“This application takes out the guesswork of determining the correct cooking time at a certain temperature.”

All data is plotted in graphs to show you the relationships between time, temperature and pathogen reduction in your food.

The Cooking Journal points out each event during the cooking process and explains details if needed. Once the process is finished a timer notifies you about it via message and audible alarm.

Why Sous Vide Toolbox?
Instead of providing a limited number of combinations of foods, sizes, shapes and temperatures as found in time/temperature tables, the Sous Vide Toolbox provides a much wider combination of options – with just a few taps on your screen.

Thermal conductivity (heat transfer) of protein is almost identical in each protein. Rather than measuring how long it takes to cook food at different thickness, it allows us to calculate the time it takes at a certain temperature and thickness to reach core temperature and different levels of pasteurization.

This takes out the guesswork of determining the correct cooking time at a certain temperature. It also provides great guidance as to what level of pathogen reduction occurs at what time and whether your choice of temperature and time is considered safe.

The application will be continuously developed and enriched with new features. An Android-based version is part of future development plans.

Please send your questions and feedback to sousvidetoolbox@polyscience.com or comment on this blog post.

Ingredients
8 Sous Vide Poached Egg (See recipe below)
8 2 oz Slices Spiral Cut Ham
16 oz Arrowleaf Spinach (wilted with EVOO and diced shallot)
iSi Hollandaise Sauce (See recipe below)
4 Toasted fork-split English Muffins

Poached Eggs 64°C / 147.2°F for 60-75 minutes
Ingredients
Large hen eggs – quantity is variable

Cooking Time: 45 Times

Step 1:
Set the rear pump flow switch to fully closed. Set the front flow switch to the minimum flow to ensure the delicate proteins in the whites do not separate from agitation. Set the temperature of the Sous Vide Professional to 64°C / 147.2°F.

Step 2:
Once target temperature is reached, gently place eggs in circulating water bath. Use a ladle or slotted spoon to gently lower the eggs so they do not crack.

Step 3:
Cook to desired doneness for 45 minutes. Do not hold at temperature for more than 120 minutes.

Step 4:
If plating immediately, gently crack egg onto a paper towel to capture any excess liquid. Gently roll egg off of the towel onto a plate.

If serving at a later point, do not crack. Plunge egg into ice bath. Store up to 48 hours under refrigeration. Reheat egg by placing in 60°C / 140°F circulating bath or placing egg into a pot of simmering water for 60 seconds.

Sauce Hollandaise
Ingredients for a 0.5L / 1 US Pint iSi Whipper:
300 ml Clarified Butter, warmed to 60°C / 140°F
100 ml White Wine Reduction (200ml, reduced by half, infused with 1 Thyme Sprig)
4 Egg Yolks
1 Egg

To Taste:
Kosher Salt
White Pepper, finely ground
Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed
Green Tabasco

Preparation
Step 1:
Whisk the white wine reduction with the egg and egg yolks.

Step 2:
Add the warmed clarified butter to the egg and wine mixture.

Step 3:
Season to taste.

Step 4:
Pass mixture through iSi Funnel + Sieve into the 0.5L / 1 US Pint iSi Whipper. Screw on 1 iSi Cream Charger and shake vigorously.
Keep warm in a water bath or a bain-marie at temperatures of up to 65°C / 150°F.

This sauce does not have to be whisked over simmering water.
It can be kept warm and easily reheated in the iSi Gourmet Whip PLUS in a water bath or in the bain-marie without coagulating at temperatures of up to 65°C / 150°F.

For preparations in the 1L iSi Whipper double the amount of ingredients. Screw on 2 iSi Cream Charges and shake vigorously after each one.

Smoked Fingerling Potatoes
Ingredients
1/2 cup of Smoked Butter (Wood Recommendation: Whiskey Barrel Oak)
1 lb Fingerling Potatoes, sliced lengthwise
2 Sprigs of Fresh Marjoram or Oregano
Salt, Pepper (to taste)

Step 1:
Prepare smoked butter with PolyScience Smoking Gun (see recipe below).

Step 2:
Set the rear pump flow switch of Sous Vide Professional to fully closed. Set the front flow switch to the maximum flow. Set the temperature of the Sous Vide Professional to 85°C / 185°F.

Step 3:
Vacuum seal potatoes with smoked butter.

Step 4:
Once target temperature is reached, place vacuum sealed potatoes in circulating water bath.

Step 5:
Cook to desired doneness for about 45 minutes, or until tender throughout.

Step 6:
Drain potatoes, reserve butter. In a hot sauté pan, lightly sear potatoes. Add melted smoked butter, fresh marjoram leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions for Smoked Butter:
Step 1:
Whip butter in stand mixer and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Step 2:
Spread out the butter on bowl walls to increase surface that will absorb smoke.

Step 3:
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and fill with whiskey barrel oak smoke.

Step 4:
Release smoke after 2 minutes and repeat steps 1 & 2 with fresh smoke to achieve a strong and delicious smoke aroma.

For Plating:
Sauté spinach and brown ham slices and layer on top of toasted English muffins. Gently place poached egg on top using a slotted spoon. Test consistency and flow of Hollandaise sauce and gently siphon on top of poached egg. Garnish with fresh herbs, such as dill, thyme, parsley or chive. Serve with smoked fingerling potatoes.

Ingredients

Boneless Pork Loin
Peels of One Lemon and One Orange
Dry Brine (according to recipe below)

White Balsamic Vinaigrette
3/4 C EVOO
1/4 C White Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Large Lemon, juiced
Salt and Ground Black Pepper, to taste

White Asparagus
2 Bunches (about 20 pieces) White Asparagus, ends trimmed
1/4 C White Wine
1/4 C Vegetable Stock
10 Whole Black Peppercorns

Charred Ramps or Spring Onions
2 Bunches of Cleaned Ramps or Spring Onions (about 10-15 pieces) Trim root end, keep greens intact.
EVOO
Salt and Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Dry Brine
5 tablespoons pickling spice
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 cup kosher salt
4 cups water
1 bunch fresh thyme leaves

Combine all in a saucepan, bring to a boil.
Cool completely, refrigerate until ready for use.
Place pork loin in brine and let sit, refrigerated, 12-18 hours.*
*The longer the pork sits in the brine, the stronger the salt flavor will be, after cooking.

Dry Brined Pork Loin

Step 1:
Rub dry brine over entire surface of pork loin. Let sit, covered for 8 hours in refrigerator.

Step 2:
Rinse dry brine from pork loin and vacuum seal with enough olive oil to coat liberally.

Step 3:
Set the rear pump flow switch of the Sous Vide Professional to fully closed. Set the front flow switch to the maximum flow. Set the temperature of the Sous Vide Professional to 60°C / 140°F.

Step 4:
Once target temperature is reached, place vacuum sealed pork loin in circulating water bath.

Step 5:
Cook sous vide for about 2-3 hours.

Step 6:
Drain all liquids from bag, dry surface of pork loin with clean kitchen towel. In a hot, large sauté or roasting pan, brown entire surface of pork loin. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

White Asparagus

Step 1:
Combine white wine, vegetable stock and whole black peppercorns in vacuum bag.

Step 2:
Vacuum seal asparagus and liquid. Marinate for 1 hour.

Step 3:
Set the rear pump flow switch of Sous Vide Professional to fully closed. Set the front flow switch to the maximum flow. Set the temperature of the Sous Vide Professional to 82°C / 180°F.

Step 4:
Once target temperature is reached, place vacuum sealed asparagus in circulating water bath.

Step 5:
Cook sous vide for about 20-30 minutes, or until tender.

Step 6:
Drain liquid from bag. Serve white asparagus as is.

White Balsamic Vinaigrette

Step 1:
Combine EVOO, white balsamic vinegar, honey and lemon juice.

Step 2:
Whisk or blend in high-speed blender.

Step 3:
Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Charred Ramps or Spring Onions

Step 1:
Coat ramps or onions with EVOO.

Step 2:
Char on grill until blackened and tender.

Step 3:
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For plating: Spoon half of vinaigrette onto large serving platter. Arrange white asparagus and charred ramps/spring onions over vinaigrette. Slice and shingle pork loin over vegetables. Lightly spoon remaining vinaigrette over pork.

Ingredients

Leg of Lamb

1 4lb Boneless Leg (marinated overnight)

EVOO (enough to coat lamb liberally)

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

4 Sprigs of Fresh Mint

4 Sprigs of Fresh Oregano

Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

Tomato Confit

4 large, Red Heirloom Tomatoes, cored and peeled

4 Tablespoons EVOO

2 Sprigs of Fresh Oregano

Homemade Greek Yogurt (yogurt can be made in advance, will keep up to 2 weeks)

3 Cups Whole Milk

1 Tablespoon / 15 grams Yogurt Starter

Harissa Sauce

2.1 oz Dried Harissa Spice

2 Cloves Chopped Garlic

6 Tablespoons EVOO

2 English Cucumbers, Cut into 1 inch cubes

1 Sprig of Fresh Oregano for garnish

Leg of Lamb

Step 1:

Vacuum seal marinated leg of lamb with EVOO, garlic, mint and oregano. Marinate at least 12 hours in refrigerator.

Step 2:

Set the rear pump flow switch of the Sous Vide Professional to fully closed. Set the front flow switch to the maximum flow. Set the temperature of the Sous Vide Professional to 59°C / 138°F.

Step 3:

Once the target temperature is reached, place vacuum sealed lamb in circulating water bath.

Step 4:

Cook to desired doneness for about 4 hours.

Step 5:

Drain all liquids from bag, dry surface of lamb with clean kitchen towel. In a hot, large sauté or roasting pan, brown entire surface of leg of lamb. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato Confit

Step 1:

Vacuum seal whole, cored and peeled heirloom tomatoes with EVOO and oregano.

Step 2:

Set the rear pump flow switch of Sous Vide Professional to fully closed. Set the front flow switch to the maximum flow. Set the temperature of the Sous Vide Professional to 59°C / 138°F.

Step 3:

Once target temperature is reached, place vacuum sealed tomatoes in circulating water bath.

Step 4:

Cook to desired doneness for about 4 hours.

Step 5:

Drain excess liquid from bag. Serve as is.

Yogurt* (Sous Vide – 10 hours at 113°F, 1 hour to drain)

*yogurt can be made in advance, will keep up to 2 weeks

Step 1:

Combine and vacuum seal whole milk and yogurt starter. If using powder starter, gently warm milk and starter in a saucepan until fully incorporated.

Step 2:

Set the rear pump flow switch of the Sous Vide Professional to fully closed. Set the front flow switch to the maximum flow. Set the temperature of the Sous Vide Professional to 43°C / 110°F.

Step 3:

Once target temperature is reached, place vacuum sealed milk in circulating water bath.

Step 4:

Cook for about 18-24 hours. Milk will become curdled and will separate.

Step 5:

Drain through doubled cheesecloth for 8-10 hours. Discard liquid. Stir yogurt until creamy and smooth.

Harissa

Step 1:

Emulsify all ingredients in high-speed blender.

For Plating: Spoon harissa suace onto large serving platter. Slice leg of lamb and shingle over harissa sauce. Toss diced cucumber in homemade yogurt and fresh oregano. Serve lamb along side tomato confit and cucumbers and yogurt.

“Corned Beef ‘Sandwich’” – By: Sean Collins

• 1 lb brisket
• 1 oz brown sugar
• 1/4 TSP curing salt
• 6 oz salt
• 1/4 TSP ginger powder
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 TSP black peppercorns
• 1/4 TSP chile flakes
• 6 cloves
• 1/2 TSP yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 TSP coriander seeds
• 10 cups water

Bring all ingredients, except for the Brisket, to a boil and cool to 40F. Add the Brisket to the brine and brine for 24 hours – 26 days in the refrigerator. Cook in 70C (158F) for 24 hours. Cool and slice.

Serving suggestion: Sliced Brisket heated, white asparagus, toasted black pumpernickel, watercress, fennel fronds, candied walnuts, micro herbs and flowers.

“Corned Beef Tacos” – By: Mark Swain

Beef: 3-5 lb beef brisket flat cut.

Brine:

• 1/2 gallon water
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2  cup brown sugar
• 1/2 ounce pink salt (I personally don’t use this but it works for long curing)
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1-2 fresh peppers of choice, diced. Serrano, jalapeno, poblano or your choice.
• 1/4 cup pickling spice (more if you like)

Pickling spice:

• 3TB yellow mustard seeds
• 3TB brown mustard seeds
• 2TB whole allspice
• 6-8 whole cloves
• 6-8 bay leaves, crushed
• 2 cinnamon sticks, crushed
• 1/4 TB black peppercorns
• 1/4 TB coriander seed
• 1/4 TB ground ginger
• 1/4 TB cumin seed

Preparation:
Add everything for the brine and bring to a high simmer. Once the salt and sugar are dissolved cool to room temp. Place brisket in a glass dish, plastic bag, or vacuum bag (faster) and cover with brine. Refrigerate for 3-7 days. Remove from brine and rinse. Place in a vacuum bag and seal. Sous vide at 135F for 48 hours. Remove brisket from bag and dry (if you can dry on a cooling rack for at least 2-3 hours it will absorb the smoke better). Place in smoker at 225F for 4 hours. Apple wood is a tasty addition. If you don’t have a slow smoker, grill the brisket over a charcoal fire or at least sear on a grill.

“Corned Beef and Cabbage” – By: William Fitts III

For the corned beef:

• 1 Beef tongue
• 2.2 kilograms filtered water
• 25 grams light brown sugar
• 5 grams curing salt
• 160 grams kosher salt
• 2 grams grated ginger
• 25 grams smashed garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 grams black pepper
• 5 grams corriander
• 5 grams mustard seed
• 5 grams juniper berries
• 5 grams allspice
• 15 grams fresh thyme

Trim tongue of excess fat and score the outside. Combine salt, sugar, and half the water and boil. Combine all remaining ingredients in a container, add boiling mixture, and stir in remaining water. Chill completely. Pour over the tongue and store in the refrigerator for 7 days. Cook the tongue with 500 grams of strained brine in either a cryovac or ziploc bag for 36 hours at 154 degrees Fahrenheit in a PolyScience circulator bath. Chill, clean off the outer layer and trim. Slice, rebag, and retherm to 150F.

For the cabbage:

• 500 grams of brussel sprouts, outer leaves removed and sliced thinly on a mandoline
• 125 grams bacon, brunoise
• 250 grams gin, I prefer Watershed or Hendricks
• 100 grams water
• 75 grams sherry vinegar
• 5 g toasted caraway seed
• 7 g kosher salt

Render bacon, over medium heat, add brussel sprouts, add remaining ingredients once the sprouts have slightly wilted, cook until tender, but still retaining a pleasant texture.

Serve with baby heirloom carrots, and potatoes, preferable la rattes or fingerling. Cook carrots and potatoes sous vide at 185 degrees with butter, and thyme. 45 minutes for the carrots and 90 minutes for the potatoes.

Garnish with celery leaves, toasted caraway, and maldon salt.

Nathan Myhrvold & Jimmy Kimmel Cooking Part I

With over 7000 known varieties, nothing makes me happier than apple season. It brings me back to my childhood, lugging a bushel basket and beat up wood ladder around the apple orchards with my Dad. Red and Golden Delicious, Jonah Golds, Braeburns, even the petite Lady Apple would make their way home. Sunday apple pies, my grandfather’s apple stuffing at Thanksgiving, even my grandmother’s get-em-while-they’re-hot cider donuts showcased the harvest. Those first signs of autumn – the crisp air, the falling leaves, that first bite into a Honey Crisp bring it all back. Still, no apple makes me giddy like the Mountain Rose from Oregon. The first round of these delicate beauties made their way to my doorstep two weeks ago.

Having a tinted flesh that varies from faintly rose colored to a shocking hot pink, the Mountain Rose has a tart, crisp flavor with notes of strawberries and cotton candy. Having such beautifully rare natural qualities, I set out to treat the Mountain Rose very differently.

First, there were some flavor combinations to consider. Toast, nuts, tea, strawberry and celery came to mind. I wanted delicate profiles to compliment the apple and not drive away the candy-like aromatics. Chamomile. Almond. Leaves of celery heart. Time to go shopping.

A few weeks prior, I had experimented with creating dairy free milks using our Sonicprep ultrasonic homogenizer. Tests yielded stable, semi-milklike results at normal milk fat ratios. Unimpressive. For the apples, I wanted to infuse them under vacuum with almond oil and chamomile tea. To achieve a satisfactory homogenization, I stuck to the vinaigrette ratio. The chamomile flower steeped for four minutes and was passed and cooled. Three parts tea combined with one part roasted almond oil were homogenized until the two came together completely. The homogenization was then placed in a blender, where .5% Xanthan Gum was sheered in to create a heat stable emulsion.

The apples were then cut in sixths to reveal their hot pink flesh (my favorite part). They were then vacuum sealed with two fluid ounces of the emulsion. They sat under compression for one hour. The apples were then poached for 5 minutes at 82°C (179.6°F). This yielded a just-tender, evenly cooked apple that unloaded with the previously tame sweetness, almond fat and finished with the subtlety of chamomile a few bites in. What wasn’t expected was how much the fatty mouth feel of the emulsion permeated the porous flesh. It brought a level of umami to the apple that was completely surprising.

For a melt in your mouth confit approach, the apples can be cooked for up to thirty minutes. I kept the time down for this batch to preserve the vibrant pink color.

I created an almond soil that started out as blanched, whole almonds. They were toasted in a 210°C (410°F) oven and allowed to cool. The almonds were pulverized with a few quick pulses and scrapes in the food processor, being careful not to take it too far into the butter phase. The chopped almonds were then spread out in the dehydrator, set to 57°C (135°F) for 24 hours. Almonds, at harvest, contain roughly 61% oil and ≤7% water. The dehydrator took care of the water, enough for a few more pulses in the processor. The ground almonds were then toasted further at 175°C (350°F). A few more pulses and we started making progress. The fat content had to be absorbed and that was handled by adding tapioca maltodextrin to the mix. Some fried panko was ground down slightly and folded throughout. The end result was light and fluffy, with a bit of dry crunch. It looked, well, like sand.

The plate was garnished with the almond soil, raw apple, freeze dried strawberry powder, celery heart leaves, “almond milk” and a turbinado reduction.

Article and photos by Joe Strybel

PolyScience has the technology for most three out of these five points. We certainly like that! One way of pickling is called “rapid pickling” and is done in a chamber vacuum sealer (video link). Next to sous vide, we also provide the main tool for oil-poaching – an immersion circulator.

In fact, when looking at the points “sous vide” and “oil-poaching”, we wish we could group this into “precise liquid temperature cooking”. Essentially and from what we see in the hottest restaurants, these 2 methods have more in common than not – getting liquid temperature exactly right every single time! That in mind, we simply can’t resist to share our perspective and comment.

“Sous Vide” has been on this “What’s hot?” list for probably 2-3 years, but the term is unfortunate. Its translation means “under vacuum” and creates this strong focus on what is only one step in the process (vacuum sealing) – and that step of the process isn’t always required or even desired to achieve the key benefit of what chefs do when they say they are cooking sous vide. Leading (and hot!) chefs understand that the real revolutionary element of “sous vide” cooking is precision and repeatability.

When observing them in their kitchens, the concept of sous vide has long evolved from a narrowly defined “sous vide” technique of cooking Foie gras in plastic wrap with an immersion circulator. These chefs focus on the idea of precise liquid temperature control, and apply many creative variations as steps of the cooking process. When talking to successful chefs about what they consider the difference between “sous vide” and “poaching in oil” the argument would be: A lot of our “sous vide” recipes include poaching in oil or butter – either inside a bag or in direct contact of a circulated liquid that can be clarified butter, olive oil, duck fat or even a mix of fat and maple syrup.

That also points out that many chefs think that vacuum-sealing isn’t always required or even desired. We’ve seen many kitchens cooking food directly in the circulated liquid or in a small open container that is placed in a controlled water bath (like a deep, narrow hotel pan filled with any type of liquid). Vacuum sealing becomes relevant when compression of product texture is desired, loss of flavor to surrounding liquid is to be prevented, most efficient distribution of expensive ingredients for product infusion (truffle, saffron, etc) is the goal, and of course when other economic advantages like preparation, portion control, storage, shelf life and convenient handling are important.

We are curious to hear your take on the survey results, learn about your approach if it isn’t covered and are happy to answer any questions!