In "Under Pressure", Thomas Keller shows us how sous vide, which involves packing food in airtight plastic bags and cooking at low heat, achieves results that other cooking methods simply cannot - in flavour and precision. For example, steak that is a perfect medium rare from top to bottom; and meltingly tender yet medium rare short ribs that haven't lost their flavour to the sauce. Fish, which has a small window of doneness, is easier to finesse, and salmon develops a voluptuous texture when cooked at a low temperature. Fruit and vegetables benefit too, retaining their bright colour while achieving remarkable textures. There is wonderment in cooking sous vide - in the ease and precision (salmon cooked at 123 degrees versus 120 degrees!) and the capacity to cook a piece of meat (or glaze carrots, or poach lobster) uniformly.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By Marnix Kemme
Format:Hardcover
I was a bit disappointed after having bought this book.
For me it was the first book on cooking sous-vide, but the only parts I really liked where the introductory pages. They describe some of the principles, results and why's of cooking sous vide. But the recipes are not really inspiring.
Then came the last part of the book: the part with the tables. I liked that very much. It gives you a helpful overview of cooking temperatures and times.
But with a useful introduction and a useful appendix, it does not become a useful book. At least not for this price. Thomas Keller has done so much better in other books.
For me it was the first book on cooking sous-vide, but the only parts I really liked where the introductory pages. They describe some of the principles, results and why's of cooking sous vide. But the recipes are not really inspiring.
Then came the last part of the book: the part with the tables. I liked that very much. It gives you a helpful overview of cooking temperatures and times.
But with a useful introduction and a useful appendix, it does not become a useful book. At least not for this price. Thomas Keller has done so much better in other books.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By carolyn
Format:Hardcover
I ordered this book for my boyfriend who has recently purchased a sous Vide, the book came very quickly. I had a look through the book it is very nicely presented.
I asked him about the book and he said it was an interesting read, quite scientific however it is not something you would use on an everyday basis, the recipies are to 5 star restaurant quality not home cooking and would be expensive to create and difficult to get hold of the ingredients. He has not tried any of the recipies But he did enjoy reading the book.
I asked him about the book and he said it was an interesting read, quite scientific however it is not something you would use on an everyday basis, the recipies are to 5 star restaurant quality not home cooking and would be expensive to create and difficult to get hold of the ingredients. He has not tried any of the recipies But he did enjoy reading the book.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Gary Sage
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book makes me want to do something amazing with every meal.
I truly enjoyed the book because it inspired me to buy a sous-vide waterbath; result - some awesome home cooking that few UK restaurants can come close to.
Perhaps "The Inspector" has missed the pages with very clear charts, and is taking things and him/herself way way too seriously - rule number 6 anyone. As for safety concerns, don't use cheapo ingredients.
I truly enjoyed the book because it inspired me to buy a sous-vide waterbath; result - some awesome home cooking that few UK restaurants can come close to.
Perhaps "The Inspector" has missed the pages with very clear charts, and is taking things and him/herself way way too seriously - rule number 6 anyone. As for safety concerns, don't use cheapo ingredients.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Mathias
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
It's a pretty book, but lacks detail on the subject.
And "The Inspector" is right - the author should have concentrated more on the science and the recipes, than plugging restaurants he owns or suppliers of goods that he patronises.
... because some people who buy these books actually want to COOK, rather then leave the books on their coffee tables and dream.
And "The Inspector" is right - the author should have concentrated more on the science and the recipes, than plugging restaurants he owns or suppliers of goods that he patronises.
... because some people who buy these books actually want to COOK, rather then leave the books on their coffee tables and dream.
74 of 88 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm sorry to give a totally negative review but claiming to be 'the first book written in English on cooking sous-vide' (simply not true) and describing food as being 'sealed in plastic' should have given me the hints that this book would massively disappoint.
Is my beautiful copy of Sous-Vide Cuisine by Joan Roca and Salvador Brugues not in perfect English and been poured over by me for at least a year now? The forward of 'Under Pressure' states that 'It's fitting that the first book to present the sous-vide method to English-speaking cooks........' Where on earth was the editor? Too scared of editing a subject such as this and so leaving it to the authors alone?
I found this book simply an ego trip for the author(s) with hardly a page being turned without a reference to one or other of their restaurants - so many references in fact that is became very boring. The book misses chances time and again to educate the reader (few if any tables on cooking times for each of the meats/fish/ etc) in this fascinating method of cooking and instead concentrates on egotistical menus of massive complexity. Sous Vide is not complex and the subject presented in this way I found counter intuitive and counter productive.
The sections regarding the vital yet basic factors governing cooking by sous-vide for either mis en service or for storage and use at a later time and the safety aspects relevant to each were, in my opinion, not given the relevance that each separately and distinctly deserves. The two have quite distinctly different factors regarding safety and I didn't find that the book stressed this enough - safety seems to have been treated, albeit in depth, as one which is a little worrying really.... Read more ›
Is my beautiful copy of Sous-Vide Cuisine by Joan Roca and Salvador Brugues not in perfect English and been poured over by me for at least a year now? The forward of 'Under Pressure' states that 'It's fitting that the first book to present the sous-vide method to English-speaking cooks........' Where on earth was the editor? Too scared of editing a subject such as this and so leaving it to the authors alone?
I found this book simply an ego trip for the author(s) with hardly a page being turned without a reference to one or other of their restaurants - so many references in fact that is became very boring. The book misses chances time and again to educate the reader (few if any tables on cooking times for each of the meats/fish/ etc) in this fascinating method of cooking and instead concentrates on egotistical menus of massive complexity. Sous Vide is not complex and the subject presented in this way I found counter intuitive and counter productive.
The sections regarding the vital yet basic factors governing cooking by sous-vide for either mis en service or for storage and use at a later time and the safety aspects relevant to each were, in my opinion, not given the relevance that each separately and distinctly deserves. The two have quite distinctly different factors regarding safety and I didn't find that the book stressed this enough - safety seems to have been treated, albeit in depth, as one which is a little worrying really.... Read more ›
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Danny Marbella
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
It's not every day that you pick up a cookbook that totally changes your perception of food and cooking. As a child foodie, I can just remember when Cuisine Minceur by Michel Guerard hit the bookshelves in the 70's; after the butter-laden recipes of the 60s, its low-fat cooking was a relevation (hard to believe nowadays) and the food and flavour combinations - now commonplace - shocked chefs, home cooks and my parents alike. (It's still a classic.)
Under Pressure is somewhat of a misnomer. Sous vide means 'under vacuum', and it is this combined with cooking the food at below boiling point that is the revolution. No longer do you have to overcook the outside to ensure the interior is not raw. And no longer does the colour leach out, along with the flavour that our new generation of farmers work so hard to capture, and (presumably) the vitamins.
However, even the sous vide method was developed in the 1970s, by one Georges Pralus attempting to cook foie gras without losing its shape or fat. (Similarly, Cuisine Minceur was born of the necessity for a healthier way of cooking - to lure figure-conscious Parisiennes 800 km to his new wife's spa hotel in South-West France). But like many radical changes, they take time to find broader acceptance - and a creative adventurer like Thomas Keller to bring them to public notice.
Under Pressure condenses the past ten years of experimentation with sous vide techniques at The French Laundry into one book. A warning - do not attempt the recipes at home, unless you have a near commercial kitchen, a team of uncomplaining sous-chefs/kitchen slaves, and unlimited time. Further warning - read the section about food safely very closely - bacteria can multiply fast at temperatures of 65 C. The recipes are more for professional chefs.
Under Pressure is somewhat of a misnomer. Sous vide means 'under vacuum', and it is this combined with cooking the food at below boiling point that is the revolution. No longer do you have to overcook the outside to ensure the interior is not raw. And no longer does the colour leach out, along with the flavour that our new generation of farmers work so hard to capture, and (presumably) the vitamins.
However, even the sous vide method was developed in the 1970s, by one Georges Pralus attempting to cook foie gras without losing its shape or fat. (Similarly, Cuisine Minceur was born of the necessity for a healthier way of cooking - to lure figure-conscious Parisiennes 800 km to his new wife's spa hotel in South-West France). But like many radical changes, they take time to find broader acceptance - and a creative adventurer like Thomas Keller to bring them to public notice.
Under Pressure condenses the past ten years of experimentation with sous vide techniques at The French Laundry into one book. A warning - do not attempt the recipes at home, unless you have a near commercial kitchen, a team of uncomplaining sous-chefs/kitchen slaves, and unlimited time. Further warning - read the section about food safely very closely - bacteria can multiply fast at temperatures of 65 C. The recipes are more for professional chefs.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Do Not Buy!
Very disappointed in this book. I am an accomplished cook but this book is full of recipes too complicated to cook, and weird chemical ingredients that I've never heard of and I... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Gaynor Allen
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book but..........
I am new to Sous Vide cooking and although this is a great book it is beyond and too advanced for my culinary skills.
Published 4 months ago by P. Gardner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Book All you need to Know on water bath cooking
Great Book,worth every penny.very interesting ,next i need a water bath and a vac pac machine to try out methods.
Published 6 months ago by Paul Le Brocq
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could be so much better
It is frustrating that so many of the dishes are not photographed in their plated form. The detail photographs are amazing, but with so many components in each recipe, presentation... Read more
Published 6 months ago by snowzz
5.0 out of 5 stars
amazing
top class food from a top class chef, stunning photos, a very nice book to own, a must have for any chef
Published 12 months ago by mikey
5.0 out of 5 stars
sous vide cooking guide
It is beautifully photographed book with "laboratory-like close-up" pictures. It explains sous vide cooking technique very well, as well as gives some top class basic info at the... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Anna
4.0 out of 5 stars
UNDER PRESSURE
GREAT BOOK FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE INTO THE WORLD OF COOKING THE PERFECT PIECE OF MEAT,FISH OR THE TASTIEST VEGGIES EVER.
Published on 23 May 2011 by matteo
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW!!!
Amazing book, beautiful photography and some mind blowing ideas for recipes. Have made couple of things from this book which turned out great, but bear in mind this is an American... Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2011 by chrisjsenior
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great for Chefs
Not for the home cook many vital Sous Vide tips in this book, do not buy unless you can source items such as veal kidneys with fat and veal cheeks and real duck liver
Published on 28 Sep 2010 by H. Viola
5.0 out of 5 stars
sous vide explained in english
This book sheds a lot of light on the use of sous vide cookery the section on the health & safety side is invaluable to the professional chef,the recipes are great & easy to follow... Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2009 by Mr. N. Allen
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