Sous Vide (pronounced sue-veed) is a cooking technique where food is cook under a controlled and precise temperature to deliver the most optimal and perfectly cooked food. An immersion circulator is needed for this cooking method, though. And, knowing which are the best immersion circulator can get you consistent result every single time.
Before you read our comparison between some of the best Sous Vide precision cooking equipment available in the market and our top pick, let’s start with some interesting information.
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List of Best Immersion Circulators
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*For more information about NCS (Net Customer Satisfaction) grade, please click here. (Price range: $ = $1 - $75 / $$ = $76 - $250 / $$$ = $251 -$500 / $$$$ = $501 - $750 / $$$$$ = Above $750)
What Is Sous Vide?
First things first, what is Sous Vide? While the actual cooking technique is quite simple, the term may confuse many people. “Sous Vide” refers to French cooking technique, which translates to “under vacuum.”
Next, the food is vacuum-packed and immersed in water until it achieves a uniform temperature. The result? Perfectly cooked food, which is not cold inside, does not have raw centers and neither has overcooked outsides.
So, originally Sous Vide was referred to a cooking method where food is placed in vacuum-sealed container/bag and further cooked in a water bath at a controlled temperature. However, nowadays, the term is loosely used to describe food cooked in a precisely heated water bath.
Upscale restaurants and experienced chefs have been using Sous Vide cooking method for years to achieve the right level of doneness.
Sous Vide was previously only accessible to the upscale restaurants due to the device for Sous Vide cooking was costly, but it’s not anymore. As technology improves, the manufacturers manage to bring down the cost of producing the device and hence, it’s not much more affordable for the general home cook.
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The Top 3 Best Immersion Circulator Reviews
ChefSteps Joule Immersion Circulator
Cooking with ChefSteps Joule is simple and straightforward. So even if you are a beginner at Sous Vide cooking, this will get you started right away. And, if you are techie guys, this device is excellent because it let you control with a mobile app.
To start with, just add the required quantity of water to the pot and choose the cooking temperature through the app. Next, secure the food in the bag and place it in the water tub.
ChefSteps Joule is equipped with a powerful heater, which makes it easy to quickly and evenly heat up the water. Moreover, it comes with a magnet that helps it stand in a stainless-steel pot independently. Check here for some of the best stainless steel pot.
This Sous Vide cooker is a lightweight and small device which can easily fit in the drawers or kitchen cabinet. A majority of immersion circulator reviews list this model as one of the best Sous Vide machine in the category.
What we like about it...
- It comes with an Android and iOS compatible app to control the device.
- The magnet helps circulator to sit comfortably in the center of the vessel.
- Comes with powerful heater which rapidly heats up the water.
What we don't like...
- Some users find it difficult to connect it with their smartphones. Make sure to check smartphone compatibility.
- Some people wished to have a more distinctive notification sound.
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Gramercy Kitchen Co Immersion Circulator
The newcomer Gramercy Kitchen Immersion Circulator is a simple-to-use device that functions intuitively right out of the box and is one of the best immersion circulators you might want to own. It is considered as a slow cooker of the 21st century. It helps you get your hands on perfectly tendered buttery cooked food every time you use it.
It let the home cook indulge in a hands-free cooking as it takes up a small time to get everything set up. The immersion circulator makes it easy to get your hands on perfectly done steaks, which can be later on seared to enhance the flavor.
With the immersion circulator by Gramercy Kitchen, you will never have to worry about the meat being overcooked. It will raise your meat to the exact temperature you want it to cook. You can easily make desserts, onsen eggs, veggies, or cook meat to the right temperature with this Sous Vide cooker.
What we like about it...
- It works with the least amount of power to heat up the water.
- It is extremely quiet and has a touchscreen panel.
- Comes with an instruction booklet.
- Easy to clean and store.
What we don't like...
- Lacks of Bluetooth and mobile application
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Wancle Sous Vide Thermal Immersion Circulator
The stainless steel immersion circulator by Wancle can be put to use straight out of the box. The one-hand operated clip lets you easily attach the device right at any pots and start cooking.
Setting temperature is easy with the watch-like crown. It has a wide range of temperature selection ranging from 25℃ to 99.9℃ (77°F-211.8°F) and time control (max at 99h 59mins), allows you to cook any food you like from steaks to veggies and more.
This immersion cooker is incredibly easy to use and come with overheat and low water level protection mechanism too. There is no need to connect to mobile apps for it to operate like other immersion circulators brand, thus, make the process less complicated for non-technology savvy users.
What we like about it...
- The device easily clips to any type of pots.
- Holds cooking temperature steadily for hours without overcooking.
- Great customer service.
- Small and conveniently store in the drawer or kitchen cabinets.
What we don't like...
- Lacks of Bluetooth and mobile application.
- Takes longer time to reach the set temperature.
- Adjust wheel is too sensitive.
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Our Pick
We go through hundreds of products listing at Amazon and also study the ratings left by previous buyers to find the best immersion circulator for you. Besides that, we also calculate the overall net customer satisfaction (NCS) grade because we want to see how happy is the previous buyers with their purchase of the product.
From our finding, we can say that ChefSteps, Gramercy Kitchen Co and Wancle are the best immersion circulator brands. These brands are popular and received many excellent ratings for their products.
Also, the ChefSteps Joule Sous Vide, Gramercy Kitchen Immersion Circulator and Wancle Sous Vide Precision Cooker score favorably for the ratings as well as the NCS grade compare to the rest. We believe that you would find these immersion circulator a good buy too.
What is an Immersion Circulator?
Now you must be thinking what an immersion circulator is and what functions it performs, right? An immersion circulator is a tool, which makes it possible to control the water bath temperature.
The machine draws in the required quantity of water and then heats it to the necessary temperature. Next, it transfers the water back into the pot, thus makes heating and circulation of the water even and the temperature stays consistent.
An immersion circulator comes with enough power to actively circulate the water for even and precise results. While the traditional Sous Vide machines can be cumbersome and expensive for home chefs, immersion circulator are affordable, smaller and conveniently for storage.
Here is a short video explaining how an immersion circulator device works:
Why is Everyone Obsessed with this Technique?
A home Sous Vide cooker is for all those who love experimenting with their food, try new techniques and indulge in interesting recipes. It involves using a tool, which we have reviewed above, to keep the water at a set temperature.
Sous Vide help chefs to cook a meal ahead of time, thus giving them a chance to serve their customers with a delicious meal in a fraction of the time.
For example, steaks can be cooked in its own natural juice to the desired doneness way before it is required to be served. When the guest's demands, it can be seared to achieve the charred and crisp exterior.
Can Food Overcooked With Sous Vide?
It is practically impossible to overcook your streak or any food with Sous Vide. When cooking in a vacuum-sealed bag at a controlled temperature, there is no loss of moisture and the food can quickly be cooked at a lower temperature. The food will have the same temperature as the water. Thus there are no chances of the food being overcooked.
Does the Food Taste Different From Traditionally Cooked Food?
Using the Sous Vide technique, the food is cooked perfectly tender and have a soft texture, which is rarely achieved with traditional cooking. This is because the temperature is controlled and distributed evenly.
What Are The Benefits of Sous Vide Cooking?
Cooking with Sous Vide has many benefits. Apart from delicious food, you can achieve health and lifestyle benefits as well.
- It enhances flavor and makes food tastier.
- The food is healthier as there is no or little additional fat or salt.
- You achieve restaurant like food quality.
- A dish will taste the same every time it is cooked.
- No more chewy, undercooked or burnt food.
- You can easily cook in large quantities and minimize food wastage.
The Downside
- If you are cooking a steak, you need to sear the streak after Sous Vide.
- It takes up a lot of time, as it is a slow cooking process.
- You lose the experience of cooking as you can’t taste, smell or touch the food until it is done.
- The temperature can still fluctuate. However it’s neglectable.
- Sous Vide on certain type of vegetable can be tricky as the veggies might be lightweight and cannot submerge wholly in the pot. Thus, the food is cook unevenly.
- If you are not careful about cooking time, or if the food is not sealed properly or prepared unhygienically, there are high chances of food poisoning threat.
Conclusion
There are plenty of other immersion circulator available in the market but whatever you pick, make sure it is in sync with your requirements and your budget. Get your hands on the best immersion circulator featured above is the surest way to practice your Sous Vide at home.
So, there you have it. We hope that this quick post about immersion circulator has been helpful to you. We also hope that it has provided you with enough useful information about Sous Vide and helped you to select the best immersion circulator that suits you.
The post 7 Best Immersion Circulator For Sous Vide Cooking (Best Sous Vide Machine Guide And Reviews) appeared first on Gordan Ladd's Kitchen.
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