous Vide Cuisine by Joan Roca & Salvador Brugues

[Wolfert]

I think in a microwave, all the heat is absorbed uniformly within the food, and it is quickly cooked producing something that doesn't have much 'chee' or life. Why can you always sense when food is cooked in a microwave?

On the other hand, in sous vide cooking, the outer surface of the food absorbs the heat first, and this heat then moves slowly inwards. This takes a long time at low temperature and the resulting food can be very intense in flavor and succulent in texture. If you didn't know that the food was cooked sous vide you would be more apt to think it is just 'perfectly cooked.'

[Bux]

. . . . If you didn't know that the food was cooked sous vide you would be more apt to think it is just 'perfectly cooked.'

←

The sensory deprivation of cooking sous vide doesn't extend to eating sous vide cooked food.

[Corinna Dunne]

What is an immersion circulator?  Or more importantantly, where can I get one?

←

I don't think the link below has been posted. Apart from starting the sous vide topic, Nathan also started a topic on where to get an immersion bath (great info on eBay etc). You'll get it here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=60181&hl=

Also, just one question. I am assuming that Joan Roca's book is an American edition. Does anyone know if there is an English edition?

[pedro]

Corinna, you may want to take a look at:

http://www.derecoquinaria.com/fichagrande.asp?ID=5883]http://www.derecoquinaria.com/fichagrande.asp?ID=5883

There's also a French edition:

http://www.derecoquinaria.com/fichagrande_eng.asp?ID=5884

The price is the same for the three editions, 99.5€.

[Corinna Dunne]

Thanks for this Pedro. I see that they also have the El Bulli Vol 3 English edition which doesn't seem to be available on Amazon yet (I was cross checking the prices).

[MikeTMD]

Hello, my Dear Foodies!

Let's chat about Joan Roca and Salvador Brugués’ Sous-Vide book now.

I bought mine from Le Sanctuaire (http://le-sanctuaire.com/) - $157 + S&H was the lowest price I could find online. With that - why are cookbooks from Spain are so outrageously expensive??? Is it a profit center for Spanish chefs and/or publishers, or is it because of the high cost of printing in Europe? I am not certain...

Anyway, the book is a masterpiece of printing - superb quality, great paper, excellent design, it even has a protective cover! (I guess one can expect all of that for the price paid...)

As far as content... Well, I have a few things to say. Three major chapters in the book are about "S-V preservation", "S-V cooking" and "S-V cuisine", respectively. I am not sure if it makes more sense in Spanish, but how do we separate "Cooking" and "Cuisine"? Is there a difference, or is it me? At any rate, the very language of the book, or rather it's translation into English does not quite reach a satisfactory grade, as far as I am concerned. It seems like it takes an extra effort to figure out what they really mean ... I wish the message was clear.

It is quite interesting how Spanish chefs perceive S-V technique as on of the methods of preserving food, whereas in the US we are concerned about S-V shortcomings in the very area of food safety. Also, it gives you an idea of what a great difference there is between running a restaurant in Europe and the US, some points appeared almost humorous to me, especially as far as staff training is concerned.

S-V cooking is classified by the authors as "Direct" and "Indirect", and again - it probably is simply about translation, but they see "Direct" as cooking for service or immediate use, whereas "Indirect" is described as cooking for later use, with storage and reheating prior to service. I don't know.... it just doesn't sit well with me, may be because my own mind is locked on Direct Heat and Indirect Heat type of distinction. Please, correct me, if you feel different.

S-V recipes in the book are very good! However, it seems like Roca and Brugués’ approach is heavily influenced by the "Map" strategy of Ferran Adria's, and perhaps for good reasons. I just don't think that little symbols suggested by the authors are necessary, or add any value to otherwise solid recipes. And that's not all - measurements in the book are adopted for cups and ounces, but the numeric values thereof are not quite traditional ( e.g. a recipe may call for 1/5 cup, or 8 4/5 oz.) - not the easiest thing to understand or convert, at the very least for yours truly.

Absolutely the biggest drawback of the book to me is complete absence of shellfish recipes, which - confession time! - is the biggest reason why I wanted a S-V book in the first place. Oh, well...

Overall, I would give this book a Satisfactory/Recommended rating, but again - is it worth $160? I am still torn about that...

[Jon Tseng]

good book. contains a lot of temps timings and background wisdom it would take ages to figure out yourselves.

i got mine from the resto. also costs an arm and a leg there as well. i'm torn about the qpr too. on one hand its not actually that big a book. on the other hand some of the information it contains is absolutely unique.

[docsconz]

Aside from the sous vide topic here in the eGullet Forums with amazing contributions from NathanM amongst others, I'm not sure that there really is much else of value out there dedicated to that technique. If not the first, it was probably the first authoritative book on the subject. I am unaware of anything having eclipsed it yet.

[MikeTMD]

Aside from the sous vide topic here in the eGullet Forums with amazing contributions from NathanM amongst others, I'm not sure that there really is much else of value out there dedicated to that technique. If not the first, it was probably the first authoritative book on the subject. I am unaware of anything having eclipsed it yet.

←

I don't know if this book posseses as much authority on the subject as it claims to have. I can't wait for Thomas Keller and his book on S-V!

[adey73]

I've always relied on the stellar NathanM.

The book is £60 at Books for Cooks in Notting Hill, an investment or not?

[docsconz]

Aside from the sous vide topic here in the eGullet Forums with amazing contributions from NathanM amongst others, I'm not sure that there really is much else of value out there dedicated to that technique. If not the first, it was probably the first authoritative book on the subject. I am unaware of anything having eclipsed it yet.

←

I don't know if this book posseses as much authority on the subject as it claims to have. I can't wait for Thomas Keller and his book on S-V!

←

It may not be definitive, but it is an authority and as of now, still the only major book I know of devoted to the subject. At the very least, it has been a very influential book for many professional chefs. While the technique is credited to Bruno Goussault in France, Roca has done as much as anyone to promote the technique, especially over the last ten years.

When NathanM writes a book on sous vide that will definitely be authoritative and most likely definitive.

[MikeTMD]

I've always relied on the stellar NathanM.

The book is £60 at Books for Cooks in Notting Hill, an investment or not?

←

Well, S-V is anything, but cheap. That having been said, I paid $190 fot the immersion circulator, which is a must, and almost as much for the book. Most folks would have to spend about $1000, which makes spending $120 for the "manual" more or less reasonable.

Bottom line: it's a good book, but not necessarily a great investment.