sous vide

Immersion circulator bubbles sous vide forward

Sous-vide cooking has been getting a lot of attention recently and for good reason: cooking food in a water bath at an exact and consistent temperature provides unique results. As the method keeps gaining popularity, appliances and gadgets are cropping up designed to make the process accessible and affordable.

The Nomiku combines a heat source with an immersion circulator. Many other consumer appliances do not integrate an immersion circulator into their designs. The capability to circulate water (in this case at 10 L/min) allows for more consistent results. Unfortunately, the cost of integrating an immersion circulator into these devices … Read more

Turn your slow cooker or rice maker into a sous-vide machine

Having the right kitchen gear there when you need it is a great way to get the job done right. However, as we all know that idealized reality doesn't always happen. Most often a quick substitution of gear or gadget provides an acceptable (or even superior) level of utility. But sometimes, you just have to make it yourself.

The DorkFood DSV Temperature Controller conquers half the battle when attempting to repurpose a piece of kitchen equipment into a sous-vide cooker. The controller is meant for use with a manual slow cooker or similar, non-digital appliance and monitors the temperature … Read more

Diving into sous vide cooking with the AquaChef

Food enthusiasts have a hard time not trying new things. Everything from new recipes to funny-looking vegetables at the market are fair game to the curious. And of course, the same thing can be said about cooking techniques. Given the opportunity to try out the AquaChef Professional Water Oven by Kitchen Advance, I dove right in.

The first thing one notices about the AquaChef is its remarkable similarity in appearance to a deep fryer. Of course, since sous vide cooking uses water as the cooking medium (as opposed to oil or hot air as in an oven) that is where … Read more

SousVide Supreme gets small

Kitchen fanciers love new gadgets and appliances. If a new appliance that cooks in a different way comes on the market, that appliance is sure to garner lots of attention. And a price tag to match. Luckily, if the concept is a success, more affordable options will appear. Consider the microwave: what was once an outrageous expenditure is now affordable and everywhere. While water ovens don't yet share that ubiquity, the relatively new home appliance is making its first strides to commonality.

The SousVide Supreme Demi Water Oven is a more affordable option for the home cook that also … Read more

Vacuum sealer seals in the future

Somewhere along the line, our idea of futuristic space-age culinary options got off track. Thankfully, here in 2010, we aren't all surviving off of food in pill form, but other good (or at least more delicious) ideas still have not come to fruition. We may not yet have the Black & Decker Hydrator from "Back to the Future," or the liquefied meal (including fish!) served on the moon shuttle in "2001: A Space Odyssey," but at least we have sous vide cooking.

Innovative cooking methods and innovative food storage solutions may not seem like they … Read more

Sous vide soon to be the next kitchen gadget to see

How we cook food is always changing. Gone are the days (mostly) of cooking over an open fire, with little more than a stick to act as a "kitchen gadget." Though nothing can replicate the taste created by fire on food, new methods of cooking have always inspired chefs to take their recipes to the next level. From the hearth to the microwave oven, this journey has not been fraught with peril. (For every worthwhile kitchen gadget, there seems to be a dozen that aren't.) However, every once in a while, the home cook is faced with … Read more

Dinner goes high-tech via 'sous vide'

Several days ago, I visited a wine shop and asked to see their chilled selection. I was surprised, however, when I was told that I could have any bottle chilled within 15 minutes. She indicated a waist-high metal water bath in the corner, filled with a swirling pool of icy water.

Machines like this one operate on the principle of convection: an item can be brought to the temperature of a surrounding medium (like air or water) at a faster speed if the medium is moving over its surface. As in the case of the wine shop water bath, some … Read more