I have always loved to cook, even when I was 10 years old and needed help reaching the counter! My mom was big on teaching my sister and I how to cook and I thank her for that now! My heart fills when I talk to my oldest daughter and she tells me about a new recipe she tried or how she is cooking a recipe she learned from me. Now my two younger ones are starting to learn and I can see the cycle starting again and I love it! What I do not love is how dang busy life has gotten and how little time we have to really cook from scratch. Lately, I have been looking for a few shortcuts in the kitchen. The problem is that when you cut corners on cooking you seem to lose flavor and I hate that. Recently, I found an amazing product that has changed the way my family and I cook. The Aqua Chef Sous Vide Smart Cooker is this really cool small appliance that cooks delicious and moist, flavorful food with no mess and less time.
New Cooking Method Makes The Best Food
I had heard about the AquaChef but did not know how it could be that great! Well, little did I know, let me tell you. The premise is actually quite simple; seal your food in the zip lock bag, set the temperature and timer, submerge the bag in the water and set the timer. When you seal your food in the specially made bag, you do not lose important nutrients, flavor, and moisture. I received the AquaChef and the kids and I could not wait to open the box. The box includes:
- AquaChef Sous Vide Cooker
- AquaChef Cookbook
- Seal ‘N Fresh Handheld Vacuum System
How the system works is by cooking your food at a lower temperature while immersed in water, the food cooks evenly and seals in all the good stuff that can escape when you use conventional methods. With the AquaChef, you do not need to stir, baste or keep watch over your food, so you can adjust your settings and forget about it until it is ready. For the proteins you typically end up with a tough texture, like flank steak or brisket, it comes out moist and tender. When you are ready to clean up, all you do is throw away the plastic bag, empty the water and put it away until next time.
Caitlin and I decided to cook chicken for the first time so we could get our sea legs, so to speak. We took one of the disposable bags and put the chicken in with some spices, placed it in the Seal ‘N Fresh Vacuum Bags, turn on the handheld vacuum, suck out the excess air and put it in the basket. Next we set the time and temperature according to the AquaChef Cookbook, lowered the basket in the water, put on the top and watched TV. In a little over 90 minutes, we had the most deliciously moist chicken I have ever tasted. The Seal ‘N Fresh Vacuum is small enough to fit in a drawer and does not take up much room. When you buy your AquaChef, the bags that come with your vacuum are disposable, and when they are gone, you get replacement bags. Free. For Life. I know, right?! The AquaChef is easy to assemble, operate and clean and is energy efficient. It is about the size of a toaster oven, so storage is no problem and it comes with a guarantee. With the digital settings, there is never any question about if and when your food is cooked. If your food is ready and you are not quite ready to serve it, it does not matter because it will stay nice and hot and ready when you are ready.
Here is a little information about cooking food Sous Vide (thermal immersion). This cooking method has actually been around since the mid-70’s. by Georges Pralus as a way to keep the fat in foie gras. Since then, other chefs have experimented trying to get different flavor profiles. Finally, a French scientist, Bruno Goussault who was asked to develop recipes for the French national railway company. They wanted a method that would cook food evenly and could be re-heated easily and would not overcook. By putting the food in vacuum seal bags, they found the flavors were sealed in and it improved the moisture level and if they needed to. We absolutely love our AquaChef and we are looking forward to cooking a flank steak tomorrow night! You can purchase the AquaChef Sous Vide Smart Cooker from their website for $160, with 20% off and free shipping. When purchasing online, you can try the AquaChef for just $39.95 for 60 days, risk free.
One USA reader will win an AquaChef Sous Vide Smart Cooker ($160.00)
I like the AquaChef cookbook.