Gallery: For Home Chefs on a Budget, Sous Vide Cooking Heats Up
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When working with the right kind of foods, a sous vide machine is like an appliance from the Jetsons' kitchen. Six-pound pork shoulder cooked medium-rare all the way through and fall-apart tender? No problem! Entire salmon filets that maintain near translucency from end to end? Piece of cake! Scallops that don't overcook? We can do that! At least now we can. Formerly the realm of the deep-pocketed kitchen nerd, sous vide cooking — where food is sealed in an airtight bag, then heated at a low and steady temperature — has become more accessible with the arrival of some lower-priced cookers. Up until a few months ago, the [PolyScience Sous Vide Professional Creative Series](http://www.cuisinetechnology.com/sousvide-creative.php) was just about the only real home option. This serious kitchen gadget not only required a measure of culinary ambition, but also an investment of more than $700. As expensive as it was when it first arrived, it did the great service of introducing many of us to the world of immersion circulators. These devices — picture a large wand that clamps onto a spaghetti pot or polycarbonate tub like an oversized fish tank heater — had previously only been marketed for use in research labs and pro kitchens, and priced accordingly. Now, there are two models available for just $200. Both are made by companies new to the immersion circulator game: Anova, which got going just a few months ago; and Sansaire, which can be pre-ordered now and is slated to ship in late January. Add a vacuum sealer for as little as $65, and you're in business. Not only are these two companies slashing costs, they're also leading the pack in design, with user interfaces for both models representing two very different versions of smart, sleek and simple. The Anova employs a touchscreen where you tap in the desired temperature, hit the green Start button and it's off and running. Hit the "crosshair" icon on the Sansaire, twist the ring around the top to dial in the target temperature and it whirs toward its goal. By contrast, the SousVide Professional now feels dated, like a Blackberry — right down to the surplus of fiddly buttons. It's a workhorse, and it was the first to market by a long shot. But despite cutting its cost to $400, it still costs twice as much as the competition, performs the same functions, and feels generations older. It's hard to imagine how the device will stay competitive in the market without an upgrade and a price drop. In terms of performance, there's not that much difference between them. Immersion circulators are mechanically very simple: a water heater, a pump, a thermometer, and minimal controls. All of these immersion circulators I tested — along with the tub-like SousVide Supreme — ably heat two gallons of room temperature water to 65 °C (French molecular gastronomist [Hervé This](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-08/ps_foodchemist)' favorite temperature to cook an egg) in about 25 minutes and easily hold the water at a consistent temperature for hours. It leaves us marveling at the newcomers and wondering what the old guard will do to keep up. In the meantime, the Christmas lists of thousands of home cooks just got a new addition.
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Anova ----- It's a tight contest between the [Anova](http://anovaculinary.com/) and the Sansaire, but this immersion circulator is the one to beat. Much of it comes down to pedigree -- Anova has been building water baths for the industrial and scientific community since 2003, and circulators since 2007. The touchscreen is easy to figure out, the body is slim, which means more room for food in the pot, and it's solid, with a tight-fitting clamp and a stainless steel business end that can be tossed in the dishwasher. __WIRED__ Just about everything. Solid construction, smart design. __TIRED__ Like the other immersion circulators, an alarm to signal when it's reached the desired temperature would be a nice addition. __Rating: 9 out of 10__
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Sansaire -------- One could say that for [Sansaire](http://sansaire.com/) co-founder Scott Heimendinger, sous vide is his, um, bag. He's not only the Seattle Food Geek and an employee of the company that brought us the six-volume Modernist Cuisine (Sansaire is a separate, independent venture), but he also figured out way to make [a $75 DIY circulator in early 2010](http://seattlefoodgeek.com/2010/02/diy-sous-vide-heating-immersion-circulator-for-about-75/), posting the blueprints online. There are great design elements to the Sansaire; each important function gets its own button: on/off, target temperature and temperature unit (C or F); adjustments are made by twisting the ring around the top; The LED screen is bright and easy to read from across the kitchen. __WIRED__ Some go as far as calling Sansaire's design and ease of use 'elegant.' They're not wrong. Large digital readout can easily be read from across the room. __TIRED__ The housing around the bottom of the unit is a bit fussy - once it's apart, it can be tricky to reassemble, particularly compared to the solid feel of the Anova, but it's a small quibble for an otherwise fantastic product. __Rating: 8 out of 10__
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PolyScience Sous Vide Professional Creative Series -------------------------------------------------- Back before most of us had heard of sous vide, there was the [PolyScience Sous Vide Professional Creative Series](http://www.cuisinetechnology.com/sousvide-creative.php), chugging away in the plastic tubs and spaghetti pots on the counters of the happy few. It may have been avant garde, but it had a Volvo-like "boxy but good" consistency. The problem is, it's still boxy, and worse, despite heavy recent discounts, it's still pricey. Unless they update their features and cut the price in half again, it's hard to imagine how this model will survive. __WIRED__ Until the competition appeared, the PolyScience ruled the roost and everybody loved them. __TIRED__ Now that the competition's here, it still costs twice as much and desperately needs a UI update. The clamp in the back is surprisingly hard to tighten. __Rating: 6 out of 10__
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SousVide Supreme ---------------- The water bath found in many restaurant kitchens is a great benchmark against which to test immersion circulators. It holds heat extremely well, something combatted only by plastic wrap or custom-cut lids among the immersion circulator set. It also beeps when the desired temperature is reached, which, mysteriously, none of the stand-up models do. In a home kitchen, one of the Supreme's greatest assets - spaciousness - works against it. Unless your kitchen is sprawling enough to have the counter space for another appliance with a footprint about the size of a KitchenAid mixer, there's little reason to get a dedicated water bath. __WIRED__ Plenty of space in the bath. __TIRED__ Too much space on most kitchen counters, especially when an immersion circulator can slide into a drawer. It's also awkward to empty when the tank is full. __Rating: 6 out of 10__*The rating for the SousVide Supreme is based on home use. It would have scored higher if we were judging it for use in a commercial kitchen.*
