Then Chef Johnny Gnall introduced us to the Vacu Vin Instant Marinating Container for meats and vegetables.

Marinating helps retain natural juices, enhances flavors and helps to deliver better results when grilling, pan searing or roasting.

The easy-to-use Vacu Vin Instant Marinating Container, with a vacuum seal, makes it possible to marinate food in minutes instead of hours. Simply place the food in the container, add the marinade, fasten the lid and pump out the air to create a vacuum.

Explains Chef Johnny:

Marinating is one of these tricks: Taking a great piece of meat and marinating it, even in something as simple as olive oil and sliced garlic, can take things to that exceptional level.

Marinades work to infuse meat with flavor; but if you add salt, citrus, vinegar or some other acid, you actually tenderize the meat as well.

Moreover, you build flavors in rich layers. A sauce can add something special and complex, but marinating that food in the same sauce will deepen those flavors significantly, creating a fuller, rounder taste.

In the simplest terms, the Vacu Vin Instant Marinating Container is a Tupperware-like container with a vacuum pump attached to the lid. You pump it to remove air from the container and create a vacuum seal—a simpler approach to the Cryovac machines used in the kitchens of Ferran Adria, Thomas Keller and other chefs of reknown who vacuum marinate their foods to get a high concentration of flavor in a short amount of time. The Vacu Vin does the same thing to a lesser degree (because you’re paying $40, not $4,000).

WHAT SHOULD YOU MARINATE?

It’s not just about meat. You can (and often should) marinate vegetables, fruit, even certain grains. It’s all about getting the most flavor you can out of the food.

The added depth of flavor can make some foods even more appealing. Maybe your kids don’t like broccoli. Try marinating it in some olive oil, lemon juice, salt, garlic, and Parmesan cheese (grated as needed from a piece of cheese, not the product in the green can), then roasting it. There’s no guarantee your kids will devour it, but at the very least, you will have had them try some darn tasty broccoli!

GIVE IT A LITTLE TIME

Remember that when you’re marinating, time makes a real difference. The minimum something should sit in its marinade to make a significant difference is 30 minutes. Granted, you can marinate for 10 minutes and you’ll get some flavor, but most of what you’re tasting is the marinade that adheres to the outside of the food. You’re not getting the most out of your marinating.

So pick up a Vacu Vin and marinate your food as the very first step in cooking. Place the meat, vegetables or whatever into the Vacu-Vin for at least 15 minutes prior to cooking. The food will still benefit if you can marinate it for longer, but you are looking at a significantly shorter time requirement and a way to get more out of your cooking.

Plus, you can have some fun and play around with it.

 
You can really get some miles from this handy utensil: a time saver, a flavor unlocker and a pretty good deal all around.

The bottom line is this: the more love you give your food, the more love you’ll get out of it.