Sous vide cooking is an appropriate way to achieve restaurant-quality cooking outcomes.
Even so, this cooking method comes escorted by one major annoyance- keeping sous vide bags plunged in a hot water bath throughout the entire cooking session.
Has this issue prevented you from achieving your culinary goals?
If yes, it is time to buy the sous vide rack. The rack will keep your vacuum sealer bags submerged.
Trust me; once you discover the wonders of sous vide rack, you’ll wonder how you ever cooked without it.
Table of Contents
Why Do I Need Sous Vide Rack?
A sous vide rack is vital for anyone who wishes to streamline their sous vide cooking experience. The racks keep your food vacuum sealer bags submerged all through the cooking period, thereby minimizing issues of half-cooked dishes.
However, while the sous vide rack seems like a necessary appliance for enthusiasts who want consistent culinary results, it isn’t ideal for those who use an immersion circulator.
Why? Many are designed to keep your sous vide bags immersed throughout the cooking session.
Are Sous Viding Racks Safe for Food?
Many sous vide racks are made from stainless steel, a material that is safe for your food. It will not contaminate your dishes with rust and or corrosion residue. Stainless steel is free of harmful components like BPA, melamine, and phthalates.
Apart from stainless steel, some manufacturers fabricate their sous vide racks from polycarbonate. Unlike cheap plastics, this highly heat-resistant plastic is free of BPA and other potentially toxic compounds.
Popular Sous Vide Rack Options
Let’s take a look at some crowd-pleasing sous vide racks that are making waves in the culinary world:
| Brand | Material | Size | Adjustable Dividers | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anova Precision | Stainless Steel | Adjustable | Yes | Handles for easy lifting, dishwasher safe |
| EVERIE | Silicone-Coated | 7.5 x 6.7 inches | Yes | Protects pouches from direct contact, handles for easy lifting |
| LIPAVI | Stainless Steel | 12.8 x 7.2 inches | Yes | Designed for professional use, adjustable dividers |
How Much Does Sous Vide Rack Cost?
Although sous vide cooking appliances are in high demand, they aren’t so costly. You can have one with a budget ranging from $20 onwards. However, I advise that you steer clear of overly cheap racks as they may not hold up well when used regularly.
Either way, a higher price tag doesn’t mean that the sous vide rack is of high quality. That said, experts advise that you gauge a rack’s quality based on its construction, safety, and value, rather than its price. You can check the latest price of sous vide racks here.
Common Sous Vide Rack Challenges and How to Overcome
Even with the best tools, challenges may arise. Here’s how to tackle common sous vide rack issues:
Floating Frustrations:
- Solution: Use weights, magnets, or binder clips to anchor pouches and prevent them from floating during cooking.
Uneven Cooking Woes:
- Solution: Ensure proper rack placement and water circulation to achieve consistent and precise results.
Care for Your Sous Vide Rack
Your sous vide rack has been your culinary sidekick; it deserves some love in return. Here’s how to care for it:
- Gentle Clean: Most sous vide racks are dishwasher safe, but a gentle hand wash with warm, soapy water can maintain longevity.
- Storage Savvy: Store your sous vide rack with care to prevent damage, ensuring it’s ready for your next sous vide masterpiece.
How to Avoid Substandard Sous Vide Racks?
While picking the sous vide rack from the hundreds of models in stores seems hard, that shouldn’t be the case if you take ample time to conduct some due diligence before you buy. Here are the aspects that you need to check in each rack.
Customer Reviews
Reading reviews from sous vide enthusiasts who have already purchased and tried the rack you are eyeing is one of the most excellent ways to gauge its quality before buying. As a rule, go for racks with an excellent rating. Such racks are likely to offer an exceptional value than their lowly rated counterparts.
Construction
A rack’s construction determines its lifespan. If you want one that can endure heavy use and occasional abuse, go for one designed from stainless steel. This material has excellent resistance to high temperatures, impact, and corrosion.
Besides stainless steel, you can invest in one built from polycarbonate. Though polycarbonate is less durable than stainless steel, the material can hold up well even when exposed regularly to high temperatures. In the bargain, polycarbonate is non-corrosive and rust-resistant.
Get Leads From Experts
If you lack the time to read customer reviews or assess every sous vide rack in stores, get leads from sous vide experts. Such experts spend much of their analyzing top-rated racks, and then, they recommend the best racks to their readers.
The reviews from experts will save the time you would have spent scrutinizing each sous vide rack in stores, as well as lower the risk of buying a less-durable unit.
What Other Features to Consider
Sous vide racks aren’t created equal. Some have basic functional features, while others come with more bells and whistles to enhance your cooking experience. If you want a more sophisticated rack, look around for one with:
Adjustable/Detachable Dividers
Sous vide racks with adjustable and or detachable dividers can accommodate any size of sous vide or vacuum sealer bag. Therefore, unlike those racks with fixed dividers, one with adjustable dividers will not limit you to sous viding a specific quantity of foodstuff.
It is a good investment for chefs who want a rack they can use to sous vide varied amounts of dishes.
Foldable Construction
If space is a luxury in your kitchen, look around for a sous vide rack that folds down into a compact, space-saving size that you can tuck in a cabinet or on a shelf. However, if your kitchen is big enough, just get a foldable or non-foldable sous vide rack.
No-Float Bar
Though sous vide racks are designed to keep your vacuum sealer bags submerged, you may, at times, have to deal with stubborn bags that cannot remain submerged.
In such a case, a no-float bar will lock the bags tightly in the dividers, thereby forcing them to remain submerged till your food is done.
Final Thought
There are two primary features to consider when looking for sous vide rack- a durable construction, and dividers to hold your vacuum sealer bags securely while maintaining an appropriate spacing.
Whether you go for a top-tier commercial option, get creative with a DIY rack, or pair it with cool accessories, your sous vide setup is about to reach new culinary heights.
Enhance your sous vide cooking precision with these racks!
