This is the sous vide I got for Christmas. Chad had been researching them for a while and this is the one he thought was best.
The Anova Good: It has wifi. I can live without that but it’s nice to be sitting by my phone, check the temp, raise or lower the temp getting up, check to see how much time is left for the cooking.
The Anova Bad: There were a lot of complaints in the reviews about the noise. They were right. The first week, mine was fairly quiet. Now, while it isn’t terribly noisy, it’s a constant, shrill humming noise. I almost don’t hear it in the family room but I’m betting it drives Rita nuts. I moved it all to the laundry room where I can close the door but it’s just a pocket door and it probably still bothers her. Once it’s not so cold and the little gizmo doesn’t have to work so hard to keep the temp right, I’ll move it all out into the garage.
From reviews, not from personal service, Anova’s customer service isn’t going to rate them any 5 stars.
When Chad bought the sous vide for us, it was $139 at Amazon with a $20 discount so he got them for $119 each. I looked at them the other night and they were either $184 or 189. Today, they’re $174.50. Ridiculous price jump!
This one looks impressive. It’s made by Instant Pot and who doesn’t love Instant pot. I messed up one of my Instant Pot pressure cookers and it was my fault. Vince called them to see about ordering a part and they aid “It’s under warranty” and sent me a replacement part.
I did order one of these because I think two would be good to have. There have been several times already when I could have used two. See my next blog post where I’ll be doing an extensive review of the sous vide in general.
I can’t say much about the good vs. bad on this Instant Pot sous vide because it isn’t here and I haven’t used it but the price is $79.99 right now, with free shipping (not Prime). Always check the price! It seems to change rapidly at Amazon. It has 3,200+ reviews and, though there are a couple of lower star ratings, overall, it has 5 stars.
It does not have wifi or bluetooth but that’s fine. I’m always home and I’m in and out of the kitchen all day.
I will do a full review of this one after I’ve used it a couple of weeks.
For those of you wanting a sous vide, the price is right and the brand is one I trust.
Roberta Miglin says
I wondered if it’s cost effective??? the time you said for the egg bits seems could have been done in lots less time in a water bath like cream boule in the oven. Just thoughts.
Judy Laquidara says
Cost effective as in the time or energy costs? From what I’ve read, the sous vide was originally intended for cooking meat and we’ve adapted lots of other recipes to use in the sous vide. As far as my time, it’s the same amount of time to get the jars ready whether using a water bath or sous vide. The sous vide, of course, is basically a water bath. When I made egg bites in the oven, they baked an hour, which is the same amount of time the sous vide takes and I know it takes less energy to use the sous vide than to use the oven.
As far as creme brulee, my recipe cooks 45 minutes in the oven, where they cook 1 hour in the sous vide and since I’m not pouring water around the dishes in a baking dish, I find it easier to stick the jars down in the water for the sous vide plus they’re in jars with the lid already on them . . take them out of the water, let them cool for a while, then stick them in the fridge in the same jar they were cooked in.
Cooking the egg in the water bath at a rapid boil will likely result in a different texture than cooking them more slowly in a simmering water, whether in the water bath or using the sous vide and if you’re cooking them at the same temp (172). With the sous vide, you don’t have to watch a temp – set it and it hold the water at that temp.
But, you’re right – you can do it all in a pot of water but the ease of keeping that temp constant, at lease to me is worth it.
Linda Garcia says
Pricing on Amazon is sometimes crazy. I was thinking about a cabinet for storage in the room I use as an office. I put one in my cart on New Years day, but was waiting for some reason I can’t remember now. Anyway, the price was $119.00. A couple days later I decided I would go ahead and order that cabinet. Now the price is $244.00. More than a hundred dollar increase!!! I decided I did not need that particular cabinet. I ordered something else in the end that was closer to the original price of this one.
Ruth Chow says
Hi Judy! I don’t know if you want to take it up with Amazon, but it seems that links to Amazon shopping freeze up, at least on my phone. It seems to want to take me to the Amazon app, but won’t let me do a single thing after I push the link unless I push the back button to your blog. So then I can’t buy it from there, and you don’t get any credit, I presume. This has happened on other blogs, too.
Ruth Chow says
I tried it again and this time it worked.
Marti Meadows says
Your sous vide is so new call the company and let them know about the noise and they may send you a replacement. High pitch noises drive me nuts. We have a Joule sous vide and love it.
Judy Laquidara says
Many people have called and are told all the higher watt versions do that.
Dru Erpel says
I have the Instant Pot sous vide and it’s very quiet. I haven’t used it a lot. You are inspiring me to try and use it more.