Ok I’ll investigate.
Do you mean that loner cook (more than 2 hrs) will increase potential to grow of pathogens?
Many folk don’t like the texture of chicken cooked at medium rare temperatures. And then there’s the need to explain that if it is cooked to pasteurisation there is no need to panic about the pink. 140F will give you soft and moist chicken breast.
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Thank you, Ember, will do 140 from now on to be safe. Great link! Thank you so much!
@Ember @fischersd
Thanks. I’m a medical technologist & one of my licenses is microbiology.
The reason that I gave a temp of 132 F was to account for a) the vagaries and b) folks who have a little knowledge, but not enough to make themselves safe in all circumstances.
You know the old adage;
If its fool proof, I can find a fool to fix that for you!
Cheers!
Keep on giving good information. You do wonders for the community. Just wish I had the time to devote to it too.
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@ElenaK
140 F is good for chicken breast.
There is a noticable difference between 140F and 145 F.
Do try 144-145 F, I think that you would enjoy it more.
I know that I do!
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I agree! It’s definitely worth experimenting with a few cooks to identify the “perfect temp for you”!
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I don’t know the chemistry of the bags you use, but I suspect the culprit is the plasticizer used in vinyl plastics. Try freezer bags. Stay away from vinyl (PVC.) The chemistry is different. Zip Lock also says it has no BPA in its freezer bags…
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Hi @Bill_B
@ElenaK mentioned way up in this thread that the bags used were FoodSaver brand bags. The FoodSaver bags are 5 layers of polyethylene with an outer layer of nylon, so the plastic touching the food should contain no plasticizers. So far this problem has me stumped.
@ElenaK I wonder if maybe you could do a test Try cooking some chicken in the foodsaver bag…but in a metal container (just a regular cookpot you’d normally use on your range top).
If you still get that plastic taste/smell you’ll know it’s not your plastic cooking container then.
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I’m also stumped. I have never had the problem using ordinary freezer bags, but I also do not use long cooking times. Typically I cook food for one to two hours. It would be interesting to be able to compare the plastic odor with the odor of a freshly opened box of bags.
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Elena, check your salt, if you used any that maybe the culprit.
Some brands of table salt use anti-caking agents that have a decidedly off-taste and aroma.
Professional cooks use Kosher salt religiously as it has no additives.
(i know, - bad pun.)
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Thank you! I use sea salt or Himalayan salt from costco
Great point! will check.
Yes i’ll do test with stainless steel pot and different times 2hrs, 3,4,5,6,7,8 . I’ll just take out one bag of chiken every hour.
Great info! will keep it in mind. Thank you. What I love about this community is the level off professionalism!
I have a polycarbonate bin, different brand from yours, and use both Foodsaver vacuum seal bags and Freshsaver ziplock bags with vacuum port. I’ve never had an off taste of plastic.
Before the bin, I used a gigantic, cheap soup pot with the same bags, and covered the top with aluminum foil for anything that was going to take more than a couple of hours.
But, I’m wondering if the plastic taste could come from the lid sold for your bin, because it looks like a softer plastic that could gas off. But I can’t guess how it would permeate food sealed inside of a Foodsaver or Freshsaver bag.
I have this bin Amazon.com with the polycarbonate lid, cut for Anova.
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It’s still a mystery. I use silicon lid and different container from Amazon as well,
@elenak did you ever try cooking 1 piece of chicken in your container and 1 piece from the same chicken in a soup pot?
Was there a difference?
Was the plastic taste there in one or both of them?
@ElenaK What were the results of your testing?
I personally use a Coleman cooler for most cooks with the meat in Foodsaver bags. So far I’ve not experience the tastes you’ve been getting, so I’m really curious what you might have found out!
(I still have my fingers crossed for you!)
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I did cook chicken breast in a separate Foodsaver bags at 144 for 2,3,4,5, 7 hrs.
in a metal soup pot. No salt or pepper, just chicken. Honestly, I didn’t notice any additional taste, but my daughter did, and she noticed it more in longer cooked pieces. Last time the taste was much stronger, so I noticed it too. This time, not that strong since only she noticed. She might be a bit biased toward SV cooking now, that’s why Considered results inconclusive and going to do it again with bigger “jury”, maybe this weekend, we’ll have family visiting. My husband didn’t notice this taste the first time, so he doesn’t count