Bamboo Steamers
21,00€ – 29,00€
Vacuum sealers can really change the game in a home kitchen. What these little (or big) machines do essentially is suck the air out of bags. By sucking the air out, they remove the danger of oxidation, meaning whatever is in the bag cannot go bad. But there are more ways to use them:
As we already mentioned, vacuum sealers are perfect for keeping all your groceries fresh. Put your veggies in a bag, push the button, let it go vzzzzzz, and you are done. Stack it in your fridge and that’s all. Your herbs will keep their scent for months, your cheese will retain its humidity, and your meat will never get freezer burnt again. One more thing is that when you use vacuum-sealed bags, you are left with way more space in your fridge or freezer since they take up so much less space.
Second use, sous vide cooking. If you want perfect results every single time with zero stress, sous vide is the way to go. It’s basically a water bath at a certain temperature you set, and it keeps stable for as long as you want. So, if you want that perfect medium steak, guess what? You got it in the easiest way possible. You can sous vide anything really. You can even let your eggs reach 74 degrees Celsius so that they are safe for your carbonara or custards. And you know what? Just get creative with it.
Third use, and this one is a really nice one, fast-track marinades. Add your preferred ingredients in a bag, pour in the marinade you have prepared, vacuum seal it, and let it sit for, let’s say, an hour. It’s like leaving it overnight in your fridge. Be careful with the chicken though; the optimum marinating time for chicken when you use a vacuum-sealed bag is way less than you think, so you might need to experiment a bit to find that sweet spot.
And now, the pickles. Well, exactly like the marinating process, the pickling process is on a fast track when you vacuum seal them. Do the pickling process as you would, let them sit in a jar while they are still hot, and once they come down to room temperature, throw everything in a bag, vacuum seal it (you might need to learn how to vacuum liquids; it takes some practice), and your pickles are done in no time. BUT be careful, you need to pay attention because the pickling process releases CO2, so the bag will be filled with air as time goes by. What we do is to actually keep an eye on the bag; once it gets filled with air, we open up a little hole and reseal it. Once we are happy with the result, we transfer everything to a jar.
So, there you have it for vacuum sealers. You can save space, keep things fresh, fast-track processes, and cook with them. Swiss Army knife vibes if you ask us.
Quick pickle recipe:
Ingredients:
- Cucumbers, cut into thick slices, as many as you can fit in the jar you are going to store them after.
- 350 ml white vinegar (don’t use the cheap ones, get yourself some nice ones)
- 160 ml water
- 14 g salt
- 14 g sugar
- 8 g MSG
- 2-4 sprigs thyme
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed (add after the liquid has cooled moderately)
Slice the cucumbers into 1 cm thick round slices and place them in the jar where you’ll store your pickles.
In a medium saucepan, combine 360 ml of vinegar, 180 ml of water, 15 g of salt, 15 g of sugar, and 9 g of MSG. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
Once boiling, remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately pour the liquid over the cucumbers. Let it sit for one minute, then add 2 cloves of crushed and roughly chopped garlic and 2-3 sprigs of thyme.
Allow the pickles to cool for about an hour, then transfer everything into a vacuum bag. Seal the bag and let science do its thing. After an hour, your pickles are ready to consume. But beware, if you want a more enhanced flavor, you need to let them pickle for more time. So, pay close attention to the bag. If you see the bag starting to inflate, open a small hole to release the CO2 and seal it again.
Enjoy, you culinary radical!
