Pete Evans’ glazed Christmas ham

What was once the domain of the professional chef, sous vide , is now accessible for the home cook. We look at the many advantages of this remarkable cooking technique. In the early 1970s, French scientist Bruno Goussault developed the most significant advancement in the recent evolution of cooking – he called it sous vide. Literally defined as ‘under vacuum’, it should really be called precision controlled cooking, because that is far more ‘precise’. Basically defined, sous vide is sealing an item of food in a plastic vacuum pouch and then submerging it in a water bath so it can be cooked gently and slowly at a precise temperature. It is a technique used by some of the world’s best contemporary chefs, including Heston Blumenthal, Thomas Keller, Joel Roubuchon and many more. If you’ve ever wondered how the chef at your favourite hatted restaurant manages to get your steak cooked perfectly through, but still maintain its moisture, how the vegetables not only look vibrant and colourful, but also taste crisp and flavoursome, chances are it has been cooked sous vide. Up until recently, it was only the domain of the professional chef. But advances in technology and the more affordable cost of equipment have made sous vide cooking accessible to the home cook. Those who try it, swear it is the best way to cook food perfectly and to get the best flavour and texture – all that combined makes a compelling argument for sous vide cooking. Conventional Cooking Vs Sous Vide One of the most common problems with conventional cooking is under/over cooking food. This is because most recipes deal in approximates, such as cook on high/medium/low for approximately 10 minutes. Anyone who has baked knows the importance of baking at a precise temperature for an exact period of time. Sous vide cooking allows you to cook everything from beef, pork and fish to eggs, fruit and vegetables as if you were baking a cake. Conventional cooking regularly results in food being inconsistent. For instance, cooking in boiling water or a hot oven cooks food at a high temperature, so that by the time the centre of the food achieves the proper temperature, the outside is overcooked. If you don’t get the timing exactly right, meat ends up dry, vegetables end up mushy. But sous vide cooking allows precise control, so not only does food keep better texture, it also retains greater flavour. Because sous vide cooking is at lower temperatures, the cooking method is usually quite long, simple, but long. This has opened up new frontiers in the culinary world. Secondary cuts that were braised can now be cooked sous vide for longer periods at lower temperatures, and the results are simply astounding. Equipment To sous vide, you need two important devices, but just two basic steps. First you need a vacuum-packing machine to seal the food tightly in a plastic bag. Then you immerse the bag in a water bath heated exactly to the optimal cooking temperature. The vacuum-packed bag hugs the food, protecting it from contact with the water while transferring the heat from the hot water. The Sous Vide bath is regulated to heat the water and maintain the exact temperature throughout the bath and the cooking process. Time to sous vide This equipment was once the domain of commercial kitchen suppliers, was expensive, and took up loads of room. The great news is that Home Sous Vide is importing home kitchen versions of the industrial kit at very reasonable prices. What’s more, the process is fairly simple – plan well ahead, use great ingredients, vacuum seal, cook using the Sous Vide water bath and cool gently. That’s it. The secret to some of most delicious recipes from the world’s greatest chefs is within your grasp. And speaking of recipes – there has been an influx of fantastic recipe books  offering easy to achieve recipes for the novice through to the professional. For more details on the wonders of Sous Vide cooking, recipes, tips and Sous Vide cooking products, visit homesousvide.com.au

Let  Selector  take the stress out of your Christmas shopping. Share the gift of wine this festive season with this great list of perfect Christmas gift ideas for wine lovers.   Let it Breathe with a Wine Decanter A statement decanter is a perfect gift for a wine lover. Decanters give a fine young wine the oxygen it needs to develop and release primary fruit and aid texture. Find out more about how and when to decant your wine here. Explore Decanters and Aerators   Sparkling Shiraz An 1881 collaboration between a Melbourne doctor and a French Champagne maker lead to the invention of Sparkling red wine, one of  Australia’s more unique additions to the world of wine making. Christmas is when Sparkling Shiraz truly shines as an ideal match to turkey, roast pork and Christmas pudding. E xplore Sparkling Red Wine Barbeque at the beach Available in four stylish colours and with a built in storage tray and bamboo preparation board, the Everdure by Heston Blumenthal CUBE™ makes portable charcoal barbequing safe and easy. Find out more about the Everdure by Heston Blumenthal range here . e verdurebyheston.com Keep it Cool with Vintec Ideal as a serving cabinet for both white and red wines, the sophisticated Vintec 50-Bottle Dual-Zone Wine Cabinet can be built under bench in the kitchen, making it perfect for entertaining. Find out more about Vintec's range of wine cabinets and  the good, the bad and the ugly of wine storage in this  Selector  article vintec.com.au Wine Glasses Give your someone special the finest glassware from Schott Zwiesel this Christmas. Proper glassware completes the wine experience letting the full spectrum of aromas to come to the fore, support the tannin framework and express the true design of a wine. Find how to pick the right wine glass for your favourite wine in this guide with Nicole Gow . Explore our range of Schott Zwiesel glassware . Canadian Club 8 Year Old With its rich, smooth flavours thanks to eight years maturation in char-treated American white oak barrels, the Canadian Club 8 Year Old is a perfect Christmas bottle to add to your liquor cabinet. canadianclub.com Seal to Sous Vide Keep food fresher, longer in the refrigerator, freezer or pantry this Christmas by vacuum sealing with Polyscience. This is an essential tool to start cooking sous vide. Find out more about how to sous vide at home here. homesousvide.com.au Gift The Gift of Wine Give the wine-lover in your life access to over 3000 expertly selected wines this year with a Wine Selectors gift card. Explore gift cards . Create your own cocktails in Über Style Über Bar Tools’ fine range of cocktail sets will inspire the savvy mixologist to shake up exciting new beverages at home.  Available in gold, copper and silver. Find out more about how to master the world of home cocktail making in this article . petersofkensington.com.au Gift a Year of Wine & Food Memories Life's best memories are those shared with friends, family and, of course, the finest Australian wine and food! With that in mind, in the 2018 Wine Selectors Food and Wine Matching Calendar, we've put together a whole year full of delicious opportunities to gather your favourite people and share a spread of incredible flavours featuring recipes from Lyndey Milan OAM and a bonus cookbook from Luke Mangan. Explore our 2018 calendar collection Sparkle This Christmas! The simplicity in design of ‘Pera’ ensures this diamond pendant’s iconic status. Available in 18ct rose, white and yellow gold, and in Argyle Pink Diamond options, it’s a perfect gift! Yours from $1450. musson.com.au Still can’t decide? Our Festive Catalogue offers are filled with expertly curated wines ideal for the festive season. Get in quick though, these great offers are being snapped up quickly!