Sous Vide for the home chef

anova

Photo from Anova Precision Cooker®

I love kitchen gadgets, especially ones that make tasks easier or produce things that you are used to seeing at a restaurant. I don’t know what I’d do without my Benriner Japanese Mandoline Slicer , microplane or Cuisinart Immersion Blender. One thing I have always wanted to do at home was cook sous vide.

This is the method of cooking foods, sealed in a bag, under a temperature controlled water bath. This way of cooking enables you to take a beautiful NY strip steak and cook it to a perfect medium rare throughout. Or, you can cook some asparagus or an egg to a perfect creamy yolk center. The possibilities are endless.

Most high-end restaurants use an expensive, large version of this tool, such as the sous vide supreme. These are expensive and bulky, not really useful for a home chef, especially one who lives in New York City. The size and price of this technology is starting to come down, with options available for as little as $200 from Sansaire and Anova. These new versions fit right into your pot and are fairly easy to use.

And then it happened. Just yesterday, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, of Serious Eats’ Food Lab column, posted about a new model from Anova, the Anova Precision Cooker. This particular version, available to the public in the Fall, was being sold via Kickstarter, with prices as low as $99 for the first 1,000 backers. Currently you can still get one for $145, less than retail, but it wont last long. I swooped in and was able to get one at the $99 price, hoping it will be shipped in the September/October time frame they’re promising. As with most kickstarters, having learned from personal experience, there are usually unforeseen delays. Fingers crossed that I have this sucker by Thanksgiving.

This new model will bring about a new standard for home cooks looking to try sous vide. The new system will even be bluetooth enabled, letting you select recipes from your phone and program the unit with the swipe of a finger. The source code will be available, letting developers create new apps and recipes for the anova cooker.

If you’re looking to get one early with this kickstarter, it’s worth a shot. If not, this will sell to the public for $169 once released. I know I can’t wait.

About Evan

I like to eat. I like to cook. I like to eat what I cook. Now, I will share with you what I like to cook. My wife and I may be a vegetarian and a carnivore, but it doesn’t mean we can’t cook a nice meal with both, without compromising taste. I will share my creative meals of the Carnivore and the Vegetarian.
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