Rational introduces sous-vide compatible version of SelfCooking Center®

Sous-vide (cooking under vacuum in special sealed bags) is experiencing a new wave of interest amongst caterers and gourmet food producers.   Food produced using sous-vide can have a more intense flavour and texture whilst retaining appearance. It can be prepared, cooked and stored in advance, as with cook-chill, but with a longer shelf life, with perfect portion control, and often for just single gourmet meals instead of mass catering.

But using sous-vide successfully needs perfect control, knowing exactly when the food in the vacuum bag has finished cooking and is ready to store or serve, without compromising on quality, safety and flavour.

Now Rational has introduced a sous-vide option for its SelfCooking Center. The new option equips the SelfCooking Center with an additional core temperature probe, dedicated to the system. It is used in place of a standard probe and with new programs, to ensure the food is cooked at the right rate and time.

Designed specifically for the vacuum packs, the probe is extremely thin and flexible, and can be inserted into the sous-vide packs without compromising the vacuum.

The result is a SelfCooking Center that retains all its existing flexibility, but allows it to cook and regenerate any type of sous-vide product, perfectly and with finer control than in standard sous-vide cooking systems. This not only ensures excellent hygiene control – one of the biggest concerns about conventional sous-vide – but can save space in the kitchen by removing the need for specialist equipment.

In production, the food is prepared and vacuum-sealed in special bags before cooking in the SelfCooking Center. Unlike dedicated systems, there is no need for a water bath – just put the bag in a gastronorm pan or on any shelf. After cooking it can either be used straight away or stored in the refrigerator, gaining a longer shelf-life than with conventional cook-chill, and regenerated perfectly again in single portions in the SelfCooking Center, using Rational’s established Finishing programs.

For more information and brochures, or to arrange to come to a free SelfCooking Center® ‘TeamCooking Live’ seminar, contact your dealer, freephone Rational UK on 0800 389 2944 or call +44 800 389 2944. For product information and contact details see www.rational-UK.com