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
.
Similar items that may ship from close to you
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From the manufacturer
Sansaire Sous-Vide Immersion Circulator
Turn any pot or container into a sous-vide water bath with this groundbreaking immersion circulator. The product of the most successful cooking-related Kickstarter campaign ever, the Sansaire circulator exceeded its funding goal in a mere 13 hours. An ingenious gadget that will change the way you approach cooking, the Sansaire circulator packs professional-grade performance and quality into a wallet-friendly package. To experience this cooking breakthrough, simply clip the circulator to the side of any pot, set your cooking temperature with the easy-to-use, intuitive controls and let the circulator do the work of cooking your meal. The LED screen displays the temperature setting in bright, easy-to-read numbers, while the innovative thermometer and microprocessor system holds the water to within 0.1°C of the desired temperature. Sansaire offers incredible control and precision across a wide range of dishes, including soft-boiled eggs, meltingly tender steaks, perfect chicken breasts, moist, flavorful salmon fillets and more. An essential tool for the modern kitchen. Manufacturer: Sansaire. Material: Stainless steel, polycarbonate. Care: Wipe clean. Volume: Max. 6 gallons. Dimensions: 15½" x 5". Weight: 5.9 lb.. Watts: 1000 W. Made in China. Sansaire features a commercial-grade three-prong power cord and plugs into a standard grounded wall outlet. Works with most food-grade freezer bags, so there''s no need for bulky and expensive vacuum sealers. For best results, heavy-duty zipper bags are recommended. Whisper-quiet motor circulates water efficiently for precise, even cooking. Intuitive control dial for hassle-free set-and-go convenience. Powerful heating element brings water up to temperature quickly and efficiently. Digital readout is clearly visible in light or darkness, even from across the room. Active pump system circulates water without relying on convection currents, resulting in a uniformly heated water bath free of hot or cool spots.
Compare with similar items
This Item  Sansaire Sous Vide Immersion Circulator 1100 watts |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | $59.77 | -22% $155.00 List: $199.00 | $69.99 | -5% $18.99 List: $19.99 | $73.03 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 1 | — | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 1 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 1 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 1 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Temperature Control | ||||||
| Accuracy | ||||||
| Easy to clean | ||||||
| Sold By | — | ZHANGLINCHENGNIU | Auctions US | Greateamshop | TonGass | Amazon.com |
| material | Plastic | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel | Silicone-coated Magnets | Stainless Steel |
| capacity | 6 gallons | 15 liters | 16 liters | 15 liters | 2.2 ounces | — |
| control method | — | touch | touch | application, remote | — | touch |
| voltage | 110 volts | 120 volts | — | 110 volts | — | — |
| wattage | 1100 watts | 1000 watts | 1100 watts | 1100 watts | — | 800 watts |
| weight | 4 pounds | — | 1.92 pounds | 2 pounds | — | — |
Reviews with images
SousVide cooking with the Sansaire Immersion Circulator
This is a very good 5 star device, and an excellent "toy" to add to my kitchen....except it's not a "toy" any longer, but my go to method of cooking for most of my meats/most fish. I haven't had it long enough to experiment with vegetables, but that will come.The unit seems well built. Temperature was checked against 2 ThermoPro thermometers and a laboratory mercury thermometer, and the factory settings are spot on. The "ring" on the top, used to set the temperature of the bath operates smoothly, and it is easy to set a temperature to 0.2° increments. The unit is stable and not top heavy when sitting on the bottom of the pot I use for the bath. Previous reviewers have mentioned the circulation seems to be impeded when sitting flush on the bottom of the bath, but I observed the circulation to be more than adequate.The internet provide a plethora of information (temperatures, times) on SousVide cooking, most of which is contradictory. For example, anyone cooking an expensive steak at 136° expecting it to be rare is going to be in for a serious disappointment! In this regard, the CookingGuide which comes with the unit is an excellent guide to the proper techniques, and is an excellent starting point from which to tweak the conditions.As regards the sear, I have found this is best done on a very hot gas grill, which gives a good sear after 30 seconds/side. I found the cast iron skillet indoors was not hot enough to give the sear this quickly, and having to sear too long defeats the purpose of the whole deal.Get this unit! You won't be disappointed, and you'll make some great meals!The pictures attached are first a filet mignon, cooked very rare at 120°, followed by a sear on a hot gas grill. The other is a loin lamb chop, cooked rare at 128°, and seared on the grill.
