Equipment Reviews

Water Bath vs Stick Circulator for Sous Vide? - Ask Jason

In this episode of Ask Jason, Doug asks: "Is one better, a water bath or a stick circulator for sous vide?" That's a good question and part of it depends what you're trying to accomplish. I've used several water baths and they work really well. For most cooks and most uses a water bath (i.e. the Sous Vide Supreme) and a stick circulator (i.e. Anova, ChefSteps Joule or Gourmia) work just as well as each other.

Animato Whipped Cream Dispenser Review

The Animato whipping siphon is an inexpensive, but high quality charger that I really liked.

Anova Nano Sous Vide Circulator Detailed Review

This is a detailed review of the Anova Nano, an inexpensive sous vide immersion circulator recently released by Anova Culinary LLC. This circulator is the latest generation of the Anova line, with the design focused primarily on reducing the cost and size of the circulator, making it available to more sous viders than ever before. But don't let the low cost fool you, this unit has the design, quality, and precision that Anova has built its reputation on. The purpose of this review is to give you the information you need to determine if the Anova Nano is the right immersion circulator for your needs.

Instant Pot SSV800 Accu Slim Sous Vide Circulator - Detailed Review

This is a detailed review of the SSV800 Accu Slim Sous Vide immersion circulator recently released by Instant Pot. This circulator is the second sous vide circulator that Instant Pot has brought to market. The SSV800 Accu Slim is essentially a smaller, cost-reduced version of the original SV800, with very similar performance characteristics. The purpose of this review is to give you the information you need to determine if the Accu Slim is the right immersion circulator for your needs.

Bernzomatic Torches: TS4000 vs TS8000 for Sous Vide Searing

As more and more home cooks aspire to become accomplished sous viders, they are experimenting to discover the best ways to create an awesome sear on a variety of proteins. One of the more popular, and the one I use a lot, is to use a torch, either by itself or in conjunction with another technique such is pan frying. There are numerous torch options available, in this article we take a close look at the two Bernzomatic offerings; the Bernzomatic TS4000 and TS8000 and provide a recommendation. We also suggest a potential modification to the torch that you might want to explore. These will allow you to provide a great sear to your sous vide cooking protein.

Tribest Sousvant SV-101 Sous Vide Machine Detailed Review

This is a detailed review of the Tribest Sousvant SV-101 sous vide machine. It is a all-in-one water oven similar to the Sous Vide Supreme, Mellow, and Oliso Water Oven-Smart Hub.

SV Homewares Sous Vide Magnets Detailed Review

As a sous vider, sooner or later you will run across the "floating bag challenge". Specifically, this is when the sous vide bag in the water bath begins to float, exposing a portion of the contents above the water level. In this review we present SV Homewares Sous Vide Magnets as one possible solution to that problem.

SO-VIDA Sous Vide Weights - Review

As a sous vider, sooner or later you will run across the "floating bag challenge". Specifically, this is when the sous vide bag in the water bath begins to float, exposing a portion of the contents above the water level. In this review we present SO-VIDA Sous Vide Weights as one possible solution to that problem.

Disc Neodymium Magnets for Sous Vide - Detailed Review

As a sous vider, sooner or later you will run across the "floating bag challenge". Specifically, this is when the sous vide bag in the water bath begins to float, exposing a portion of the contents above the water level. In this review we present disc neodymium magnets as one possible solution to that problem.

SO-VIDA Sous Vide Insulation Bands and Mat Review

We do our best to keep our readers informed about new modernist cooking-related products. This often includes equipment such as sous vide circulators and containers. In this review we are looking at a sous vide accessory, the SO-VIDA Sous Vide Insulation Bands and Mat. These are designed to insulate a large pot that is being used as a sous vide water bath container.

Mellow Sous Vide Machine Detailed Review

Chatwin Crucial Knife Set Review

All in all I really liked the Chatwin Crucial Knife set and I would recommend it to people that prefer lighter knifes, or are looking for a unique knife design. The holder is really classy too if you want to show them off.

Oliso PRO Smart Sealer Review

I was recently given a free Oliso PRO Smart Sealer to test out and review. I've been using it for several months now and here's some of my thoughts on it.

Anova Announces the Anova Nano Sous Vide Circulator

Anova recently announced the launch of their newest sous vide circulator, the Anova Nano. It is slated to be sold for under $100 and weighs only 1.4 pounds. It will have a 700 watt heater, and heat less water, but it should be good for small familes or people just getting into sous vide.

We will provide more updates as the unit becomes available and we can do some hands-on testing with it.

Anova Precision Cooker 900 Watt Release

One of the main areas the Anova Precision Cooker was lacking in our sous vide benchmark tests was the heating time. It was the slowest machine tested for several years. Anova has now addressed that by releasing a 900 watt version.

How Does the Kitchen Gizmo Compare to Other Sous Vide Machines?

Here is how the Kitchen Gizmo sous vide circulator fared on our sous vide benchmark tests.

How Does the Oliso Smart Hub Compare to Other Sous Vide Machines?

The Oliso Smart Hub Sous Vide Machine is a combination induction burner and water bath. Here's how it preformed in our sous vide benchmark tests.

How Does the ChefSteps Joule Compare to Other Sous Vide Machines?

How does the ChefStep Joule do compared to other circulators? We put it through our sous vide benchmark tests to find out!

ChefSteps Joule Immersion Circulator Detailed Review

This is a detailed review of the ChefSteps Joule sous vide immersion circulator. This circulator is the first to require a WiFi connection to a smartphone app in order to control it.

Anova Precision Cooker WiFi Immersion Circulator Detailed Review

This is a detailed review of the Anova Precision Cooker WiFi immersion circulator. This circulator is the first sous vide machine that is connected via WiFi to a smartphone app.

Gourmia Immersion Circulator Pod Detailed Review

This is a detailed review of the Gourmia GSV130 immersion circulator pod. This circulator is an entry-level unit that has all the capability needed to create amazing meals using sous vide cooking.

Sansaire Delta Review Announcement

The Sansaire Delta is the latest sous vide machine from Sansaire. It should come out in 2017 but we have a preview of how it looks and functions.

PolyScience 300 Series Chamber Vacuum Sealer Detailed Review

This is a detailed review of the PolyScience Series 300 Chamber Vacuum Sealer. It lists the many advantages of a chamber vacuum sealer. The unit is then reviewed including its features and operation.

Modernist Equipment Black Friday, Cyber Monday Deals

Modernist equipment can be expensive! But here are the best Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals that can make the sous vide equipment much more affordable.

Bellini Kitchen Master Review

This detailed review for the Bellini Kitchen Master discusses what it can do, how it works, and whether or not it's right for your needs.

Detailed Review of the Nomiku Immersion Circulator

The Nomiku immersion circulator sous vide review shows that when attached to a suitable container it will provide an excellent water bath for sous vide cooking.

Sous Vide Machine Benchmark Tests

The Sous Vide Benchmark gathers a variety of objective information about some popular sous vide machines including how long it takes to heat up and how consistent they are for the Anova, Nomiku, etc.

How long does it take a sous vide machine to heat up?

Many people wonder how long it takes a sous vide machine to heat up. We ran benchmark tests on 5 of the most popular machines to definitively answer how long it takes to heat.

Knife Sharpener Roundup

There is a wide range of knife sharpeners available to the home cook. Here are some of the better rated ones on Amazon.

Fini Cutlery Knife Review

The Fini Cutlery knife shortens the handle for better comfort and control. I take this knife through the paces to see how it works compared to other knives.

Anova Precision Cooker Immersion Circulator Detailed Review

This is a detailed review of the Anova Precision Cooker, an inexpensive immersion circulator manufactured by Anova Culinary LLC. This circulator, attached to a suitable container, will provide an excellent water bath for sous vide cooking. If you are interested in getting involved with sous vide cooking, this review will give you all of the information you need to determine if the Anova Precision Cooker is the right immersion circulator for your needs.

Frankfurter Brett Kitchen Workbench

I was recently approached by Joseph, from "Frankfurter Brett", who wanted to show off their new cutting board system. It's basically a workbench for the kitchen and it looks pretty awesome. They are currently in their Kickstarter campaign and hoping to find supporters. You can read all of my thoughts below and I highly recommend you go check out their page, including their awesome videos, and see what you think.

NextGen San Sebastian Elite Knife Review

I recently got contacted by NextGen and was asked if I wanted to try out their new knife, the San Sebastian Elite model, and I've been using it for the last few days with great results.

Sous Vide: Torches

There are several torches to sear sous vide foods and here are some of the best ones for the home and professional cook to use.

Mellow: The Latest Sous Vide Machine

The latest entrant in the sous vide machine market is Mellow, a self-contained sous vide machine. The units are comparably priced to a Sous Vide Supreme at $400 and are shipping in about a year.

New Sous Vide Supreme Demi

Sous Vide Supreme has just announced the launch of their newest produce, the Sous Vide Supreme Demi. It's a smaller and more compact version of their popular Sous Vide Supreme water bath.

Sous Vide Supreme First Thoughts

I've been very curious to check out the new Sous Vide supreme cooker but couldn't justify spending more money on sous vide equipment. Luckily, through my contact at Sur La Table I managed to borrow a unit from them that I can play around with for a few weeks. I'll post a little more about the Sous Vide Supreme as I use it over the next few weeks but I wanted to share some of my initial thoughts.