Chains like Chipotle and Starbucks are adopting a gourmet French cooking method - here's why

The sous vide cooking method is sweeping the restaurant industry. Now, Starbucks is getting on board.

On Thursday, the coffee chain announced that it would be debuting Sous Vide Egg Bites on Tuesday. The snacks, which resemble clementine-sized eggy blobs, come in two varieties: bacon and Gruyere, and egg white with Monterey Jack and roasted red pepper.

Starbucks has been working on a new bread-free egg dish for three years. Much of that time was spent attempting to figure out the best preparation method to produce a texturally-pleasing item that could be cooked primarily off-site. The solution was sous vide.

Sous vide is a French cooking technique in which food is vacuum-sealed, then slow-cooked in hot water. It's a preparation method that allows food to cook at a steady temperature and maintain moisture.

While sous vide may sound fancy, it's a beneficial cooking method for restaurant chains because it makes it easy to prepare food off-site, which cuts down on work for employees and helps avoid health risks associated with uncooked meat.

Chipotle began pre-cooking pork and steak before it arrived at restaurants using sous vide after the chain's E. coli scandal as part of the company's new safety regulations. Panera has been cooking turkey and beef using sous vide since at least 2012, working with Cuisine Solutions - the same company that is preparing Starbucks' Sous Vide Egg Bites.