We’re always looking for healthier foods that taste good and are as easy as possible to prepare. Sous Vide is a relatively new French cooking technique that’s starting to gain popularity among people who cook professionally or just enjoy cooking as a hobby. In this article, we’ll help you find the best sous vide cookbook that could help you make the most of this technique.
What Is Sous Vide Cooking?
Before we dive into the books that’ll help you understand how to use this method, let’s understand first what Sous Vide cooking is.
Sous Vide is an originally french way of cooking, meaning under vacuum. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it may look complicated and confusing; but it’s the complete opposite.
Sous Vide cooking’s main idea is to put your food in a plastic wrapping and place it in a water bath.
You preset the temperature and leave it to cook for the required amount of time. That time varies, depending on the type of food and the degree of doneness you need.
Some foods may be ready after one hour, while others could sit in for up to three days.
The Benefits of Sous Vide Cooking
There are many different reasons why people worldwide are choosing to adopt the Sous Vide cooking method.
As you can see, it’s straightforward. It’s perfect for busy schedules. It also guarantees consistent results with minimum efforts, and it doesn’t require any special skills, as in traditional cooking. Cooking a perfect wagyu steak with the sous-vide method is also a breeze
All you need to start is a Sous Vide cooking device to control the temperature, efficient plastic bags to seal the food, and a water container.
When it comes to nutritional value, foods cooked with this method usually retain nutrients and vitamins better than when traditionally cooked.
They’ll also be more preserved and have fewer chances of drying out during the process of cooking. Sous Vide also gives more flavor to your favorite foods.
Our Top Picks for the Best Sous Vide Cookbook
Each one of these fantastic choices offers a particular advantage, compared to the others. Let’s take a look.
Sous Vide at Home: The Modern Technique for Perfectly Cooked Meals
This book is one of two books by Lisa Q. Fetterman. She’s the designer of the first Sous Vide machin that could be used at home.
It’s mainly suitable for people with a certain level of experience with the technique, looking for new ideas and recipes to apply at home. It features over 100 Sous Vide recipes, including all kinds of foods, like sauces, appetizers, main dishes, and desserts.
Pros
- A large number of recipes
- Offers a wide variety of foods
- Creative ideas for cooking for every occasion
- Colorful pictures of every dish described
Cons
- Instructions aren’t detailed
- Not ideal for beginners
Sous Vide Made Simple: 60 Everyday Recipes for Perfectly Cooked Meals
Sous Vide Made Simple is another Sous Vide cookbook by Lisa Q. Fetterman.
This book is better designed for the average cook, trying things at home. It has clear and detailed instructions. It also offers different variations of the same recipe and different ways of cooking each dish.
Pros
- Suitable for beginners
- Different ways of cooking the same dish
- Offers a high variety of food recipes
Cons
- Fewer recipes than others
The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science
The Food Lab is written by J.Kenji Lopez-Alt, the award-winning food blogger.
With thousands of images and detailed information, it gives insight into the backgrounds and the science behind the cooking. You can find answers to any questions you might have about any recipes.
When you’re done, you won’t just know how to do the recipe. You’ll also be very well-informed about everything concerned with the way of cooking, the material, and the techniques used.
Pros
- Very detailed
- Suitable for beginners
- Background information about the science of cooking
Cons
- It doesn’t focus only on Sous Vide
- Some of the information is already available for free on the author’s blog
Amazing Food Made Easy: Exploring Sous Vide: Consistently Create Amazing Food With Sous Vide
Written by Jason Logsdon, this is another example of a book that gives proper explanations for everything concerned with Sous Vide cooking, not just recipes.
Here, Logsdon shows you the proper time and temperature needed for each dish. He goes through the details of the right techniques that allow you to use your Sous Vide machine optimally.
Pros
- Suitable for beginners and professionals
- Contains nutritional facts and benefits of each recipe
Cons
- Has a few recipes
- Doesn’t offer the same variety of choices as the other books
Make It Sous Vide!: Easy Recipes for Perfect Results Every Time!
Make It Sous Vide is written by Meredith Laurence, best-selling author of multiple cookbooks.
With a very engaging style of writing, Laurence gives detailed and easy-to-follow recipes. She combines this with an interesting layout. It also includes mouth-watering and colorful pictures of your favorite dishes. This book would be beneficial for anyone just starting.
Pros
- Easy-to-follow and catchy layout
- Detailed instructions for every recipe
- Ideal for beginners
Cons
- Doesn’t contain that many recipes to follow
Sous Vide Cookbook for Beginners 600 Recipes: Effortless Everyday Meals to Make at Home
This book is a beginner-friendly cookbook, written by Charles Jordan. It’s designed for people who aren’t experienced with Sous Vide cooking.
It’s designed to give them ideas, instructions, and detailed information on all the dishes using Sous Vide cooking. However, it doesn’t contain that many pictures of the dishes, so if you’re a visual learner, this may not be the best option for you.
Pros
- It has the highest number of recipes found in any Sous Vide cookbook
- Perfect for beginners
Cons
- Limited number of pictures
Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide (The Thomas Keller Library)
This is one of the best books on the list. It’s written by Thomas Keller, one of America’s most famous and most distinguished chefs.
This book reveals some of his restaurants’ most successful recipes that were never published before. This makes the book invaluable to any cooking professional interested in Sous Vide.
Pros
- An essential book for professionals
- Never-before-published-recipes
Cons
- Not for beginners
Wrap Up
Sous Vide is a delicious and simple cooking method. It’s suitable for cooks of all skill levels. Having the Best Sous Vide Cookbook digitally at your fingertips while cooking is also a godsend. If you have an ipad or a tablet you could easily buy the ebook formats, and display it on your countertop while having all your hands full. It is much easier than having to clean your hands every time you want to skip a page in a real book.
The choice of a cookbook on this subject depends on your needs.
If you’re a beginner who’s fascinated with Sous Vide and just wants to learn, Meredith Laurence’s book, Make It Sous Vide, offers an excellent introduction to the subject. Her book provides all the information you need, combined with an interesting and dynamic way of presentation.
If, however, you’re more interested in how Sous Vide can be implemented professionally, you can’t go wrong with Thomas Keller’s library of five books.
Both of these are viable picks if you are looking for the Best Sous Vide Cookbook. Enjoy your meal!
