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food into the bag.
Folding over the top of the bag is helpful when adding meat or other food to the bag. It means that the tongs or spatula do not have to reach into the bag as far. Also, folding the top of the bag can keep it clean from any marinade or other bits of food, which is extremely helpful for ensuring that the vacuum sealer makes a clean seal.
Make sure that the food is in one layer and as close to an even thickness as possible. Meat that is piled in the bag or stacked will not cook evenly or properly. Line pork chops, beef steaks, or chicken breasts side by side or use smaller bags and package them separately.
    While it is possible to use food-safe zipper bags, make sure that they are the kind that are safe to be heated for the length of time that they will be in the sous vide water bath. These types of bags are good for recipes that have a fair amount of liquid, like the pickle and relish recipes in this book.
    Here are the steps for getting air out of the zipper bags:
     
Place the ingredients in a food-safe zipper bag.
Slowly lower the bag into the water using the water displacement method; the air will escape from the bag.
Continue to lower the bag until it is about 1" from being fully submerged.
Once the bag has been lowered, just zip it shut with your fingers.
    Once the food has been sealed, it can be placed in the fridge until it is ready to be cooked sous vide. The first two steps (season and seal) can be done in advance of when the food will be cooked. This is advantageous for a dinner party, holiday meal, or other event, as it is possible to prep the food, season it, and vacuum seal it in the morning or even the night before. Then, closer to dinnertime, the bags are ready to go and can be submerged in the water bath when it is time for them to start cooking.
    Set
    The next step in sous vide, after seasoning the food and sealing it into a bag, is to set the water bath to the desired cooking temperature. Use the Time and Temperature Charts , found in Appendix A, to determine the proper temperature for setting the sous vide machine. While cooking meat in an oven uses pretty standard temperatures (often 350°F or 375°F), sous vide is much more precise. The temperature of the water is set to be the desired internal temperature of the meat. Therefore, if you like your steak medium-rare, then a temperature of 134°–140°F will cook the steak so it is pink, just the way you like it. If you are cooking green beans, then setting the sous vide machine to a temperature of 183°F will be hot enough to cook the vegetables so they are tender, yet have a little snap to them.

Depending on the cooking temperature, it may take longer for the water to heat up than it does to prep the food, season it, and vacuum seal it in the food-safe bag. If you will be bagging the food just before it goes into the sous vide water bath, consider setting the temperature and getting the sous vide going at the start so that once the food is sealed, the water will be hot and ready to go.
    Sous vide is all about precision, and the temperature of the water can have an enormous impact on the food, depending on what is being cooked. For example, +/–1°F can really change the texture of a soft-boiled egg and the creaminess of the yolk. In the same way, there is a great deal of personal preference regarding the texture and taste of meat, in particular. Tasting a chicken breast or salmon cooked at a lower temperature for longer may amaze some people, while others prefer the texture of these meats cooked at a higher temperature so they are closer to the traditional way.
    It is essential to make sure that the water has reached the set temperature before adding the bagged food into the water bath. Since sous vide cooking is all about precision, placing food into the bath as the water is still preheating disturbs the whole process, and you cannot be sure that the food is cooked when the time is done.
    Swim
    Once the water bath has finished