The practicality of the sous vide canning method makes it a unique pasteurization and canning technique.
Sous vide is one culinary trend that has gotten good press over the past few years.
Sous vide is a French phrase that means ‘under vacuum’ and is pronounced ‘sue veed.’
The general idea of this cooking and canning process is to result in evenly cooked food with a lengthier shelf life.
If you’re a culinary expert or enthusiast, you may be more familiar with the sous vide cooking method using a vacuum-sealed bag or a ziplock, but we can’t say the same for sous vide canning, a new culinary concept.
Here’s everything you need to know about this new canning concept.
What are sous vide canning?
Sous vide canning is a unique low-temperature canning procedure that effectively promotes the shelf life of canned foods.
In sous vide canning, you place the food in an airtight canning jar and seal it before submerging it in a pre-heated water bath to cook halfway.
Sous vide canning uses an immersion circulator to evenly distribute heat across the water that the canned food is submerged in. The immersion circulator maintains a stable temperature during the sous vide canning process.
An interesting fact about sous vide canning is that it is a better canning method for acidic eats compared to conventional canning techniques.
Sous vide canning: tomatoes tips
To preserve tomatoes using the sous vide method, you should:
- Use fresh tomatoes.
- choose canning jars that wouldn’t break when in hot water.
- Clean the jars before you begin canning.
- Keep your eye on the water level in the sous vide water bath, so it doesn’t get into the jars
- Do not make the lids of the jars too tight.
- That said, here’s a tomatoes sous vide canning recipe we recommend.
You only need these four things; tomatoes, tarragon, mild olive oil, and whatever seasoning (s) you’d like to add.
Guide:
- Ensure your tomatoes are clean before putting them into the jars/jar.
- Infuse the olive oil with the flavorings you want.
- Add the olive oil to the jar of tomatoes, and make sure the oil covers all the tomatoes.
- Cook in the sous vide water bath at 75 degrees centigrade for eight hours.
- Afterward, take the jar out and leave it for at least a day.
Sous vide canning: tomatoes sauce tips
- The most important tip here is to use fresh tomatoes; the sous vide amplifies the flavor of whatever raw food you’re cooking, and I don’t think anyone would love stale-tasting tomato sauce.
- Invest in standard and durable equipment; this includes the sous vide machine and your canning jars.
- Don’t screw the lid of the jar too tight.
- Clean your canning jars before you start canning.
- Follow the recipe strictly for better results; there’s no need to ‘hack it.’
Sous vide canning: salsa tips
Like tomato sauce, canning salsa using the sous vide method comes with a similar guide. However, here are some tips are unique to salsa:
- Ensure that the canning jars are already hot before pouring in the freshly cooked salsa to prevent the jars from breaking.
- Make sure the rim of the jars is free from salsa or random particles to give the jars a decent seal.
- When you pour the salsa into the jar, leave some space at the top to allow for expansion when heating.
- Use an air freer spatula to eliminate air bubbles when you pour the salsa into the jars.
Sous vide canning: jam tips
Our ultimate sous vide canning tip is to be patient and follow the recipe strictly. Fruits and vegetables need to cook for longer in sous vide, so you need to be patient when making jam with this method. Here are some other tips we implore you to follow:
- You may not need to cook the fruits in a canning jar; you might use sous vide bag instead.
- After cooking the fruits, if you prefer smooth textured jam, you should use a rolling pin to mash the cooked fruits carefully.
- Sterilize your equipment.
- Make use of fresh fruits and ingredients for a flavorful taste.
Sous vide canning: pickles tips
- Put as much thought and effort into the brine as you do, the pickles.
- Do not screw the lid of the jar too tightly.
- Use fresh pickles only.
- Use only durable and sterilized equipment for the process.
- It’ll pay you to stick to the recipe and guide.
- Clean the rims of the jar to improve sealing.
Sous vide canning: recipes tips
- Pick out the most suitable recipe.
- Follow the recipe as strictly as possible.
- Avoid closing the lid of the jars too tight; use your fingertips to tighten lightly instead.
- Know when to use which jars.
Some grains expand as they cook and will, of course, need space to do that, so using the same jars you would use for foods like beans that expand only a little will not be self-serving.
- Monitor the waterline when you submerge the jars in hot water to prevent water from entering the jars.
- Put the canning jars into the water bath as the immersion circulator warms the water to prevent the jars from breaking due to thermal shock.
Can I sous vide in Mason jars?
Yes, you can sous vide in mason jars. The key is to place the jars in the water bath before increasing the temperature of the sous vide machine. Doing this prevents the jars from cracking due to thermal shock.
Can you water bath can with sous vide?
Yes, you can.
A water bath is a central premise of the sous vide process.
In sous vide, you submerge the canning jar in a heated water bath of which you have control over its temperature.
Can you can tomato with sous vide?
Yes, you can quickly can tomatoes with sous vide. We gave some valuable tips on doing so earlier in this post.
Are sous vide pickles shelf-stable?
Yes, after all, that’s one of the points of sous vide.
Fun fact, sous vide pickles are shelf-stable for up to six months.
