vengroff

We are definitely looking at other kinds of cooking, and we will adapt the system to handle them. But for the moment, we are a small team and want to focus on getting the first product shipped. Many of our recipes do involve different temperatures at different stages for different amounts of time. We've also gotten a lot of early interest from home brewers who tend to want to do exactly that.

For recipes that are not in the app, there is a manual mode you can use to choose a temperature and the system will hold it. We'll be releasing a list of recipes that come with the app in the not too distant future. They are specific recipes, not just generic ones. The list is constantly expanding because we are developing and testing new recipes and will continue to do so through and after the knobs and clips are delivered. A smart phone is not technically required, as it will work with iPads and Android tablets too, but you do need a smart device of some form to run the user interface.

Yes, it works on electric. At the very beginning of the project we were not sure it would, but we have been very pleasantly surprised at the performance on electric ranges. We have done a lot of testing with multiple thermocouples in and around pots to try to understand how well convection works in various cooking modes. We're quite satisfied that for the recipes we will deliver with the app things will come out great. If, on the other hand, you are looking for tenth-of-a-degree precision for e.g. eggs, we're not there yet.

Hi All, Thanks for the comments. We've spent a lot of time tweaking the algorithms so they adapt on the fly to different sized pots with different amounts of liquid inside. As far as the low simmer issue we've done a couple of things there: 1. When you first install the knob the app asks you to turn your burner off, then on to max, then over to low. It records these positions in its memory to use from then on. 2. We have several built-in safety features. One of them is that if we detect that the amount of heat entering the pan is much lower than we expect (e.g. if the flame has blown out) we automatically turn the knob off and alert the user. Thanks for your support and I'm happy to answer any other questions you have.

That is correct. Unless Anova is willing to amend the terms appropriately, Sous Vide Dash will not be able to use their API. We are currently having a conversation with them about this.

I got notification that the hacker package is ready to ship.

We have the hacker version on pre-order, so we're going to give it a shot.

Thanks Enrique. You'll be happy to know that SVD v4.0 is now on the App Store. We'd love to hear any additional feedback.

That's a good question. The problem is that that's the kind of feature only a tiny fraction of uses of mobile apps tend to use. Often, their presence in the app then confuses the other 98% of users. Back in the early days of SVD, we didn't give any advice on subjective descriptions like doneness. We just focused on temperature and writing code that could numerically solve partial differential equations in a second or two on a device that fits in your pocket. The result was an app that gave you access to millions of scenarios, where tables gave at most hundreds. Having solved that problem, we were asked by users to give more advice on what temperature to choose. That's where the shortcut buttons on the temperature selection screens came from. Those tested extremely well across users, and have this been an integral part if the app for years now. We got some advice to be conservative with the numbers, which is where the values currently in the shortcuts came from. We're now wondering whether we should undo that change. Personally, I have my favorite temperatures, like 54.4C for ribeye. I can always select that even if it's not one of the shortcuts. I also personally like the idea of user-modifiable definitions for advanced users. But I struggle with the question of whether it will be worth it for the vast majority of users.

SVD 4.0 is now available on the App Store. This is mainly a cosmetic release for new iOS devices and new versions of iOS. It also adds support for some new sous-vide equipment. We are considering going back to some of the older temperature labeling we had, e.g. medium rare beef is 54.4C, as opposed to the more conservative values presently in the app. This does not affect the thermodynamic simulation in any way. It only affects the values entered by the shortcut buttons. Thanks again for you patience.

Thanks for the pointer. I will take a look. And it's always nice to get independent confirmation that the simulation results are on target.

Yes, that's correct. The thermodynamics get a little hairy because there tend to be three distinct layers, one above freezing, one below, and in between those two a slushy mess right around the freezing point.

The high level answer is I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Modernist Cuisine charts. I actually first wrote the thermodynamic simulation code at the heart of the app after noticing that the last column in Table 1 on page 276 and the last column in Table 3 on page 278 of MC both describe a cylinder 15cm in diameter and 15cm tall, yet they have different times for the same temperature change. I was also bothered by the fact that cubes, spheres and squat cylinders were all supposed to use the same table (table 3). Things may have changed in the second edition, but as I dug deeper on the numbers in the first edition I really wanted to write the code and do some research myself. I corresponded a bit with the MC team, but I didn't get enough details of their simulation code to compare it to mine and determine why we tend to disagree. There are a lot of factors, including how food is situated in the bath and how well the water circulates. Having said all of this, I can say that I have done experiments and found the app's predictions on target, and an independent lab hired by one of the equipment manufacturers has done the same. I'm happy to participate in an ongoing dialog, and if changes are warranted, make them.

Hi All, First, let me apologize for the lack of updates to the app. I'm truly sorry for that. My day job has kept me on the road so much of the last two years that I have not devoted adequate time to maintaining the app. So the abandonware label is not too far fetched. Second, let me share a bit of hopefully good news. The app is in the process of being taken over by a new startup. I can't share too many details at this point, but I'm confident a new version 4.0 designed for more modern versions of iOS will be out in a matter of weeks. Longer range there will be more announcements that I think will interest SVD users as well. Thanks for your ongoing support and suggestions.

Hi All, I am pleased to report that We have licensed the technology behind SousVide Dash to PolyScience. They have just released an app called PolyScience Sous Vide Toolbox based on this technology. SousVide Dash will continue to exist alongside the new app, and will continue to be updated and supported.