National Culinary Review

hefs who have mastered the technique of sous vide and
apply it regularly have high praise for it. Consistency
of finished product invariably tops a list of benefits that
also includes retention of flavor, juiciness, aroma and nutritional
content, not to mention overall tenderness.

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There’s an element of cost savings, too, because the cut of meat doesn’t need to be the most expensive (although it must be fresh) fewer herbs and spices are called for because natural flavors are enhanced during the slow cooking, and the amount of fat or stock in the vacuum bag is substantially less than needed in more traditional prep methods.

However, there is serious potential danger from bacteria that can grow without air. In fact, no chef should be using the technique of vacuum-sealing product then “cooking” it at low temperatures in a circulator without a specific Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan drawn up in-house and approved by the local health department.

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Bruno Goussault, chief scientist for Alexandria, Va.-based Cuisine Solutions, is revered as the ultimate sous-vide guru. He has devoted the past four decades to the research and development of sous-vide technology.

PHOTO CREDIT: Opposite, John Ormond, from Cooking with America’s Championship Team (LTD Publishing, llc., 2009)

Goussault says the company understands that making the technique more widely known will keep it safe and make it more popular. “We are also doing a lot of research in microbiology, texture, packaging temperatures, ingredients and natural function of medicinal herbs on bacteria,” he adds.

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Cuisine Solutions sells products—using hundreds of recipes developed by leading chefs worldwide—that are vacuum-sealed in individual or multipack pouches under U.S. Department of Agriculture supervision. These pouches are batch-processed and pasteurized at a precise time and temperature. Then, they are frozen, packed for shipment, and stored in a freezer before distribution from cooking facilities in the U.S., Chile and France.

In addition to his work at Cuisine Solutions, Goussault visits culinary schools across the country, where he lectures staff on the latest sous-vide techniques. “As chief scientist, my No.1 job is to keep improving the technique and spreading the word internally so Cuisine Solutions can continue to improve, and externally so that sous-vide use and its benefits are more known overall.”

As part of his ongoing time/temperature safety research, Goussault has developed a computerized monitoring system of probes to ensure product is cooked to proper and safe temperatures. “Even on safety, the parameters used by regulatory agencies all over the world are different and not always consistent,” he says. “Studies made on bacteria are fairly old, and we have to challenge them, which we are constantly doing at CREA [a Paris-based consulting company Goussault founded in 1991] and Cuisine Solutions.

“I have great convictions, but there are no certitudes in this business—this is an art with a scientific base. We have tremendous knowledge already after 40 years of research, but we are just at the dawn of this technique.”

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When The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y., hosted Goussault several years ago, Jonathan Zearfoss, professor of culinary arts, attended the lecture.

“We feel our students should have knowledge of fundamental cooking techniques (roasting, braising, etc.). You want to know what you’re trying to achieve so you can set up steps to get there,” Zearfoss says. “In my class—because we’re not feeding anyone— we may do experimentation. But if you’re serving, you have to have timing and temperature measurable and repeatable. Some people think you can throw stuff in a bag, then into the circulator.”