For almost $500? You'd have to be cooking a lot of food in it every day to justify the high cost of this small countertop appliance.

Here is a link that might be useful: Just another countertop appliance

Thanks for posting! In watching Top Chef and the like, I've seen the technique, but I'm not going to buy in for $500. This is due in no small part to the fact that I'm an absolute failure at planning too far in advance!

Isn't the technique banned in restaurants in NYC? I think I read that somewhere due to high incidences of foodborn illness if not done correctly.

I seem to recall that my first microwave in the late '70's cost about that much many years ago, back when $500 was a LOT of money.

I find the device very interesting and lots of possibilities.

When one considers that it is really nothing more than a heated water machine though, it's hard to justify $500 for the first of it's kind.

This is something I will follow and perhaps purchase in a year or three when it's a commodity appliance and lots of models to choose from. To me the price range for this item should be roughly on par with a deep fryer.

It's not banned--it's trendy as heck. I don't think I'd bother at home, but it looks like it would be fun to try.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sous Vide at Home--NYT

I'll just keep my induction range, which has a slow cook feature on the oven.

LOL

I stand corrected! It definitely WAS banned back in 2006 in NYC however the ban has since been lifted with heavy regulations in place.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sous vide banned in NYC

I see that you can get a controller for $140 that will maintain the desired temperature in the electric cooking device that is plugged into it, be that a rice cook, crockpot, stockpot on a hotplate, whatever. So then I'd just need some tight-sealing ziplock bags to give sous-vide a try. A proper vacuum sealer would be the next step.

I took a cooking class at one of the restaurants in NYC where the chef showed us a technique that was very sous-vide like that can be done at home with no expensive equipment.

He took a lamb loin with some oil and spices and wrapped it up tightly in saran wrap (2 layers, twisting the ends like a tamale).

Using a candy thermometer, he heated up a pot of water, and once boiling he lowered the flame to lo, and added a batch of ice to get the temp at 140. Every once in a while he checked and added more ice if the temp started creeping up.

After about an hour or two of this (I need to check my notes), he removed the lamb and did a quick pan sear...

Not quite the traditional sous-vide, but the lamb was still very pink and juicy, and was scrumptious. I haven't made it at home yet, but am planning on it!

--Andy