For more than 10 years we have been working with our friend, chef Danilo Angè, a professional with 35 years' experience in catering, consultancy, TV appearances, public relations and journalism.
We asked him to film us explaining the technique and benefits of low temperature vacuum cooking. Filmmaking is not one of our specialities... but thanks to Danilo's great professionalism, we got a product full of ideas, interesting and useful, despite the somewhat original shots... You will find the video at the end of this article.
There are many reasons why we chose this theme:
It is a very useful technique for reducing waste and optimising working time. We think it can be of interest to both cooking enthusiasts and our chef friends, with whom we have had a deep connection for generations: Giannino Medagliani was called the "father of chefs" and Eugenio Medagliani is the Honorary President of the Federation.
Danilo Angè is an expert in the technique of low-temperature vacuum cooking: he has recently written a wonderful book on the subject: "Atmosphere Zero - The Journey to Taste at Low Temperatures". We recommend it to professionals and gourmets alike.
You can find it in our shop.
As Danilo tells us in his book, he learned about this new technique from us at Alberghiera Medagliani in Italy over 10 years ago: that's when his study, experimentation and creativity with sous vide began.
Here is a brief summary of what Danilo talks about in the video:
Vacuum cooking as we know it today originated in France in the 1970s (French chef George Pralus experimented with it to cook *foie gras with less weight loss: it was a very expensive raw material, so it was important to waste as little as possible, and he later discovered that the same principle applied to other foods).
It is suitable for all types of cooking, both creative and traditional, in restaurants, caterers, pizzerias, trattorias and at home.
The advantages of sous vide / low temperature vacuum cooking are
Drastic reduction in weight loss during cooking (a veal roast cooked in the traditional way loses approximately 35-40 % of its weight, whereas the vacuum cooking technique at low temperature results in a maximum weight loss of 5-8 %).
No margin for error (by setting the temperature of the water to the same temperature as the centre of the food, the product is not cooked).
NB: Once cooked, the food should be cooled quickly with a blast chiller or with 'water and ice, allowed to chill and then returned to the fridge).
Lasts about 3 times longer than traditional cooking (provided you have a good vacuum and keep the bag sealed). For example, a roast will keep perfectly for 3 weeks, both olfactorically, taste-wise, visually and by laboratory analysis. It is therefore a great convenience to be able to prepare in advance and make the most of the time you have left.
a good vacuum and keeping the bag sealed. For example, a roast will keep perfectly for 3 weeks, both olfactorically, by taste, visually and by laboratory analysis. It is therefore very convenient to be able to prepare in advance and make the most of the leftovers.
You will need the following equipment
A thermostatically controlled bath
A container (a polycarbonate tub, a steel gastronorm, a pot, a casserole, etc.)
A vacuum packaging machine
Cooking bags
At Alberghiera Medagliani you will find the equipment best suited to your needs for low-temperature vacuum cooking: small thermostatically controlled baths for domestic use and medium and large baths for catering and institutional use, vacuum chamber machines, small and medium vacuum machines and cooking bags.
We hope the information was useful and interesting, if you liked the video please share it with friends and colleagues.
We thank Danilo for his friendship, professionalism and helpfulness!
Nina Skjerpen Medagliani
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSmZtaEjvPw