Sous Vide for Steeping

[Valcan]

I have been reading lots about steeping could not find anything on sous vide. Has anyone tried to steep their juice in an immersion circulator? I am looking for a recommended temperature and time. I have an Anova which keeps the water at a steady temp (within 0.1 degrees) and has a circulator so the water is always moving. I figured I would vacuum seal some bottles in a bag with something heavy so it submerges and leave it overnight. Any thoughts? Anyone try this?

 

[AmandaD]

One of the topics being discussed in the DIY forum is steeping at 150 degrees in a crockpot for 4 hours. Take it out and shake and let the air in every now and then. I've tried this a few times, and it seems to work even better than an ultrasonic cleaner. I put water in the crockpot up to the level of the juice in the glass bottle, and then pop in the bottle.

 

[Valcan]

I will give 150f (65.5 C) a try for four hours and see how it goes. I think I will only do one small bottle just in case in does not work.

 

[AmandaD]

It does work! Remember to shake and take the lid off and on every now and then. And let it cool off before resampling

 

[Thundernoggin]

I had no idea you could use a crockpot or ultrasonic cleaner for this. I've got some reading to do.

 

[Valcan]

It does work! Remember to shake and take the lid off and on every now and then. And let it cool off before resampling

I was planning on vacuum sealing so it would still be easy to shake but not to take the lid off. Should I just put it in a ziploc and seal using the Archimedes method? How often should I take it out of the bath and take the lid off? How long do I keep the lid off at a time? Why is it important to take the lid off? Why is the sky blue? (Wow, you sure can tell I am a newbie, I feel like a 4 year old rattling off questions).

 

[AmandaD]

LOL I use whatever glass bottle I have available and stick it in the water up to its next with a lid on the bottle. I just take the lid off long enough to let the air exchange (a second or two). And I just shake it when I think about it - maybe once an hour - depending on whether I'm home or not! It ends up giving me about a 4 week steep.

 

[Thundernoggin]

I could be wrong but I thought taking the cap off was to release any leftover alcohol that may have been used.

 

[AmandaD]

I could be wrong but I thought taking the cap off was to release any leftover alcohol that may have been used.

I don't use alcohol in my DIY mixes - I just do it - because LOL But, yes, it would work for that too I would think.

 

[Valcan]

I just finished by first experiment. I put one bottle in for 4 hours at 150F, let it cool and gave it a try. The taste is way better. Just need to order some glass bottles so I can throw them all in.

 

[AmandaD]

I just finished by first experiment. I put one bottle in for 4 hours at 150F, let it cool and gave it a try. The taste is way better. Just need to order some glass bottles so I can throw them all in.

Isn't it great - and it makes a huge difference on things like tobacco and cream flavors!