Sous Vide Immersion Circulator 1100 watts

I had them all: a fondue maker, a culinary torch, a bread machine - all the expensive kitchen gadgets that people rave about, but that eventually end up collecting dust. My advice is that before you spend $200 on another toy and get in the mode of comparing the features of all the immersion circulators on the market, you should figure out if sous vide cooking is right for you.My experience is pretty simple. I always found cooking stressful, messy, and hit-and-miss. Since our family has a fairly busy life, we have long settled on frozen foods, takeout, snacks, and maybe an occasional pancake, spaghetti, or scrambled eggs. Our adventure with sous vide is a desperate attempt to undo this mess. I'm only getting started, but here's what appeals to me so far:1) You can experiment easily. Cut 8 small pieces of chicken breast, season each one of them differently, plop them into separate bags, and then come back an hour later to compare the results; voila, a week of painstaking trial-and-error done in one afternoon! (For the same reason, sous vide also makes it easy to cater to different tastes when preparing a single meal.)2) It keeps things simple. Since you can combine multiple steps into one - say, marinating, seasoning, and cooking - you will find most of the recipes to be surprisingly simple, especially for the results they produce.3) It keeps things tidy. When you're done, the kitchen (usually) doesn't look like a battlefield, and you don't end up with a heaping pile of dirty pots and pans. The bulk of the mess is contained in a sealed bag, which you then simply throw out. The smells (say, broccoli, cauliflower, onions) are controlled far better than with an open pot, too. The disposable plastic is a tad wasteful, but you save a ton of water, detergent, paper towels, etc.4) You don't need to spend your day in the kitchen. While it still takes 1-3 hours to prepare dinner, you usually need to be there only for 5-15 minutes. Beyond that, you don't have to worry about something overcooking, spilling out, or catching fire.5) Since the sous vide cooking process is fairly slow and extremely predictable, it takes much less mental effort to make sure that everything is ready to serve at the same time - and you're much less likely to have the entire dinner ruined by a single mishap.As to what can be cooked using this technique: search for "Anova recipes" on Google for a great online recipe book. In short, if you like poultry, fish, red meat, or baked or fried veggies (including potatoes), you will have plenty of cool recipes to play with. For desserts, you can try puddings, poached fruit, cremes, muffins, cheesecakes, flan, pumpkin bread, and several other things. The circulator is less useful if your dietary habits revolve mostly around pasta, simple salads, or rice.Now, as for the Sansaire: it's the cheapest, highest-rated immersion circulator currently available on Amazon. It does not have some of the bizarre features available on competing units (e.g., wifi), but I'm at loss as to why that stuff would be useful, since the only parameter you are setting is the temperature. With Sansaire, you just turn the silver knob near the top to set the temperature, and the always-on LED display shows you where you stand. The knob itself is a bit of a letdown - it feels cheaper and more clunky than the rest of the device. But otherwise, the unit performs admirably; it heats up quickly, holds the temperature extremely well, and just does what it's supposed to. It's very quiet and easy to clean, too.Other than this unit, you don't need much; you can use any large cooking pot, although it may be more convenient to grab  this Rubbermaid container  and a  matching lid . Some folks also throw in an  Ikea dish rack  to hold the bags in one place. Don't fall for pricey "sous vide kits" that cost several times more.Much of the cooking can be done in freezer bags, with air removed using a simple submersion technique explained in the manual for Sansaire. That said, a vacuum sealer makes this task easier, and has quite a few other applications around the house. For cheap units, check out  FoodSaver V2244 . For a premium option, consider  Weston PRO-1100 .

I don't usually review products but I felt the need to for this wonderful device for a few reasons:To start, there are many complaints in the reviews regarding the metal grate on the bottom that constantly falls off and the difficulty snapping the back cover on after cleaning the inside coils. I bought my unit from the Kitchen Clique and I received what I've now learned is the ***updated version*** (confirmed by Sansaire). The changes include a fixed plastic covering on the bottom which replaces the grate entirely and the back panel is now similar to a battery compartment cover (very easy to take off and put back on).I do not know why they aren't advertising these changes or calling the unit "version 2" (or something like that). I had to contact Sansaire because I thought the grate was actually missing. That is how I found out about the new version.I also wanted to provide a review because I spent a lot of time researching and comparing sous vide equipment and perhaps I can help some people avoid that.My Experience with the ANOVA:-----Like most, I initially bought the Anova because it was cheaper ($129 on sale last month), the reviews are excellent and abundant, and so many online publications recommend and support it. My experiences were awful though.I received the Anova and tested it out many times. On about the fifth attempt, the thermostat would become stuck at a certain temperature while it was heating up but the water would continue to heat; and wouldn't stop until it began boiling. This ruined short ribs that I had going for over 18 hours at this point. I contacted customer service and they immediately sent me a FedEx label to return it for a replacement. About 3 weeks later, I received the replacement and tested it out. After a few cooks, the same exact issue happened. I sent it back for a full refund and decided to try Sansaire.Differences between SANSAIRE and ANOVA----They probably have a lot more in common than not, so I'll focus on the differences that I've noticed so far:Construction: The Sansaire is all plastic and feels a little delicate but it seems fine. You should be careful with any electronic device so I don't see this being an issue. The Anova is sleeker and the exterior is metal and a solid rubber-coated plastic at the top. I prefer the feel and look of the Anova but it's not that important to me.Heating time: I didn't do any timed tests, but the Sansaire seems to heat water almost twice as fast. It's actually shockingly quick compared to what I was used to with the Anova. Unfortunately, the Sansaire does not alert you when the water has reached the target temp (unlike the Anova), but if the water is heating up this quickly, you likely won't be far when it gets there.Noise: This **updated version** of the Sansaire is ridiculously quiet. If it weren't for the LED lights, you wouldn't know it was on unless you put your ear up to it closely. The Anova had a buzz you could hear across the room, though it wasn't annoying or a problem at all for me.Clamp/Clip: The Sansaire has a big hair-clip-esque attachment that can be hooked up in a second very easily. It holds pretty well but it's not even needed that much because the unit stands up on its own. The Anova's clamp can be shifted up or down on the unit to adjust the height and the back of the clamp screw tightly in to the container. I prefer Anova's even though it takes a minute to set up properly, but it doesn't really matter to me in the end. The only time I could see the Sansaire's clamp being an issue is if you're using a really tall container and the unit cannot rest standing up.Connectivity: Sansaire offers no connectivity whereas the Anova has bluetooth and sometimes WIFI support. I don't get why any one would really need this. If you're using bluetooth you're in the same room (or close) to the unit; just walk a few feet and change the temperature; but since you set the temperature when you turn the unit on, why would you need to change it later on? As for WIFI, I can't possibly see me leaving meat out, then remotely starting the unit when I leave the house. Maybe this is important to some.. to me, it's pointless.Conclusion:-----It will still take many more cooks and time to determine if the Sansaire will hold up better than the Anova (which lasted about 4-5 cooks; twice). But so far, I like it better than the Anova and it's working great. The water heats up quickly, stays where it needs to be, and is very accurate (confirmed with three different thermometers). Their customer service answers quickly and they cover the unit for a year so there isn't much worry. I will report back if the unit fails.For some extra help/info, I am using this unit with a 12-quart Rubbermaid food storage container and lid (you can find them on Amazon for about $20). I cut an opening for the Sansaire so the lid can remain on during cooking. I use foam insulation strips to fill the gaps between the lid and the unit (the same ones sold for window air conditions).One last word of advice: when the target temperature is reached with this device, it seems to bounce around 1-2 degrees for about a minute or so. After that it levels out and stays precise; so have a little patience.

After much research, chose SANSAIRe for ease of use and price. Higher priced ones had Blue Tooth, but I have no use for that. You just turn the dial to the temp you are using and that’s it. It works great and is super quiet. Have tried several things and all turned out great. The poached eggs are fantastic! (Use Cooks Country recipe for best ones in least time. 167 degrees - 12 minutes) then just crack egg like it was raw and it comes out perfectly, leaving the yuk stuck to inside of shell. Can do up to 16 at a time. Currently have a pork shoulder in it for pulled pork (149degrees - 36 hours) lots of fun waiting to see how things turn out. Great when having company because it can just sit until you are ready to serve. Keeps it at perfect serving temperature.