Today, Eades Applicance Technology (EAT) announced the release of the first machine to bring “sous vide” cooking style into the home kitchen. What is Sous Vide?

If you are a regular viewer of Top Chef, Top Chef Master or Iron Chef America, you’ve seen sous vide cooking.  A water-based cooking method known for its ability to easily maximize a food’s flavor, nutrition and appearance, the sous vide cooking technique has previously been limited to upscale restaurants and institutional kitchens due to high equipment costs. Available now for pre-order at www.sousvidesupreme.com, the new SousVide Supreme is an affordable countertop appliance – and the first of its kind – that now provides the everyday cook with easy access to this beneficial culinary style.

I personally have not had any food that was prepared sous vide and perhaps this is now the time to explore this not so new cooking technique. Not so new I say? That’s right. The first sous vide machine was created in the mid 1970s. It involved vacuumed-packing foods in pouches then submerging the pouch in a low-temberature water bath (typically 120-190 degrees maintaining a consistent temperature for the entire cooking process. Cooking times are generally longer than a traditional oven but without the risk of overcooking the food.

From what I can tell from seeing it on TV, it produces a tender, moist, flavorful food cooked to perfection, through and through. One example that EAT promotes is instead of a medium rare steak being served with a charred exterior followed by a layer of well-done meat before you taste the tender middle, with sous vide it will be a consistent, juicy medium-rare from edge to edge.

“The taste and texture you get from cooking sous vide is simply spectacular,” said famed UK chef Heston Blumenthal, who helped test and develop the SousVide Supreme in conjunction with EAT. “By vacuum-sealing the food and maintaining low temperatures, you lock in healthy nutrients, flavor and moisture that is lost with other cooking methods. It’s almost impossible to go wrong, and it’s a fun method to experiment with, so it’s no surprise sous vide is emerging as the next big trend among adventurous at-home cooks.”

Dr. Mary Dan Eades, physician, respected nutritional expert and EAT co-founder. “The SousVide Supreme is an affordable, all-in-one appliance that automatically regulates the temperature to within one degree Fahrenheit – which is key to successful sous vide cooking – delivering the same precision as commercial set-ups that can easily cost thousands of dollars.”

The SousVide Supreme is similar in size to a bread maker, and meals are cooked in a few simple steps:

• Season: add herbs, butters, or broths to the food – because flavors are intensified, simple seasoning creates dramatically infused flavors
• Seal: using a common kitchen vacuum sealer or hand pump, seal the food in a food-grade plastic pouch suitable for cooking
• Simmer: submerge the pouch in the SousVide Supreme’s 11.2-liter water chamber that has been brought to the desired temperature, and cook for the appropriate time
• Sear: an optional step, some meats are best when seared for one or two minutes using a pan, grill, broiler or heat torch – the searing adds a familiar texture and appearance to the outside, while still keeping the inside perfectly cooked

The SousVide Supreme retails for $449 at www.sousvidesupreme.com, and ships with gourmet seasonings, recipes and an instructional DVD. The product begins shipping mid-November, and advance orders placed between now and November 13, 2009 will receive a $50 discount for a net total of $399!

On a related subject, there have been several cookbook authors who have released cookbooks on sous vide cooking. One of the more notable titles is Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide by Thomas Keller. Excerpt from his book:

Known as America’s most respected chef, Keller explains why this foolproof technique, which involves cooking at precise temperatures below simmering, yields results that other culinary methods cannot. For the first time, one can achieve short ribs that are meltingly tender even when cooked medium rare. Fish, which has a small window of doneness, is easier to finesse, and shellfish stays succulent no matter how long it’s been on the stove. Fruit and vegetables benefit, too, retaining color and flavor while undergoing remarkable transformations in texture.