Have you ever noticed how your favorite food at your favorite restaurant is always perfect? In most cases, the food is never overdone or undone. What’s the secret?
Any experienced chef will tell you that the method of cooking you use can greatly impact your results. Most expert chefs prefer sous vide or slow cooking to prepare their signature dishes? But what’s the difference?
But is sous vide and slow cooking the same?
In sous vide, the food is placed in a sealed plastic bag which is then placed in a body of hot water to cook. In slow cooking, the food is placed in a large ceramic pan which is placed on a heating element. Sous vide is more accurate and precise when it comes to inner temperature and texture. They are only similar in terms of how long it takes to cook using these methods.
Before you decide to invest in a slow cooker or sous vide unit, it’s essential to understand all the differences between these units so that you can make an informed decision.
In this article, were going to look at all the differences between sous vide vs. slow cooking to help you make the right choice.
Is Sous Vide and Slow Cooking the Same? A Detailed Comparison
Before we get into the sous vide vs. slow cooking differences, it’s crucial for you to understand how both units work.
How Does a Sous Vide Machine Work?
Sous vide is a French term meaning “under vacuum.” It refers to the process of vacuum sealing food and cooking it in very precise temperatures inside a water bath.
This cooking method always delivers consistent, restaurant-quality results, and it’s impossible to achieve sous vide results with any other cooking process.
The sous vide cooking process involves three steps. These include:
- Prepping the precision cooker: Before you start cooking, you need to ensure the precision cooker is attached to a pot of water. Next, set your desired temperature depending on the level of doneness you want to achieve.
- Seal your food: Ensure your food is vacuum sealed in a bag, making sure there’s no way for water to get into the food. Afterward, clip the bag on the side of the pot
- Grill or broil the food: If you want the food to have a crispy brown finish, grill or broil it to achieve your desired results.
What sets the sous vide cooking method apart is the fact that it uses precise and controlled temperatures throughout the cooking process. As a result, you’re capable of controlling how the end results will look like and replicating the same results every time you do it – something you can’t do with other cooking methods.
How Does a Slow Cooker Work?
A slow cooker works the same as a pot on a stovetop. The base of the slow cooker heats the bottom of the unit, and the heat rises on the sides, thereby cooking the food within.
The difference between cooking using a slow cooker and placing a pot on a stovetop is the fact that you can control the temperatures on a slow cooker because these units have temperature settings.
Low temperatures are mostly used for foods such as meat. The temperature is low enough to ensure prolonged cooking, especially if you’re dealing with hard meat, and it’s sufficient to ensure the meat is cooked through properly.
High temperatures, on the other hand, are perfect for sauces or dips that you’d want to cook in as little as an hour.
Modern slow cookers are quite convenient. Most of them have programmable settings that allow you to set the temperature and time. When the time is up, the cooker automatically goes off.
However, unlike sous vide units, it’s not easy to achieve consistent, excellent results with slow cookers. According to Hamilton Beach, this is because it’s impossible to give a definitive temperature for each heat level you use.
Sous Vide Vs. Slow Cooker – Pros and Cons
So which unit is worth investing in? The answer to this question is solely a matter of preference and what you’re hoping to achieve. Here are a few factors to consider:
1. Cost
Before you decide to go for either of these units, it’s essential to know what it means for your budget. Slow cookers have been in the market since the 70s, so you’re more likely to get them at a lower price.
Sous vide units, on the other hand, provide a sophisticated way of cooking that was for a long time only embraced by expert chefs and restaurants.
For this reason, sous vide units for home use are quite new in the kitchen appliance market. You should, therefore, expect to spend more on a sous vide machine.
Not to mention, you need to invest in additional items if you decide to go for a sous vide unit. Some of the things you’ll need include a container to hold the water and bags or pouches to hold your food.
2. Quality and Taste
Another difference worth considering is the quality and taste of the food you’ll get. Sous vide units guarantee increased volume, and even cooking throughout the food. In addition to this, you don’t have to worry about dry food because in sous vide cooking, the natural juices of the food do not escape as they do in slow cookers.
It’s also unlikely that your food will be overcooked or undercooked in a sous vide unit. Because sous vide recipes require specific temperatures and cooking times, you always achieve excellent results, which can’t be said about slow cookers.
3. Cooking Time and Organization
The other benefit of sous vide cooking is the fact that it gives you the freedom of organizing your cooking time. You can prepare and vacuum seal your foods in advance and cook later, or sous vide throughout the night without having to keep checking due to the low temperatures the unit uses.
With slow cookers, you don’t have the luxury of preparing food in advance because you have to have it inside the pot to start cooking. And unless it has programmable settings, you cannot leave the cooker unattended.
4. Health Benefits
You should also consider the health benefits of these cooking methods before making a final decision. Sous vide has the upper hand when it comes to this.
According to Clifton At Home, the fact that the food is prepared in a vacuum means that you don’t lose valuable minerals or vitamins, which isn’t the case with slow cooking.
Not to mention, the flavor, natural color, or flavor of the food is not lost either.
5. Speed
For both slow cookers and sous vide, the idea is to cook slowly so that the food is evenly cooked and tasty at the end of it all. Therefore, do not expect your food to be ready in a few minutes.
Foods that take about 30 minutes to cook with other methods may take up to 4 hours in a slow cooker or sous vide unit.
Make the Right Choice
Deciding between sous vide vs. slow cooker can be challenging. But now that you know how these two units work and their pros and cons, you can make an informed decision.
If you’re not limited by your budget, we would suggest going for a sous vide cooker. It may be pricey, but the results it gives are worth every dime. And you’ll never have to work so hard to achieve restaurant-quality results every time!