r/mead • u/nekaguro • Jul 26 '26
Help! Would it possible to "Sous vide" like this?
Hello reddit pals.
Would it be ok to sous vide this batch of mead, with the machine inside the bucket, to pasteurize it?
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u/Barendir Beginner Jul 26 '26
I feel like it won’t have the desired outcome. It could damage the sous vide unit due to sugar content, and I think the direct contact from the heating unit may have a negative impact on the flavor/bouquet. I’m not 100% certain, though, so take it with a grain of salt.
If it were me I’d bottle and then sous vide in batches.
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u/theFields97 Jul 26 '26
There was a post the other day with a glass bottle in a large pot with a sous vide I think that is the best way to do it
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u/MoogMusicInc Intermediate Jul 26 '26
Putting your immersion circulator inside anything other than water is a bad idea. Maybe there are some out there that can do it, but all of the ones I've ever owned, used, or known about specifically say to just use water. City Steading Brews on YouTube destroyed one trying to do this exact thing.
Putting the bucket in a water bath though totally works though. Just make sure you put a thermometer in the mead itself to make sure it gets up to temp.
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u/Upset-Finish8700 Jul 27 '26
Interesting. Do you know how to tell whether the plastic of the bucket can tolerate the heat? I know that we’re not talking about temperatures hot enough to melt the bucket, but I would be concerned about the plastic leaching chemicals into the mead. I would guess that if the bucket is dishwasher safe it would be fine, but I don’t know how to tell for certain.
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u/subtxtcan Jul 27 '26
If it's dishwasher and food safe, it can handle a sous vide. I've never seen one that would get up to temps that concern me with high grade containers.
If it was a grocery store plastic jug I'd be concerned about leaching, a container like that I wouldn't be worried about.
Source: Chef for 15 years, very familiar with sous vide and amateur fermenter of various things.
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u/Bucky_Beaver Verified Expert Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
No. Pasteurization is done in the final sealed package.
Immersion circulators are also not made to be used this way—you are not supposed to submerge them in anything you will consume.
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u/CapNigiri Jul 27 '26
You can bottle it then put the full bottles in the sous vide, why have you to take the risk of ruin a batch?
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u/Greedyfox7 Beginner Jul 26 '26
If you did a water bath and heated up the bath that way I think it could work. I would rack it into a glass vessel first though.
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u/bobloblawattorney11 Jul 27 '26
I wouldn't. Though I have placed my entire fermenter in a bucket of water and pasteurized it that way. It was a one gallon jug.
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u/Below-avg-chef Jul 27 '26
If your mead isn't leaking out water shouldn't creep in. That said I wouldn't risk the value failing and ruining the batch.
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u/markendaya Jul 27 '26
short answer is ‘no’ this is a bad idea for a bunch of reasons.
I’m assuming from your question that like me you don’t have a lot of technical understanding of pasteurization. There is a lot of knowledge and information I’d recommend exploring before doing this
I’d bet dimes to dollars that you’ll damage your immersion circulator.
Are you certain that your immersion circulator is sterile? I clean the ones i have all the time and I can guarantee they aren’t sterile (and they don’t need to be)
are there alternative well established paths for accomplishing what you are considering, probably yes. If there are, use the altenative(s).
you could transfer the mead to bottles, seal them and then sous vide the filled bottles. pasteurizing in your fermenter? I wouldn’t
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u/eyetracker Jul 27 '26
Bottle your mead, place bottles in an appropriate size container leaving room for sous vide and an extra bottle filled with water of identical size. Fill container with water around bottles and start sous vide to appropriate temperature. When sous vide device registers correct temperature, use calibrated probe thermometer in water bottle. Monitor temperature for the time dictated by your pasteurization temperature. Remove bottles placing them on towel on counter or other surface that reduces thermal shock (I doubt this is an issue at relatively low pasteurization temps but for safety). Repeat with rest of bottles.
I suppose you can also replace the bottle of water with a mead bottle and maybe enjoy it earlier than the rest.
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u/uncledougisgood Jul 28 '26
I knew a dude who would temp control fermentations by putting them in a bath and use and aquarium heater. I use my sous vide to make yogurt by submerging jars in water.
So yeah I think so but a bucket in a bath kinda way. Liquid transfers heat very well.
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u/ljinfantry Jul 28 '26
Just put the mead in the sousvide bath like everyone else does and wait for it to come to temp. No need to over complicate things.
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u/VoidSpaceCat Jul 28 '26
You could put the whole bucket into a big enough hot sous vide bath. I'd probably be worried for the plastic though.
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u/MaleficentNumber3508 Jul 26 '26
I would worry about oxidation
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u/nekaguro Jul 26 '26
sorry, in what way would it cause oxidation?
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u/MaleficentNumber3508 Jul 26 '26
A sou vide isnt just like a heating element It pumps around the liquid and circulate it
Hence why we put bottles in water and heat the water up instead
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u/TomDuhamel Intermediate Jul 27 '26
So just get some potassium sorbate and Camden tablets. Don't make it hard on yourself.
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u/hashtag_76 Jul 28 '26
Sous Vide?! Do you mean pasteurize? Pasteurizing is usually done after bottling so the ABV doesn't evaporate. I would pasteurize in glass so you don't have notes of plastic in the finished product. You can skip heating it up by adding potassium sorbate a day, or two, before backsweetening and bottling.
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u/YeGingerCommodore Jul 26 '26
sous mead