Anova Sous Vide review.
Technically it should actually be called an Immersion Water Heater, as the term Sous Vide is French for Under Vacuum, but English is a fluid language and the term Sous Vide is now commonly used for the technique of cooking food vacuum sealed in a Water bath at a precise Temperature.
So what is Sous Vide. Essentially I have explained it above. Food is cooked in a vacuum bag in water at a precise temperature. So why would you do this?
Lets take a steak for example. If you want to cook a steak traditionally to medium rare, or to an internal temperature of say 55 degrees, by the time you heat the middle of the steak enough to get the centre to 55 degrees, the outside will be well done. In Sous Vide, you set the temperature of the water bath to 55 degrees and leave the steak to sit in the water for a longer time. When you remove it from the water bath the entire steak will be 55 degrees, not just the centre portion. You now simply need to caramelize the crust at a seriously hot temp to ensure you don't cook the meat any further, a blow torch is often used for this job, a cast iron skillet or a bbq seriously cranked up.
Sous Vide machines come in two forms. All in one where it is a container and heater - looks similar to a slow cooker or deep fryer, or a cylindrical type tube which clips onto any pot or container that holds water.
That is what the Anova Sous Vide is, it attaches to a pot or even an esky.
Personally I prefer this type for three reason. It's cheaper, you can attach to any container so you are not limited to the size of a built in container, and it's much smaller so storage is simpler.
The unit has an adjustable clamp which you simply turn and screw it to tighten. It has a rubber knob on the end which allows it to clamp down firmly on any container without fear of it coming undone.
The lcd display is simple, it shows the current temperature of the water and the preset selected temperature. If I fill the pot with hot water from my tap (my hot water is regulated to 50 degrees), it only takes a few minutes to bring the water temp up to 55-60 degrees with the internal 1000w heater. The unit also has a small propeller in the base of it to circulate the water to ensure even heating thus eliminating cold spots.
How accurate is it? The short answer to this is very. There is a built in PID controller and you can set the temperature to withing 0.1 of a degree. While for most applications you will not need this level of control, afterall does it really matter if my steak is 55 or 55.5 degrees, but when it comes to things like eggs it does matter.
63 degree eggs have become trendy at some cafes. They are eggs cooked in a water bath at 63 degrees for an hour (or 63 minutes if the place is a bit more tossy). They are something everyone should try, the yolk is creamy and gelatinous, something that would be impossible to replicate without this level of control. And for the pleasure of sitting an egg in a water bath for an hour, you get to pay $20 for the experience.
Now this is where the level of control I mentioned comes in. At the risk of sounding tossy myself, I'm not a big fan of the white done at 63 degrees. I prefer the white at (and here's the tossy bit) 63.7 degrees. And before you ask, yes you can tell the difference. The white is just that little bit more set and the yolk is still a wonderful creaminess. Through trial and error I've found if you go over 63.7 the yolk starts to set a little too much for my liking. I can replicate this every time I do an egg like this, which tells me the PID controller is clearly accurate.
The unit is simple to use - set the temperature and walk away. There is a minimum and maximum mark for water depth clearly marked on the unit. In longer cooks you may need to top up the water due to evaporation.
How much? Currently US$179 for non US version, and US$129 for the US version. This is the new model which has Bluetooth so you can control it with your phone. There is also a WiFi version but that is only currently available in the US.
There are other options. A product called Sansaire which is $199, and another called Nomiku which is also $199. An interesting note is the Nomiku's development was paid for with a Kickstarter campaign and was the first of the 'affordable' Sous Vide machines.
Anova is a company which has been making water baths and other sterilization equipment for hospitals and the health industry for many years and they used their expertise to bring out an 'affordable' Sous Vide machine for the home market. They also make larger more expensive units for use in restaurants. This is one of the reasons I chose the Anova as they had existing expertise and simply adapted products they already produce to create a home Sous Vide machine. The other two were startups and at the time and if I had gone with one of them I would have run the risk of buying a version 1 product from a start up.
I have had mine for a touch over 2 years now and it has always performed faultlessly.