****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
A great technical reference, this book is for food-science guys who want facts and figures instead of rote recipes. It has good explanations of the techniques, equipment and science of sous-vide. There are some recipes of course, but this is not really a cookbook. If you want recipes, there are scads of them available online, plus many videos on Youtube with more specific recipes.This is for someone like me who wants references with temperatures & time data for each specific TYPE of food. It includes recommended temps for meats, fish, veggies and even some unusual dessert ideas! The table of contents and index are well organized and thorough. That makes finding info fast and easy.Overall, this is the BEST reference-book of the sous-vide subject I have seen. There is plenty of time & temperature information plus lots of tricks that will SAVE MONEY on otherwise expensive sous-vide equipment. The entire work is deeply researched and impressively organized. The presentation is perhaps a little dry, but I prefer clearly presented facts over pretty pictures and faux inspiration any day.The first part of the book and several spots in latter chapters tell you how to perform sous-vide WITHOUT ANY extraordinary equipment. By itself, that makes this book worth the price many times over!I also find it comforting to know when I have an expensive cut of tenderloin or roast beef to cook, the reference material gives me solid advice that (so far) has never disappointed.I am no newcomer to sous-vide, but this tome is well suited to those with little or no experience. For those of us who have been cooking sous-vide for years, it is a very useful technical reference.if THAT is what you need, then THIS is the right book.
