Food & Vac Series Part 2: Down the Rabbit Hole
I have been designing and working with vacuum systems for a long time now. When I’m not working, I study and pursue my passion for cooking and BBQ. I’m not a trained chef; I’m barely a decent home cook. My passion far outweighs my skills, but I relish digging into the small details of food prep and cooking processes. My experience with vacuum applications and my passion for food have crashed into each other, most excitingly.
Food crashed into my experience with vacuum applications two years ago when a great chef, Mike Bagale (whose newest project, Sip & Guzzle, is NYC’s hottest new spot), posted about resting pasta dough under vacuum using a commercial vacuum sealer. At the same time, chefs on cooking competition shows were using vacuum-sealed bags specifically for accelerated marinating and brining. The subtleties of these vacuum applications captivated me and sent me down the rabbit hole. I set out to explore whether home cooks could use standard vacuum chamber equipment to enhance marinating and brining. I had no idea how straightforward yet complicated the topic would be or how much misinformation I would have to sift through to understand it, but my journey had begun.
Vacuum
Food is familiar to everyone, and cooking is familiar to most. However, using a vacuum chamber system is a much less common topic. Let's compare three terms related to pressure to better understand the concept of a vacuum. “Ambient” pressure refers to the normal pressure of the surrounding environment, also known as atmospheric pressure. “Positive” pressure is the pressure that exceeds ambient pressure, with pumping up a bicycle tire and using a pressure cooker as good examples. “Vacuum” pressure, on the other hand, is the opposite of positive pressure, occurring when air is removed from a containment, resulting in pressure that is lower than ambient pressure. For instance, when you plug one end of a straw with your finger and suck on the other end, you create a small vacuum that collapses the straw and pulls on your finger. Positive pressure forces air into a space, while vacuum pulls air out.
Vacuum has been utilized in food services and commercial kitchens for over 60 years and is now standard equipment for food packaging, storage, sous vide cooking, and food preparation. Commercial vacuum sealers, like my VacMaster, differ significantly from typical FoodSaver vacuum sealers designed for home use. The FoodSaver pulls just enough vacuum to remove air from a bag sitting on the counter before sealing it, achieving a very low level of vacuum. In contrast, commercial versions operate quite differently. A bag and its contents are placed in a chamber where a high-power vacuum pump draws down to nearly full vacuum surrounding the bag. The vacuum is so strong that it pulls air not only out of the bag but also from the contents inside. The bag is sealed while still under vacuum, the vacuum is released, and the sealed bag is then removed. This is a significant difference, and it’s important to understand that whenever a “vacuum sealer” is referenced in this series, it pertains to the commercial version.
The concept of resting pasta in a vacuum-sealed bag, “under vacuum,” was an excellent idea, and it got me thinking. After sealing the bag and removing it from the machine, I wondered if it remained under vacuum. It seemed so, as the bag was sucked down tight and firmly in place, but what was happening inside and outside of the bag? I didn’t have the answers, yet my initial attempt at resting pasta under vacuum turned out well.
When the vacuum is applied, an object inside a vacuum sealer is under vacuum. However, once the bag is sealed and the vacuum is released from the machine, the containment no longer protects the bag from the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere, and it is squeezed by unrelenting ambient force from all sides. There is a stark difference between the forces exerted on objects inside a vacuum sealer, which are protected by the containment, and those on a vacuum-sealed bag outside of it. I needed to gain more hands-on experience to understand this better.
Getting Started
The vacuum chamber equipment was already in the lab, but I needed a commercial sealer to gain side-by-side experience with both systems. I started by bringing the vacuum chamber set into the kitchen and ordered a VacMaster VP215. As soon as the sealer arrived, I got to work.
The first victim was a marshmallow (details in a later section).
Then, a wet sponge (details in a later section).
Things became intriguing, and a clearer path to understand how vacuum may influence marinating and brining gradually emerged.
The most accessible information came from a quick Google search, which led to videos of users testing meat preparation with vacuum. The videos were engaging, and the presenters spoke with authority and appeared to understand what they were doing. In the end, they concluded that the use of vacuum sealing, at best, didn’t matter and, at worst, wasn’t a good idea. That wasn't very encouraging. I nearly accepted their conclusions and packed up, but fortunately, I continued to investigate. I found much more reliable information in technical articles and studies on vacuum technology in the commercial food and meat packaging industries. These articles provided everything I was looking for in great detail. The big picture was finally coming together.
Series Intention
In this series, I will share my exploration into whether adding a simple vacuum chamber to the culinary arsenal has value. Without giving too much away, I believe I've found that it's quite effective, affordable, versatile, and FUN! If I achieve my goal, everyone will have ample information to determine if it suits their needs or even try it for themselves. It’s just information, and knowledge is power in the kitchen.