What You Need to Know
This technique involves sealing food in airtight bags and freezing it to a temperature of -40°C or lower using liquid nitrogen or a cryogenic freezer, helping to preserve texture and flavor, and enhance nutritional value. The combination of sous vide and cryogenic freezing achieves a more even level of doneness and uniform texture by controlling the rate of freezing and temperature. Cryogenic freezing also inactivates enzymes and biological processes that can lead to spoilage and degradation.
Steps
- 1.
Cryo-seared tuna tataki (Japan): Preserves raw texture while creating perfect sear
- 2.
Nitrogen-frozen herb oils (Spain): Captures volatile aromatics in herbs
- 3.
Sous vide-cryo ice cream (United States): Creates ultra-smooth texture with minimal ice crystals
The Science
Primary Reaction
Rapid cooling and freezing