Vacuum Pouches for Sous Vide: Sizes, Gauges and Temperatures

Sous vide asks more of a pouch than a fridge does. The film spends an hour to three days in hot water, gets handled wet, and has to keep a seal while the product inside releases juice and gas. Most of the questions we get from kitchens come down to three things: temperature, size and the machine.

Temperature: what 65 micron handles

Our 65 micron clear pouches are PA/PE co-extruded film. The polyamide outer layer gives the heat resistance, the polyethylene inner layer makes the seal. In practice that structure is used all day at the temperatures sous vide actually runs at:

• Fish and shellfish, 45 to 55°C
• Beef, lamb and duck, 54 to 62°C
• Pork and chicken, 60 to 66°C
• Root vegetables and long braises, 82 to 85°C

Up to 85°C for extended cooks, the standard pouch is the right choice and there's no benefit in paying more for a thicker one. Micron is puncture resistance, and there's nothing sharp in a water bath. The gauge guide explains why.

Above that, for cook-in-bag stews, rice and anything held at or near boiling, you're into boilable grade. That's a different film spec, made to order rather than stocked online. The boilable pouch guide covers where the line falls.

Size: match the portion, not the tray

The mistake is buying one big pouch for everything. A 200g fillet in a 300×400mm bag leaves a lot of empty film that folds over itself, traps pockets of air and cooks unevenly at the edges. Fit the pouch to the portion with 40 to 50mm to spare above the product for the seal.

What you're cooking	Pouch	Per bag
Single fish fillet, chicken breast, single steak	160×250mm	1.8p
Two portions, a pork chop, a duck breast with aromatics	200×300mm	2.7p
Short rib, lamb shoulder portion, four chicken thighs	250×350mm	3.9p
Whole pork belly, brisket flat, 2kg batch of vegetables	300×400mm	5.4p

Most prep kitchens end up with two sizes on the shelf: one for single portions and one for batches. The full size guide has all 37 sizes with what fits in each.

The machine: chamber only

Our pouches are smooth film and will only seal in a chamber vacuum machine. That's the Henkelman or Orved on the prep bench, not the FoodSaver at home. If your kitchen runs an edge sealer, our pouches won't work in it. The compatibility guide has the full list.

Chamber machines happen to be the better tool for sous vide anyway. Because the pressure drops evenly inside and outside the bag, you can pack marinades, stocks and butter without the liquid getting pulled into the seal. And the vacuum is deeper, which matters in the bath: less air in the bag means better heat transfer and no floating.

Getting a seal that survives the bath

• Keep the seal area dry. Wipe the inside of the pouch opening if juice has touched it. A wet seal is the most common failure at 60°C.
• Use a double seal if your machine offers it. Henkelman and Multivac both do. It costs nothing and gives you a spare.
• Let the pump finish. On long cooks, a 95% vacuum will show as a loose, floating pouch after an hour. Set the cycle to reach full vacuum.
• Chill fast after cooking. Into an ice bath, then into the fridge in the same pouch. Sealed and chilled, cooked product keeps well, but the safe limits are set by food safety rules, covered in the food safety guide.

Cost per cover

At 2.7p for a 200×300mm pouch, the bag on a £14 plate is 0.2% of the price. Kitchens sometimes buy retail sous vide bags at 15p to 25p each because they're sold in the same aisle as the circulator. If you have a chamber machine, that's money on the floor. A box of 1,000 is £27.00 ex VAT and delivery is free over £120.