The answer is yes, a couple uses were mentioned above, but just how much people are using if for that I don’t know. I started a thread asking this question and got limited response.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5958225/what-non-proteins-do-you-sv

As for the asparagus I mentioned there, yes it’s great, but you really don’t need the precision of SV to accomplish the results.

I bought my husband one as a gift, but he hasn't used it for quite some time. I was hoping to be able to "hold" steaks for several hours, as some others say they do, but I've found that it will do that for a few hours but not all day, as I was hoping. I've not had a result I really liked from it yet, having treated myself to a mushy pork chop and some overcooked shrimp as well as the aforementioned steak. Being unwilling to ruin some expensive seafood, I've not experimented further with that. Be aware, there is a learning curve.

My son in law has one and he used it to make poached eggs when they had large Sunday brunches after church, but that doesn't happen right now, so his is also not being used.

Fortunately, they are small and don't take up much valuable kitchen real estate.

As for the bags, I use my Foodsaver because I just can't bring myself to stick a straw into a bag of raw pork/chicken/fish and suck the air out, invariably getting a taste of whatever "juice" is in there. As for steak, I still have to sear them and because I like my steak extremely rare, it's faster to just toss it in a hot cast iron pan, sear it and remove it.

We also have an Anova brand, if that makes a difference.

Annie

Re pasteurizing eggs, the circulator is the best. I've done them the normal ways, and it’s a pain. Nowadays, I clamp the circulator to my 2 qt. Anchor Hocking measuring bowl, which is thick, heavy and stable, with the eggs and water. That makes it easier to see if an egg rolls in front of the openings. Otherwise, any pot would do.

I haven't done it, but anything that you would do in a bain marie at low temperature is a possible candidate for the “water oven”. Individual servings of custard, creme brûlée, cheesecake and the like are popular. The norm is to use mason jars, which keep things dry. I might try a NY style normal cheesecake just to see what happens. The crust still needs to be baked, and the brûlée Still needs to be torched, but it's another way to go about things.

Basically, remember that what you have is basically a spare specialty oven, which frees up your regular oven for other tasks. Keep in mind, too, that while it does humidify the air, the circulator doesn't heat your kitchen, since you cook at the desired finished temperature, not at the level of the maillard reaction (browning starts at 350 degrees F). Searing not included. :) Another way it doesn't heat your kitchen is If you set it up in the laundry room, spare room, deck, porch or garage. ;)

@annie1992 have you tried the water displacement method for sealing bags? I use it whenever I want to include a liquid with what I’m cooking, such as a splash of red wine with a steak.

You might have better luck with holding food all day if you use a tougher cut of meat. I cooked a chuck roast for 36 hours IIRC. It came out tender enough to cut with a fork but still had a little “chew.” I was pleased with the results. The Sous Vide Steak Guide from Serious Eats might be helpful.

I was given a multi-cooker last Christmas. It has sous vide as one of the settings. Never used it, but I use the multi cooker several times a week whether for air frying, pressure cooking, or sauteing/simmering. I guess it's a nice way to have that option/feature without a stand alone appliance.

"---I was given a multi-cooker last Christmas. It has sous vide as one of the settings.---"

You don't have true sous vide unless you have moving water. You don't have true sous vide unless the cooker electronics can "learn" the characteristic of the combined " thermodynamic personality" of all the elements of the cooking environment, from the temperature of your kitchen, the thickness of the cooker metal, and the food that is being cooked. Having an accurate cooker thermostat is not going to do it.

In addition to moving water, a true sous vide cooker has a PID controller.

A PID controller is:

"A proportional–integral–derivative controller (PID controller or three-term controller) is a control loop mechanism employing feedback that is widely used in industrial control systems and a variety of other applications requiring continuously modulated control. A PID controller continuously calculates an error value as the difference between a desired setpoint (SP) and a measured process variable (PV) and applies a correction based on proportional, integral, and derivative terms (denoted P, I, and D respectively), hence the name."

dcarch

I'm with dcarch about the circulation of water. Multi-cookers might have a sous vide function, but without the circulation, it's not really sous vide. More of a low-temp water slow cooker at that point. Still useful, but a bit different than sous vide.

Me too, about the circulation. Although the Sous Vide Supreme didn’t have it and a lot of people used it. Not sure about all the rest. I don’t get the impression my Anova knows anything but the water temperature, and turns heat on and off accordingly.

Vegetables. I have such an abundance any given day, and variety, we have been experimenting again. They all seem to require about the same temp and time. Cauliflower steaks, golden beets and red in separate bags to avoid color transfer, (cubed). Warm beet salad, then the rest fridged for a cold next day lunch salad...beans, brussels, red cabbage, ...put all the bags in at 180ºF for an hour. Some in the fridge, some in the freezer. Easy mixed veg miso hot pot. Or mixed veg salads. Hoping the temp and timing will prove smart for freezing. I should try some winter squash. I seasoned everything and even had some fresh thyme. Added shallots. Nothing I've frozen has been tested/tasted yet, but the fridged veg has been lovely, especially the beets.

Sure, blanching is easy but a process. This was much easier. It is the end game, after prep, that was easy. Bags into an ice bath...all ready for storage. And pre-seasoned. That hour, hour and a half, was dedicated to another meal prep and the kitchen was clean when the veg was done. All going on in my water bath next to the sink, keeping the stovetop and oven free for other things.

Pasteurizing eggs. If that is all I used it for I'd be content. The other proteins like the cheaper cuts...pork loin steaks, London broil is a bonus. The pork loin steaks we did last month are killer. Seasoned, Sous Vide, and now frozen. Easy thaw and seared.

Never for precious seafood or prime expensive beef/lamb. We enjoy the traditional attention it takes the old fashioned methods.

When was Anova launched? post kickstarter? 5 years?.

One thing I appreciate from the experience is the understanding of precision cooking beyond the method. Even if not used for many things, the knowledge gained rolls over into other methods be it stovetop/oven. I'm never stuck in old methods/recipes. Always ready, and willing, to try new things.

Recently I saw a pic of a sousVide bath with a big dutch oven holding the bags down. Yikes. It prevented the water from circulating. Smooshed bags. 🙄

"perhaps if you would try it Elmer ... it is truly versatile and can yield some incredible meals ..."

No, I don't think it interests me. We avoid plastic contact with food unless it's cold-I'd forgotten that part of the process. Reading through the various personal experiences didn't stimulate any curiosity. I feel pretty comfortable with conventional cooking means and tools and I never get distracted. I monitor time and temperature and never have a problem with too done meat or vegetables.

I also try to avoid gadgets or appliances that are duplicative in function or result to what we already have. Conventional pots, pans, a food processor, and lots of kitchen tools get the jobs done just fine. As I mentioned above, I do like the reverse sear process for meat at least one inch think and it's very easy to do in the oven, finished on the stovetop, with a cast iron or other oven safe skillet.

But for those who like it, great!

It’s an appliance, no more duplicative than a toaster or a microwave is since they don’t provide an end result unachievable by other methods. But SV is actually less duplicative than those appliances as it can produce relatively unique results with ease.

I wouldn’t push SV on anyone not interested, and clearly many people value the method than I do. But it’s small and not incredibly expensive, so I’d encourage anyone to give it a shot if they’re interested.

Well, yes and no. I do have a toaster and toast can be made using the broiler but not both sides at once. Microwave, your other example, we hardly use. And certainly not to cook anything.

Everyone finds the tools and methods that work for them. I wanted to respond to bragu's nice suggestion to say why it wasn't something that interested me. I'd forgotten but am now reminded it is truly the plastic in contact with cooking food bit, even though at lower temps, that is the red light for me.

I'm intrigued by Sues Vide but the cooking times I am seeing here make me think that I wouldn't use it very much. Three days to cook a steak doesn't sound like me. I'm lucky if I remember to take the steaks out of the freezer the day before I want to eat them.

If I knew someone around here that had one that I could borrow and try a few times I might be sold on getting one for myself.

I've long thought about getting one and now that I have a way to vacuum pack food I'm ready to take the plunge. I have a long standing love of restaurant equipment (probably because I've never worked in one) and will be ordering this one. https://www.webstaurantstore.com/vacpak-it-sv110-sous-vide-circulator-head/186SV08.html

LJ - LOL, 72 hour beef is a “because you can” type of thing, not people’s everyday approach. Personally I use it for relatively minimal times. If I were to do a 140° chicken breast I’d be consulting pasteurization charts and doing the minimum.

I’d be more than happy to lend you mine after Christmas. PM me if you’re interested. After Christmas as I’ll probably pasteurize eggs for my parents’ egg nog.

FOAS - Thanks for clarifying! That is very generous of you! I may very well take you up on that. It sounds like I need to do more research on them to see what they are capable of.

I do freeze a lot of garden veggies with my food saver and it sounds like Sues Vide would be great for cooking them. I doubt that I'd bother using one for fresh picked veggies. I'm pretty attached to my grills and smokers for cooking most all meats weather permitting.

"---the plastic in contact with cooking food bit, even though at lower temps, that is the red light for me.---"

Plastics started to come into common use around 1940. Life expectancy for men at that time was 60 years, and for women 65 years.

Today, 2020, there are very few foods that somehow not wrapped/cooked in plastics. And yet life expectancy for men is 76 years, and for women 81 years.

dcarch

Sous vide can be done in glass as well as plastic. Because of vacuum difference, it's more noted as precision cooking when done in glass.

Today I'm doing a couple pounds of big boneless beef strips Korean BBQ style. Half pound each strip, with the temp set for rare. Tonight I'll do a rice bowl with some, and a couple later in a noodle bowl. Once chilled, they will slice fine and come out perfect warmed and still rare in the bowls. Also nice for setting up a raclette night. Or fondue, now that I think about it.

It's not a kitchen accessory I am interested in either. For a single person who entertains rarely it seems highly unnecessary. It provides nothing that cannot be accomplished via other tools or accessories.

And it is really immaterial if you have no concerns about plastic as others do and their concerns are just as legitimate as your lack of concern may be. btw, a great many food items are sold with plastic wrapping but very few are cooked in it!! And there is scientific documentation to support those concerns....heating plastic can (but not always does, depending on the plastic) release potentially harmful toxins.

I am not sure why but I sense a lot of dismissal here of comments that do not jive with the opinions of some forum regulars. It can be quite off-putting.

It provides nothing that cannot be accomplished via other tools or accessories.

I disagree with that. Perhaps there are other ways some of the results “can” be achieved, like Elmer’s example of broiling both sides of bread, but it certainly can do things that would be difficult with other methods. How would you safely cook chicken at 140°? Yes it does make a difference. Whether or not you like that difference is of course subjective. That’s just one example.

I do share some concern about plastics, but I’m also possibly a little more accepting of manufacturers’ claims than I should be. Interestingly a while back I wrote to hefty or ziplock to ask about using their bags for SV. Their response was that their plastics are safe up to and including boiling, but not recommended for SV. Talking from both sides of the mouth!

"------I am not sure why but I sense a lot of dismissal here of comments that do not jive with the opinions of some forum regulars. It can be quite off-putting. -------"

I hope not. Participating in open forums, for me, is a learning experience. We compare different ideas. We are not here to just to agree with every other's views.

For instance, I am not implying that you are stupid if I disagree with you.

I have a whole freezer of frozen packaged meals all are to be cooked in plastic they come in. I bought them for covid-19 preparation.

dcarch

LOL!! I have no need to cook chicken to only 140F. And claims that traditional cooking methods will leave you with dry, tasteless chicken pieces when cooked to an appropriate doneness discount any skill the cook may have that prevents that. I find this to be a rather patronizing, dismissive attitude as well

Sous vide appliances are only a convenience, nothing more. If they make you happy, fine, but they are not the be-all and end-all of kitchen gadgets!

"Plastics started to come into common use around 1940. Life expectancy for men at that time was 60 years, and for women 65 years.

Today, 2020, there are very few foods that somehow not wrapped/cooked in plastics. And yet life expectancy for men is 76 years, and for women 81 years."

Oh my. Keep it light and superficial.

How about the use of BPA in cans that's now being questioned and minimized?

Here's some info for those interested in more than life expectancy tables:

Article on toxic chemicals in plastic - do's and don't's

Can you Sous Vide bacon to a lightly crisp perfection? If so, count me as a believer!

Also, how would SV work as a replacement for steaming something like tamales? That application might be of use to me at the lake house where cabinet space is at a premium and we don't like to use the oven or stove much when it's hot.

Gardengal - Buried deep in this forum is a long (and sometimes unfortunate) history of me arguing against the notion that there’s some sort of inferiority of foods cooked with traditional methods. So I think we’d agree on that part.

However dismissing SV as simply a tool of convenience, or saying that you have “no need for 140° chicken” sounds pretty patronizing and dismissive as well. The truth is it “can” be a tool for convenience and it “can” also produce results not easily and/or safely attainable by common methods.

Would I cook chicken breast SV as a regular method? No. But I know from experience that there’s a difference.

Jack, actually kind of yes.

The essence of sous vide is cooking in a precision temperature controlled environment, with thermal conduction facilitated by a moving medium (either water or air). An air fryer or a very good convection oven with a very good thermostat are kind of like a sous vide cooker.

Similarly, a steam convection oven is a steam sous vide cooker, if it can have a very accurate thermometer.

sous vide has nothing to do with vacuum or pressure.

dcarch

No crisping sous vide because it seals in the moisture.

Steaming would depend on the circulator, and your ability to rig a steaming tray over the water vessel. Most sous vide temperatures are lower. I looked at a random Anova model which had a top temperature of 210F. One presumes that's just under standard boiling temperature to prevent boiling. I don't know if any are adjusted for high altitude, since the cooked temperature of normal use isn't that high. Tamales are easy, however, in the steaming. Get a $25 hot plate—they come in electric coil, induction and propane, whichever works best with your house and tamale pot. You can do it outside and not steam up the house.

Dcarch, “sous vide” means, literally, under vacuum and is about the vacuum seal. I agree, however, the the circulator is about precise temperature, not the vacuum.

I don't think people talking about their use of sous vide dismissive- the OP asked if we have one and if so, do we use it or not? So some of us are answering that. Not our fault if other people are coming in talking about how they aren't interested, and apparently want to keep bickering the point.

It's just cooking, we don't need to get into feeling hurt or hostile or whatever. Let's all get over it folks, and help the OP.

I like using traditional and newer methods of cooking. Sous vide is one of many tools I like to use while cooking. I find it has useful applications in my kitchen.

Thanks dcarch and pillog. We do have a propane hot plate at the lake that we use for corn on the cob, fish fries, and a few other things. I never thought to use it with my steamer. I have an all purpose stainless steel steamer/stock pot down there already. I didn't know that there was a pot designed specifically for tamales but sure enough.

"Dcarch, “sous vide” means, literally, under pressure"

Not exactly. The word vide means empty, also vacuum. Sous means below or under. So, make it under vacuum or in a vacuum.

I love kitchen appliances. Last year I read all about the sous vide, I found a good one online and promptly ordered it, before I received it I regreted my purchase, got it and stuffed in my pantry on a back shelf, it continues to sit there reminding me to be patient when consideirng a new gadget.

LoneJack Zn 6a, KC - Pressure cooker is awesome for corn on the cob. You only need a bit of water, instead of boiling a whole pot, and they take 2-3 minutes to cook once to pressure. It's the only way I cook it now.

"------ Not exactly. The word vide means empty, also vacuum. Sous means below or under. So, make it under vacuum or in a vacuum."

That is a very unfortunate and wrong name for that method of cooking. It is scientifically impossible to achieve vacuum with the normal sous vide cooking appliances.

The "vacuum" machine is used only to remove air for better heat conduction, not to create vacuum, or pressure. As a matter of fact, under vacuum, water boils at room temperature and freezes.

dcarch

Bummer to waste the shelf space C Marlin. I've done the same before. Maybe borrow it to LoneJack, lol :) He won't get crispy bacon, but....

And just a mmmm, sous vide is great for rendering fat with zero carbonization or caramelization. That can be a desirable thing sometimes. Like rendering bacon for its fat clean, then flash frying it. Hehehe :) Also no, sous vide isn't the best for making tamales because it is so sealed- I think the steaming process much better.

I might be a bit more positive about sous vide because it was great when I was in school- but at that time it was big unit and pro only kind of thing. So I was kind of excited once the first wave or two of home versions were rolling out. And was happy when I got mine.

And a vacuum cleaner doesn’t clean the room by creating a vacuum and sucking all the air out of the room. I think it’s beyond time to get over nitpicking the name. Vide means empty and the cooking is typically done in a bag that has been emptied of air. Typically in a precisely controlled water bath. Now you may still pull some technicalities with that definition but it doesn‘t change what we all know the process to be. Next.

"---Now you may still pull some technicalities with that definition but it doesn‘t change what we all know the process to be. Next.

---"

Wrong naming can be bad.

It's like "Radar range" had nothing to do with military radar, that name turned many people off. Microwave was better.

dcarch

Elmer, good spotting! I did know that but was distracted and typed the word I was looking at rather than the one I meant to say, I've corrected it.

Dcarch, I also appreciate your technicalities, and think Elmer and FOAS have a good point about saying empty instead, even though vacuum was the original meaning, back in the 18th century or so. This is one of those times where common parlance uses a word in a different way than science does. There are a ton of them, the biggest of which is “theory”, which a lot of people like to purposefully misunderstand to make specious arguments. Think of vacuform, as well. There are all kinds of common use vacuum phrases that have nothing to do with the vacuum of outer space or a perfect scientific vacuum chamber.

C Marlin, if you have it, why not try using it?

I agree, the name doesn't matter, especially as it crosses into English from another language. Lots of terms and phrases don't work literally or need to be adapted one way or another.

Souffle means to inflate

Saute means to jump

There are dozens more, words used that cannot be translated directly. Not unlike names of Italian pasta which are sometimes whimsical/playful relating to the shape.

What motivated my comment was the incorrect translation, not how appropriate the term is or isn't.

Ah yes. That was my mistake. Low sleep, too much multitasking. Earlier, I typed “boiling boiling” instead of “boiling temperature”, but I caught that one.

I've been thinking about plastics. It's most important for young people. Less so after breeding age. We only know what we know, and sometimes the choices to patch something we learn is bad turns out to be worse. My sous vide bags are BPA and phthalate free, but who knows what we don't know. Polyethylene, which is the inside layer of almost all food bags is supposed to be just fine...but who knows what we don't know?

So, then I remembered how people vacuum seal things with inner wrappers all the time, and for Thanksgiving I used an If You Care brand big roasting bag, which was great. I use their cooking parchment all the time. It's greaseproof, all plant, wax free. They make large sandwich bags, long ones, and smaller roasting bags. I'd think one could pack one's food in that kind of paper bag, or just wrapped and tied in parchment, then vacuum seal in plastic. Alternately, it doesn't work quite as well as vacuum sealing, but the silicone bags with the bar closures are always an option.

Some things cannot be cooked as well by more conventional methods. Because meat is cooked exactly to the same degree throughout the thickness, because anything egg based cannot be overheated......i have 2 and use them and love them. Try before you dismiss it.

Elmer, I use the reusable silicon bags for 2 reasons.... less waste stream, and no warm plastics touching my food...

(I also don't reheat food in the microwave using any plastics.... I cover the top of a dish with a paper towel. )

Today I will be using my sous vide to cook an old stewing hen. The breasts first, and the legs overnight.

Gardengal:

LOL!! I have no need to cook chicken to only 140F. And claims that traditional cooking methods will leave you with dry, tasteless chicken pieces when cooked to an appropriate doneness discount any skill the cook may have that prevents that. I find this to be a rather patronizing, dismissive attitude as well

I also don't like to be dismissed if after 60 plus some years of eating chicken breast from a variety of sources who all claim their chicken is AWESOME (and I didn't find it so), that I obviously don't know what I am talking about.

I finally (personally, just me) sous vide it at 148-150 F. I do agree that 140 might be a bit "rubbery", The range I cook it at is perfect FOR ME.

You do you, but don't expect I will have to agree with you.

I don't think anyone is trying to be dismissive except those that say it can't be better than what they're already doing. If you don't try, you'll never know but you do you.

So two French guys give the cooking process a name. It happened and we all know what it means. I visualize a stick-type kitchen tool submerged in a container of water. A precise water bath circulator. They could have called it anything...KitchenJaccuzi, PrecisionHotBath...

They called it SousVide. It went to print, maybe a book or two, then social media. It stuck like many named objects/recipes. Coined terms. Happens every day. Some 'cancelled', others are named and are recognized globally.

We all know what a 'toaster oven' is. I visualize a small counter top oven. Most do not even toast that well. Any kitchen appliance or any object in your home is called a common word that most know what it is in conversation.

Kleenex wins as a brand. We don't say 'nose paper' but we do say TP. (toilet paper). Why?...well the branding worked.

Word play and language translation, definitions, even pronunciations can drive one bonkers. Not nails on a chalkboard, but more like a song stuck in my head and not necessarily a bad song.

Last week I heard Ina pronounce ChickenMarbella Mar-Bay-ah. Yes Marbella, Spain is 'bay-ah' but it is not a Spinach dish at all. They were inspired by a trip to Spain and Turkey. (never made it being to sweet for my crowd) I might be the last person on the planet thinking 'Bella' like I call my pup when she is a sweetheart. (Italian pronunciation)

SousVide is what it is. Literal translation not at all necessary. Too late for that. If one does not like the name, too bad. Why drive yourself nuts over it. I think Anova tried a brand change to 'AnovaPrecisionCooker' but it did not stick like the now famous InstaPot.

That's hilarious, FOAS!

Sous vide is not a brand name. It comes from the developments many decades ago when they were using pressure and vacuum or cryovac in perfecting the method, and there are good reasons for vacuum sealing to get optimal results, though the first in, a couple hundred years ago, were just working with low temperatures for an extended time.

I too can cook a lovely, moist chicken in the oven, and prefer it to sous vide, but I have no issues at all with someone having the opposite preferences. There's an even bigger difference with turkey. Sous vide cooking enhances the turkey flavor a lot, and keeps it ultra moist and soft, even when it's to an oven-like temperature.

So, question to the OP: Have you decided to keep it or return it? Is your decision because of, or despite, this conversation? 😛

Thank you all for your responses! I am just now getting back and will read them thoroughly this evening. I actually decided to return the SV this morning; braved the cold and stood in line at Costco. Finally my turn and as the two associates were processing my return, they exclaimed how much they love their SV cookers and use them all the time. We discussed. It came back home with me, lol. I'm still not sure but am looking forward to reading through this thread and learning your thoughts and experiences. Again, thank you all for taking the time to respond!!