So you want to try sous vide cooking? Our Ultimate Sous Vide Buying Guide is here to help. We're going to show you what to look for, what special features are available and make recommendations about which model will be best for you.
What is Sous Vide Cooking?
Before we start looking at different sous vide machines, we need to have a basic understanding what sous vide cooking is, and how it works? Sous vide cooking involves placing food in a heat proof bag, removing all of the air, and cooking it in a heated water bath where the water is circulating. The advantage of cooking this way is it enables you to cook your food to a very precise temperature without needing to monitor it constantly, adjust the heat, or worry about over cooking your food. You can read more about cooking sous vide in our How to Cook Sous Vide or our Beginners Guide to Sous Vide Cooking articles. Sous vide cooking is an easy way to serve better tasting food to your guests.
How to Choose a Sous Vide Machine
Choosing a sous vide machine isn't that hard there are a few basic factors you need to consider:
- Power measured in wattage
- Controls and display
- Physical size and attachment clip
- Flow rate measured in GPM
- Water capacity
- Minimum and maximum water levels
- Max temperature
- Additional features like Bluetooth, WiFi, and timer
| Sous Vide | FEATURES | RATING | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anova Bluetooth Sous Vide | 800 Watts, Bluetooth Connectivity | 105.00 | |
| Wancle Sous Vide SVC001 | 850 Watts | 88.00 | |
| Anova Wifi Sous Vide | 900 Watts, WiFi Connectivity, Amazon Alexa Compatible | 129.99 | |
| ChefSteps Joule Sous Vide | 1100 Watts, WiFi Connectivity, Amazon Alexa Compatible | 179.00 | |
| Gramercy Sous Vide | 800 Watts | 87.97 | |
| Chefman Sous Vide | 1000 Watts | 89.99 | |
| PolyScience Sous Vide Professional SVC-AC1B | 1100 Watts | 799.95 |
See our all of our Sous Vide Reviews. We reviewed 33 different Sous Vide Precision Cookers from 14 different manufacturers. The consumer level prices ranged from $.00 to $231.30 with an average price of approximately $100.00 . The highest rated model was the Anova Bluetooth Sous Vide for 105.00 .
How Powerful a Sous Vide Machine do I Need
The power of a sous vide immersion cooker is measured in wattage, the more wattage a model uses the faster it will bring the water bath up to temperature. There is a downside to power though, the more power a unit has the more you have to be concerned with evaporation. If you are cooking something for more than 2-3 hours evaporation is a concern, so you'll need to watch and keep the water between the minimum and maximum levels.
Sous Vide Controls and Display
The different specifications on a sous vide cooker are what really sets each of these models apart from one another. We'll explain what each feature means and why it's important.
- Water Capacity: Water capacity is the highest volume of water each model can heat, most models can heat 5 gallons which will be fine for almost everyone.
- Water Flow:
- GPM: Gallons Per Minute or GPM measures how fast the water moves around in the water bath, the faster the water moves the more quickly it will come up to temperature, and more easily it will maintain that temperature. There is a downside to a high flow rate, the higher the flow rate the faster the water evaporates.
- Minimum and Maximum Water Levels: Each of these models has a minimum water level and a maximum water level and you need to keep the water between those levels for it to work properly or it will shut down. The wider the range between the levels the better. If you have a model with a higher wattage or flow rate this becomes a more important factor.
- Maximum Temperature: This represents the maximum temperature the unit is able to achieve for the maximum amount of water it is able to heat. All of the units we looked at are able to achieve temperatures over 200°F, and since most of the cooking occurs in the 135°F to 180°F range this isn't a concern (see our Sous Vide Temperature Chart for more information about cooking times and temperatures).
- Bluetooth and Wifi Connectivity: Bluetooth and Wifi connectivity is one of the more interesting features available on many sous vide machines. It's not something you absolutely need, but many times it's easier to set the controls and timer on the app than on the physical unit. The ChefSteps Joule Sous Vide doesn't have any physical controls on the unt itself and is only accessible via the app. Bluetooth has a much smaller range and is available on the Anova Bluetooth, Anova WiFi, and Joule models. The sous vide models with WiFi bring your appliances into the Internet of Things era, and as long as your WiFi network is working it will allow you control your unit from anywhere, this does introduce some Sous Vide Safety Issues you should be aware of.
- Physical Size: The physical size of a sous vide circulator usually isn't that much of a concern for most people. Most of the units we looked at were tall, slender tube designs.
- Attachment Clip or Clamp: The attachment clamp or clip is one of the features many people overlook when shopping for a sous vide machine. The Anova Bluetooth Sous Vide and Anova Wifi Sous Vide had a clamp design that was the most flexible allowing you to fully adjust the height of the unit within the cooking vessel making it much easier to stay within the minimum and maximum water level markers.
How Much Should A Sous Vide Cost
When consumer level sous vide machines first came onto the market a few years ago they were in the $300 to $400 range, which meant not everyone could afford one. Today the prices have come down considerably, the models we reviewed were between $.00 (KitchenAid KHM7210ACS 7-Speed Hand Mixer ) and $231.30 (G&M Kitchen Essentials Sous Vide ) at the time of testing. The average sous for the 33 sous vide models we reviewed was approximately $100.00 .
Featured Sous Vide Review
| Sous Vide | FEATURES | RATING | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anova Bluetooth Sous Vide | 800 Watts, Bluetooth Connectivity | 105.00 | |
| Wancle Sous Vide SVC001 | 850 Watts | 88.00 | |
| Anova Nano Sous Vide | 750 Watts, Bluetooth Connectivity | 89.95 | |
| Gourmia Sous Vide GSV138 | 1200 Watts | 69.99 | |
| Chefman Sous Vide | 1000 Watts | 89.99 | |
| NutriChef Sous Vide PKPC120BK | 1200 Watts | 59.99 | |
| Gourmia Sous Vide GSV140 | 1000 Watts | 89.99 | |
| Instant Pot Sous Vide SSV800 | 800 Watts | 79.00 | |
| NutriChef Sous Vide PKPC235BK | 1000 Watts | 77.34 | |
| Aobosi Sous Vide YSV-802 | 800 Watts | 89.99 | |
| Monoprice Strata Sous Vide | 800 Watts | 69.99 |
Featured Product Review
Anova Bluetooth Sous Vide Sous Vide
The Anova Bluetooth Sous Vide Precision Cooker is our higher rated sous vide model, it strikes a perfect balance between quality, features, and pricing. It's the perfect choice for almost everyone.
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The NutriChef Sous Vide PKPC120BK is a better than average quality sous vide precsion cooker that has all the features most people will want. Read Our Full NutriChef Sous Vide PKPC120BK Review