Vasocottura: cooking in a healthy and tasty way

Jar cooking involves cooking food inside glass jars. It has very ancient origins, but in recent years, thanks to some famous chef And food bloggers it's a technique that has come back into fashion again.

Vase cooking is a truly innovative cooking method. greet and with great advantages, in fact, it allows you to cook with little fat and condiments, which makes it “dietetic” and also healthy, since the nutritional properties of the food are not dispersed, as well as the aromas and taste of the food which remain trapped inside the jar until the moment of opening.

Finally, the joy of all those who love to cook, but not wash pots and pans... it is a cooking technique that does not require a thousand dishes to clean, everything cooks inside the same jar and gets very little dirty!

What tools do you need?

First of all you need to equip yourself with vessels that are suitable for this type of cooking, such as weck jars, which can have various sizes depending on the quantity you want to cook.

Of course, you can also use simple jars, such as jam jars, but weck jars are really ideal for this technique. They have a rubber seal, a lid and clips necessary to maintain the vacuum and work similarly to a pressure cooker. Before starting cooking, it is always a good idea to make sure that all the parts are intact.

The steam that is created inside the jars cooks the food inside, the gasket allows for venting (just like the valve on a pressure cooker), this will allow for quicker cooking times.

What are the methods of cooking in a jar?

You can choose to cook, on the gas, in the oven, but cooking in a jar in the microwave is the technique that is gaining the most success. For the most green There is also jar cooking in the dishwasher, but in this case the jars must be closed in heat-resistant bags.

Jar cooking involves placing all the ingredients directly inside the jar, closing it and cooking in the chosen way:

• In the microwave , place the jar directly inside.

• In the oven , the jars should be placed in a baking dish with 2 cm of water.

• TO bain-marie you must use a pot that should be filled about 2/3 with water and the jars should be separated by a cloth so that they do not knock against each other.

Obviously cooking times and power vary depending on the type and quantity of the food as well as the size of the jar.

It should be noted that, even if cooking is finished, the jar will be hot and the food will continue to cook inside. Before opening the jar, it is a good idea to turn it upside down to distribute the seasonings and wait about 5 minutes, paying attention to the steam that will come out.

What can I cook with jar cooking?

They can be cooked almost all foods with jar cooking except for doughs that require leavening, mushrooms, because they release toxins that would remain "trapped" inside the jar and foods that require long external cooking, such as potatoes, which should be boiled beforehand.

On the other hand, all the following lend themselves very well to this technique: vegetables , the fish , but also the meat .

The important thing is to put all the ingredients that cook at the same time in the jar, to allow for uniform cooking of all the foods.

The advantages of jar cooking

As we said before, the advantages of cooking in jars are many:

• A “ diet ” cooking method, because it allows us to cook with little fat and condiments.

• A technique healthy , because there is no dispersion of the nutritional properties of the food.

• Allows quick cooking times .

• Yes it makes very little mess , both during cooking and because it is possible to serve and eat the dish directly in the jar.

Furthermore, with the vacuum packed The food inside the jar remains fresh and can be stored in the fridge for a few days and this gives us further advantages:

• Having ready-made dishes, but still healthy and tasty, to eat at home or take to the office.
• Help to avoid waste.