We received the following question in the “Ask the chef” section.

“I am just learning about sous-vide and low-temperature cooking and I would like you to clarify the relationship between time, temperature and weight. Different websites I have seen show different relationships between times and temperatures for the same types of food. However, I haven’t seen any mention of weight anywhere. Is there a difference between vacuum cooking 100 grams and 500 grams?”

This was the answer given by our chef:

“Hello,
Questions like this are very common when you first start using this technique. I will try to give you a simple and practical answer. Thickness, weight and cooking time are essential factors in the success of the vacuum and low-temperature technique. You could have a 200g piece of meat with a thickness of 1.5cm (a beefburger, for example) or a 200g steak which is 7cm thick. In both cases the weight is the same, but the cooking time will be different. Bear in mind that they are both from the same animal, but each has a different shape and composition in its structure. Therefore, thickness is something you need to consider in the cooking. The thicker the meat, the longer it will take to reach the desired temperature.”