Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide

by Thomas Keller, Harold McGee (Introduction)

A revolution in cooking

Sous vide is the culinary innovation that has everyone in the food world talking. In this revolutionary new cookbook, Thomas Keller, America's most respected chef, 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.

The secret to sous vide is in discovering the precise amount of heat required to achieve the most sublime results. Through years of trial and error, Keller and his chefs de cuisine have blazed the trail to perfection—and they show the way in this collection of never-before-published recipes from his landmark restaurants—The French Laundry in Napa Valley and per se in New York. With an introduction by the eminent food-science writer Harold McGee, and artful photography by Deborah Jones, who photographed Keller's best-selling The French Laundry Cookbook , this book will be a must for every culinary professional and anyone who wants to up the ante and experience food at the highest level.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Culinary, Reference, Nonfiction

295 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2008

About the author

Thomas Keller is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, notably the Best California Chef in 1996, and the Best Chef in America in 1997. The restaurant is a perennial winner in the annual Restaurant Magazine list of the Top 50 Restaurants of the World.
In 2005, he was awarded the three star rating in the inaugural Michelin Guide for New York for his restaurant Per Se, and in 2006, he was awarded three stars in the inaugural Michelin Guide to the Bay Area for The French Laundry. He is the only American chef to have been awarded simultaneous three star Michelin ratings for two different restaurants.

Reviews

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to learn about sous vide. I learned I could kill someone if I don't do it right. Which makes this book extraordinarily useful.

[Vladimir Semenov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice book. But it is for someone who is a chef or who wants to be. It is very precise with a lot of ideas, because a lot of it requires special equipment(but you should know that since it is a book about sous vide cooking). The only problem is. Sometimes - there is no explanation to why it is done this way and not the other.

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

good, BUT.... it is written from the perspective of a multi-Michelin-star winning restaurant. It's interesting but totally impractical unless you are in the demographic that tends to eat at expensive restaurants, in which case why are you reading this book?

[Timothy Deng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Gets in some uncommon uses of sous vide like compression and infusion in addition to the common ones. It’s not intended to be geared for home chefs, but I learned a lot. Makes me wish I had a $1000 chamber vacuum. One of my favorite features is the list of sources in the appendix for ingredients! Also tiny nitpick but Keller is not specific about the type of polyphosphate he uses.

[Catherine Woodman]

This is not a book for amateurs. Or wimps. It requires a low temperature, very accurate water bath (we bought some Precision lab equipment on eBay, which was 1/5 the price of the commercially available one)--so we are already weeding out those who are not seriously motivated. Then you need a vaccuum packer because sous vide is cooking at very low temperature in an airless environment for long periods of time to obtain food with ethereal texture. Ok, outcome is exceptional, but planning and execution are not for the feint of heart. Thomas Keller is the man to describe this in detail--he is so detail oriented and has such a commitment to cooking that this book is both gorgeous and empowering. Not for me, but my husband. I think it looks unbearably difficult, and I am really not sire how much time to devote to cooking the likes of pig tails (which look pretty appetizing, when all is said and done) and calf liver...but that's me....

[Avis Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book does not discuss what happens when you heat plastics at high temperature with food for lengthy periods of time. Common sense tells you there will be some breakdown and transfer of molecules and chemicals from the plastic to the food you're eating. Until the issue has been given good quality scientific research, I wouldn't recommend cooking anything sous vide.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/12/co...

[Erik Waiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning of the book has the most potential. It covers the basics of sous vide cooking and using a vacuum sealer to prepare food in ways that you may not have previously thought. There is very little actual discussion of the technique on how to generally do the things they are describing to various kinds of food, but I was excited to continue. Then the recipes started. I just can't dial this level of pompousness. It's obvious that I will never be a French chef because I lack the certain "Jena se qua" required to culinarily masturbate yourself into a frenzy and then call it food. I'm sure if prepared by a Michelin star chef, it tastes magnificent. It will also probably cost you an arm and a leg. But it's something that I will never attempt because it's obvious that I am doomed to failure from the start as I lack.... Something. Reading through the recipes did not inspire me, it made me angry.

[Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently this book has now been superseded by "Modernist Cuisine".

I think some of the information probably was cutting edge when it first came out but now it seems like it's pretty minimal and outdated. You can find the same information and more, and more succinctly, on a Youtube video or a blog post.

The book repeated itself a lot. Nearly every section talked about how lovely and translucent cherries were when compressed and whatnot. The recipes were not simple by any means. You would think there would be at least a few "simple" ones to go with the more gourmet ones, but I guess the audience wasn't the home-cook.

[Kym · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the compendium of everything sous vide, the method of cooking in a low temperature water bath for long periods of time. Keller does an excellent job of explaining exactly what can happen to foods cooked in this method. The equipment makes this a little out of the realm of most home cooks, but chefs could easily incorporate this into their kitchens. While the book itself is excellent and the recipes look divine, I don't see myself wanting to make these recipes in my kitchen, sous vide or not. Keller is an excellent chef and this cookbook is clearly for other chefs.

[Eadie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for the home cook

Although the background information was interesting, not much for the average home cook. Some helpful safety tips and a few other tidbits, but I was hoping that it would have more general sous vide cooking guidelines based upon their experimentation instead of specific recipes. The recipes are very complex with a lot of components. There are very few of the individual components that I would prepare, so overall not very useful.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read every page up to where the recipes started. I learned a lot more about sous vide. My biggest take away is that I need to up my game on the vacuum sealer. I definitely need to get a chamber vacuum sealer. This would lessen my frustration with the one I have. I’m sure I will refer to this book depending on the protein or veg I’m cooking.

[Karo]

This is used as a reference book. Very good information.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome background & theory, but the recipes are built for restos, not the home cook.

[Felipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introductory technical sous vide book. Thomas Keller brings technical information to the mass in a very practical way.

[David Brinkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

In typical fashion the TK excellence is on display. Beautiful book, a hard read because of the technical detail, but totally worth it.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keller & McGee are food legends

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book serves as a refreshing reminder that sous vide does not obviate traditional cooking techniques. With the recent rise of consumer-level immersion circulators it's easy to get caught up in the hype and think of sous vide as a replacement for more traditional, more difficult cooking methods. Keller addresses this early on in the book, stressing that sous vide is simply an additional technique, not a replacement. The recipes are evidence of this - they are difficult and not for the home cook, even the home cook with a consumer-grade sous vide immersion circulator. The most accessible part of the book is a multi-page table that has times and temperatures for cooking all types of foods using an immersion circulator.

Despite their difficulties, the recipes are amazing. The skill and creativity of the chefs of The French Laundry is absolutely inspiring and I hope that one day I'll be able to experience cuisine of this level.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas Keller's input on Sous Vide is as expected - exceptional. I now have a solid understanding on what cooking with Sous Vide is all about. Very interesting - I will definitely be looking to be doing this sometime in the future, as I LOVE the idea that you can have absolute control over the temperature - something unattainable on a stove top, stove or grill/smoker. This appears to be the future of cooking certain foods, and this book (and it's recipes) goes a long way towards setting interested parties on that path. As expected, the recipes in the book are more along the lines of those that would be served at The French Laundry or per se, and uses many ingredients that are not overly viable for the home chef.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book by Thomas Keller. The photography is amazing--it takes a certain talent to be able to photograph food wrapped in plastic well. This book is more for chefs, but is still a great read for the interested cook...

[Rob Durante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on high-end restaurant techniques. These recipes are not for the home cook but interesting reading nonetheless. I do use sous vide at home and only hope to learn from Thomas Keller's techniques

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come on, baby. Just buy me a vacuum-chamber and an immersion circulator. I'll make you dinner and rub your feet.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superseded by Modernist Cuisine this used to be the sous-vide bible. Keller's books are all fantastic.

[Yasmeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I own a sous-vide setup, and I know for sure that the most beautiful things I make using it are from this cookbook. Love the ice cream recipes especially. Making "cooked" custards is effortless now.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have a sous vide cooker this is a nice addition to your book collection. Nice photographs and some useful recipes.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous as are all of Keller's cookbooks, but with most recipes having multiple components that require complex preparations, not terribly practical for the home cook.

[Morgen]

Clear, intelligent, inspiring.

[Adrienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a pretty ambitious cook, but this was too ambitious for me.