When cooking for my family at home, I have always been troubled by the fact that the chicken breast I make is always dry and tough, and it is far inferior to the tender and juicy texture in Michelin-starred restaurants. Later, I discovered that the secret to making delicious chicken breasts lies in slow cooking at low temperatures. The chicken breasts cooked in a low-temperature slow-cooking machine are incredibly tender and not tough at all. Since low-temperature slow cooking is so magical, then how can we use a low-temperature slow cooking machine to be healthier? Now I'll have a good talk with you all.

To achieve healthy low-temperature slow cooking, one must grasp three key elements, namely temperature, time and ingredients. These three are interrelated and each one is very important. In terms of temperature, if it is not set appropriately, it will affect the cooking effect of the ingredients and the retention of nutrients. If the temperature is too low, the ingredients may not be cooked thoroughly and bacteria may remain inside. When the temperature rises, the nutrients in the ingredients are more likely to be lost. The cooking time is the same. If the cooking time is too short, the inside of the ingredients may not be fully cooked. Over time, the taste of the ingredients will deteriorate. The selection of ingredients cannot be taken lightly either. Not all ingredients are suitable for slow cooking at low temperatures. Having understood these elements, we can make better use of the low-temperature slow cooking machine.

To help everyone better understand the low-temperature slow-cooking parameters for different ingredients, I have compiled a comparison table. Let's start with meat. For chicken, keep the temperature around 60℃ and cook it for about an hour. Then the chicken will become very tender. The pork can be cooked at a slightly higher temperature, around 65℃, for one and a half hours, and the texture is just right. Beef is a favorite of many people. Set the temperature between 55℃ and 60℃ and cook it for two hours to make perfect medium-rare to medium-rare beef. Let's take a look at the seafood. Cook the shrimp at a temperature of 50℃ to 55℃ for about 15 minutes. The shrimp meat is fresh, sweet and chewy. Salmon cooked at 50℃ for 20 minutes has a delicate texture. Finally, there are vegetables, root vegetables like carrots and potatoes. Boil them at 65℃ to 70℃ for half an hour. The vegetables will become soft and their nutrients will be well retained.

However, when using a low-temperature slow cooking machine, there are some common misunderstandings that we need to avoid. For instance, if the vacuum seal is not tight and air gets in, the food ingredients are prone to spoilage. There is also the issue of improper temperature setting. As mentioned earlier, if the temperature is not appropriate, the ingredients will either be undercooked or lose nutrients. To avoid these problems, we should check the sealing condition several times when using the vacuum machine. When setting the temperature, just follow the parameters I provided. This can reduce mistakes.

There are three types of ingredients that cannot be cooked in a low-temperature slow cooking machine. The first category consists of vegetables with an extremely high water content, such as cucumbers and lettuce. This type of vegetable has a high water content. After being cooked at a low temperature and slowly, it will become soft and mushy, with poor taste and nutrition. The second category consists of processed cooked foods, such as sausages and luncheon meat. These cooked foods themselves have been processed. Slow cooking at low temperatures may cause changes in their additives, which is not good for health. The third category consists of hard-shelled seafood, such as crabs and shellfish. A hard shell can impede heat transfer, causing the inside to be undercooked and making it prone to bacterial growth. Everyone must remember these three types of prohibited ingredients. I have specially marked them in red. Please don't use them wrongly.

Compared with traditional cooking methods, low-temperature slow cooking has a significant advantage in nutrient retention. The traditional methods of frying, stir-frying and deep-frying involve high temperatures, which can easily destroy the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in the ingredients. Low-temperature slow cooking, on the other hand, has a low temperature and can retain the nutrients of the ingredients to the greatest extent. Take chicken breast for example. The traditional way of cooking it makes it dry and a lot of nutrients are lost. Cooked in a low-temperature slow cooking machine, it is tender, juicy and retains all the nutrients.

Finally, let's talk about the equipment maintenance of the low-temperature slow cooking machine. After using it for a period of time, there will be food residues at the sealing part of the vacuum machine. We wipe it with a damp cloth every week to keep it clean. The water temperature of the low-temperature slow cooking machine also needs to be calibrated. You can measure the actual water temperature with a thermometer every week. If there is a difference from the set temperature, make adjustments. This can ensure the normal operation of the equipment and make the cooked ingredients healthier.