Actually only astronauts in space live in a vacuum…
unless you consider yourself that dust particle that just got sucked into the
Dyson. And even in that case, you’re not living in a vacuum, you’re simply living
in a vacuum cleaner. A true vacuum is when the atmospheric pressure is actually
at zero and there are no particles present. No air, no atoms, no nothing. At
sea level, the atmospheric pressure is 760 mmHg and as you travel higher, that
pressure starts to drop. But even in the vast intergalactic space, the pressure
is never zero. It’s about as close to zero as you can get - even closer to zero
than the work Congress is doing - and there are atoms in every cubic
centimeter, but again as close to zero as possible.
What does this have to do with food? Or wine? Or
nutrition? Well, when you create a pressure differential, objects tend to move
from higher pressure to lower pressure. So when you create a lower pressure
differential of 20 to 25%, objects move from your carpet and floor to the inner
chamber or bag of your vacuum cleaner. Additionally, creating a vacuum also
reduces the amount of particles in that space reducing the transference of
heat. What happens when you pour a cold beverage into a glass cup on a warm
day? The beverage eventually cools the glass which attracts water vapor in the
air causing condensation on the outer glass. Eventually staining that beautiful
mahogany coffee table. Oh, you could place the glass on a coaster but some of
that condensation may overwhelm the coaster and still leave a watery mess. What
if you had a drinking container that didn’t transfer that chilled temperature
to the outside? That’s exactly what those stainless steel double walled carafes
do! When you create a container with two walls and remove the air between the
walls or vacuum seal the chamber, the cold inner wall can’t transfer and lower
the temperature of the outer wall. No condensation! And it works both ways! Hot
foods and beverages stay hotter longer and the container doesn’t burn your
fingers and cold foods or beverages stay colder longer without any
condensation!
Vacuuming sealing your food also allows for longer
freezer storage with less freezer burn and allows for extended low temperature
cooking that produces succulent meats and poultry without worrying about
overcooking.
Sous Vide
French for “under vacuum”, this cooking method started in
the 70s and is basically food placed in a vacuum sealed bag cooked for an
extended period under lower temperatures, usually between 131 and 140 degrees.
The benefits to the sous vide method of cooking is the food is done to the
exact degree of “doneness” without having to worry about overcooking and since
the food is vacuum sealed, you never have to worry about drying out your
proteins. Imagine chicken breast that is always moist and succulent or steaks
that are medium throughout the whole steak. In fact, the best fried chicken
I’ve ever sampled was first cooked sous vide then batter dipped and quickly
fried. As you bit through the crackly outer crust, you then hit succulent meat
that literally fell off of the bone!
The only downside to sous vide cooking is that it
requires precise temperature control and a lot more time. If your temperature
is too low for too long, Clostridium
botulinum can start growing… and producing botulinum toxin. VERY BAD!
You’ll literally kill off your dinner guests! To remedy this potential problem,
restaurant suppliers created precise water baths like those found in chemistry
labs so you never had to worry about maintaining a temperature just above the
“danger” zone. The only problem was that these sous vide cooking apparatuses
initially were priced at a $1000 or more. Well no more! SousVide Supreme is
available from Costco for $319.99 so you too can cook like Thomas Keller and
Michael Mina!
Thermal Cookers
This is based on a simple design. Build a double walled
vessel creating a vacuum within the double wall. Make a second cooking vessel
that fits snuggly within the double walled vessel. Bring food up to a boil in
the inner cooking vessel on a stovetop, cover said vessel then place it in the
double walled vessel, cover and let sit. Literally for hours. No extra energy
expenditure, no need to watch the cooking. You literally can leave the house
and not worry about leaving any burners running.
Because the primary cooking vessel is placed in a double
walled vessel, the vacuum between the walls prevent heat from escaping as
rapidly thus keeping the cooking vessel just below the boiling point for
several hours. So it’s almost like a slow simmer without any attention. The
vessel I own claims that any food brought to the boiling point will maintain a
temperature of 190 degrees for at least 4 hours. It’s so handy, I’ve actually
purchased two units – a 4 liter model and an 8 liter model. I use the smaller
device to cook beans, barley or other grains since all I have to do is bring it
to a boil, place it in the double walled vessel and forget about it. No need to
worry about beans or barley boiling over when the temperature gets too high. No
need to stand over the range top for 20 to 45 minutes. And no need to use any
additional electricity. I use the larger device when I have to take stews,
chili or soups to potlucks. It keeps the food hot and most of the larger models
have locking devices on the outer cover to prevent spillage. The only downside
is that the boiling temperature is the hottest temperature attained and will
slowly drop thereafter so tougher proteins like oxtail and brisket may not
achieve that “fallin of the bone” consistency but it does a great job for most
proteins (just make sure to brown or fully cook raw proteins then bring the
liquid to a boil before inserting in the holding vessel). I purchased both of
my devices at my local Marukai Wholesale Mart ($134 for the small, $204 for the
large) but you can also find these devices on Amazon ranging between $74 and
$217 depending on the size.
Double Walled
Devices
The most obvious of these devices is your basic Thermos
(Nissan) or vacuum flask which keeps hot liquids hot and cold liquids cold. I
used to own a couple of these but have switched to the Klean Kanteen label.
Why? They have a simple screw top cover – I dislike the pourable covers because
you can never really get the whole thing clean. Moving parts, straws, etc. It’s
easier to wash a simple screw top cover. These devices run between $19.50 and
$49.95 at REI depending on the size.
There are also vacuum sealed food containers that store
food based on the same principle but are just shorter and wider than beverage
containers. The Mrs. never packs her home lunch without her vacuum sealed
Thermos. As in the case of all vacuum sealed containers, chilling the interior
with iced water for cold foods or beverages (or heating the interior with
boiling water for hot foods or beverages) before actually filling it lengthens
the time it remains hot or cold. And filling the container to full capacity accomplishes
the same. These run from $14.99 to $39.71 on Amazon depending on the size.
There also are a bevy of vacuum sealed containers from
coffee pitchers to beverage carafes down to highball glasses and even sake cups
that all keep the hot stuff hot and cold stuff cold. A good coffee pitcher from
Thermos will set you back about $25 for the quart sized up to $55 for the 2
quart size from Amazon. Luigi Bormioli makes a double walled glass carafe for
$24.99 at Macy’s so your iced tea or chilled wine doesn’t produce a mess of
condensation on your dinner table. And both Luigi Bormioli and Bodum have an
assortment of coffee cups and glasses that are vacuum sealed so coffee or tea
stays hot and the cup doesn’t burn your fingers ranging from $7.95 per glass up
to $11.95 per glass found throughout the internet. I even found a vacuum sealed
glass sake cup at Marukai for just $2.99.
Lastly vacuum technology isn’t limited just for liquids. There
are vacuum sealed ice buckets (ranging between $40 to $60) that keep your cubes
frozen longer without the mess as well as vacuum sealed serving dishes that
keep chilled dishes cooler longer without any condensation. The Sporty’s
Preferred Living catalog (and website) offer three different serving dishes
featuring vacuum sealed bottoms that can be filled with ice (or a heat pack) with
a separate top that sits on the ice keeping the food chilled (or warm) without
any condensation. When you live in the 50th with 50% to 80% ambient
humidity, any chilled surface just drips with condensation. You could leave the
food at room temperature but do you really want to consume raw fish that’s been
sitting at 85 degrees for several hours. With these dishes, the poke or sashimi
stays chilled (and you can consume them the next day risk free) and you don’t
have to worry about a watery mess on your table. They do seem pricey at $69.95
but for yours truly, are worth every penny in the 50th – especially
when poke or sashimi can top $20 a pound.
Livin With the
Vacuum
So there you have it, the Gochiso Gourmet’s simple guide
to using vacuum technology to the fullest. Food that’s always tender and
succulent, drinks and foods that remain colder longer or hotter longer. Cooking
that doesn’t use any electricity or doesn’t need any attention. And no more
condensation! But if these gift suggestions weren’t enough or simply aren’t
techie enough for you, then just get a real vacuum. Like the Dyson DC47 dual
cyclone head canister vacuum for $449.99. That’ll suck more than the dust out
of your carpet. It’ll also suck your wallet clean too…
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