The concept of vacuum packing fruit like melons, cucumbers, and celery to compress their cell structure and concentrate their individual flavors has become common practice in many restaurants. We have been able to integrate this technique into a number of our dishes and even how we approach them. Recently, I began wondering what else we could vacuum-pack to create the sense of cooking without the application of heat. My next thought was asparagus. Unfortunately, our vacuum sealing machine is not that powerful. This is where we needed to outsource the development in our research and development. I gave Shola of Studio Kitchen fame the task to put our idea through its paces. He has a much more powerful vacuum packaging machine. I asked if he would try straight-up vacuum packing asparagus and also freezing it overnight. The long and the short of the test, it worked brilliantly. So, if you have a high-powered vacuum packing machine, give it a go and think about other green vegetables as well. Think about all the time waiting for water to boil and big pot blanching. Perhaps no more. Oh yeah, and if you are planning on peeling grapes, give them a turn in the vacuum chamber first; they will then peel like blanched tomatoes.
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