Cooking has come a long way over the past few centuries. We are no longer limited to cooking over a fire, and the range of food available today is amazing to say the least. Food Contractor People are now deep frying turkeys and ice cream, cooking food in aluminum foil and microwaving dinners before the big game. Another new trend, at least over the past several years, is sous-vide.

Sous-vide literally translates to mean "under vacuum." It is a way to cook food by heating it over a long period of time. Although the method of cooking is similar to a slow cooker or crock pot, sous-vide uses lower temperatures. Essentially food is placed in an airtight bag, or vacuum sealed bag, and cooked in hot water (around 140°F or 60°C).

This method of cooking was created by Georges Pralus in the mid 1970s in Roanne, France. He discovered that cooking food in this manner allowed the food to maintain its original appearance and texture, which appealed to customers. It also helped maintain flavor, improving the flavor of the food.

Although sous-vide has been around for 30+ years, it is beginning to grow in popularity. Many amateur cooks are now experimenting with different recipes and ingredients to create new cuisines. Many people like to simply create several meals in bulk quantity, vacuum seal them and freeze them for later cooking.

There are now even cook books available online offering sous-vide recipes and cooking tips. A few items cooked using sous-vide include turkey, beef brisket, pork chops, eggs, ribs and much more.

In a February 2008 issue of Wired Magazine, Nathan Myhrvold (former CTO of Microsoft) had this to say about sous-vide, "I love to cook short ribs at 130 degrees Fahrenheit for 36 hours," Myhrvold says. "They become very flavorful and have a different texture than most braised meats."

Sous-vide can be done with a wide range of vacuum sealers, including both chamber and external models. When dealing with liquids, one does still have to be careful not to make a mess. Chamber sealers have been found to be cleaner due to the way the bag is sealed and the air is removed. Once the food, meat, liquids and vegetables are placed in the bag, the air can be removed and the bag sealed.