Fantastic Fruit

By Kate Williams | Photography By Scott Suchman

Assisting with decadent chocolate concoctions and just-right fruit pies, sous vide helps bakers achieve sweet perfection. In Sous-Vide magazine’s Fall/Winter 2019 issue, pastry chefs and bakers explained how they use the method for precise desserts. Follow these tips from Paul Arguin, Chris Taylor, and Bill Corbett to ensure success.

Pick a complementary poaching liquid, such as a light wheat beer for peaches, an Old Fashioned–inspired bourbon and orange juice mixture for cherries, or white wine and vanilla for rhubarb.

Make sure to seal the fruit in a single layer to prevent crushing delicate fruit and to make sure it cooks evenly. Delicate fruits, such as berries, should be frozen solid before being vacuum-sealed.

Choose a temperature that will soften the fruit without risk of overcooking. Arguin and Taylor like a relatively cool water bath, around 149°F (65°C) for most fruits. Corbett prefers to cook most fruits at a slightly warmer temperature, around 179°F (82°C). Either works well.

One hour is generally plenty of time to poach fruit, but keep a close eye on the fruit the first few times it is poached to determine the appropriate time until doneness.

Don’t throw out that flavorful cooking liquid! Reduce it into a syrup that can be drizzled over ice cream or mixed with seltzer for a homemade soda.

This article originally appeared in Sous-Vide magazine’s Fall/Winter 2019 issue.