Well, we’ve got a solution that works super-duper well and is FREE!
Water bath covers help to keep the heat and moisture in when you sous vide and this is especially important when you sous vide overnight. There are various methods that people use to cover their water baths and these range from cling wrap to ping pong balls! Each has it’s own pros and cons. Some don’t work so well and some aren’t cheap.
WHAT SOME PEOPLE USE
Aluminium Foil
This method is cheap but it’s not reusable, and so costs can add up every time you sous vide. And being opaque, you can’t quite keep watch on your food. Also, since the foil is made of metal, it’s also not a very good material to keep the heat in.
Food Wrap
Image source from sousvidejourney.blogspot.com
This is bit of a improvement over aluminium foil in that it is transparent, more effective in keeping heat in and cheap. But it is also not reusable and it can be a pain to use on polycarbonate surfaces as it does not stick well to all materials.
Ping-Pong Balls
Image source from www.sousvidecenter.eu
Yes, believe it or not, some people use ping-pong balls! These are cheap, reusable and sort of allows you to check on your food. But it is not as efficient in keeping the heat in or preventing water loss.
Insulating Polypropylene Ball Blanket
Image source from polyscience.com
These work similar to ping pong balls but cost $99.95! Ouch!
Container Lids
Image source from phxfoodnerds.com
These can be efficient and effective in that they work well in keeping the heat and moisture in. You can buy ones that are transparent which will allow you to keep tabs on your food. And they are also reusable. But at $10.00, they aren’t very cheap and you’ll need to cut it very carefully to make sure it fits your immersion cooker properly.
Image source from polyscience.com
There are also some pre-cut lids available online but you may not find the exact one for your sous vide device and these cost from $29.95 onwards. Also, if you change to a new immersion cooker, well then you better hope it fits exactly in the hole!
WHAT THE SOUS VIDE GUYS RECOMMEND!
So what’s our water bath cover solution that works super-duper well? The answer is shower cap! Specifically those you get for FREE from any hotel!
What makes them so good? They are transparent so that allows you to check on your food. They are designed to keep water out and that means they work well in keeping the moisture as well as the heat in. They are reusable and they are FREE! You just can’t beat that!
Check out our video on YouTube to see how we did!
To use it, you’ll need a pair of scissors and one of these shower caps given away by hotels. The one we have here is a old one I found lying around my toiletries box from the Best Western.
First, stretch the cap out over the device. This will help you gauge a good spot to make your cut on the shower cap. One slit is usually enough and you don’t need to make it too big, just large enough to slide your immersion cooker through. And then you’re done and all ready to sous vide!
If you haven’t got one of these free hotel-type of shower caps, no problem! You can buy them from Amazon for less than $0.10 a piece! That’s about as close to being FREE as you can get!
So sous vide soon and bon appétit!
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