The state of the market for consumer sous vide equipment

[dcarch]

There is a Goodwill store near me. The shelves are full with all brands of bread makers and various kinds of coffee machines.

Will sous vide cookers be just another impulse buying kitchen gadget?

Not for me. Unless I plan to deep fry, I sous vide all meats, even before they go in my smoker or on my BBQ grill.

dcarch

[Mjx]

There is a Goodwill store near me. The shelves are full with all brands of bread makers and various kinds of coffee machines.

Will sous vide cookers be just another impulse buying kitchen gadget?

Not for me. Unless I plan to deep fry, I sous vide all meats, even before they go in my smoker or on my BBQ grill.

dcarch

Did you already have plans for what you were going to do with the sous vide cooker when you got it, or did that come after?

[rotuts]

""" all brands of bread makers """

i use mine QOD. all 'machines' need to be properly understood before they get wide use. the BreadMachine is a bit quirky and you ahve to get the measurements just right ..... so they end up at GoodWill.

SV's problems are 1 ) heat the bath 2 ) circulate the bath water 3 ) seal the item. this is more or less three things. the first two are easy to integrate. the third much less so.

average enthusiasm , of the run of the mill type therefore drops off. Make a One Gizmo Deal and things might be different.

as mentioned by many, SV doesnt do everything, just s few things, but it does those things perfectly , over and over and over.

then there is the thorny issue of browning .....

[rotuts]

"""" Did you already have plans for what you were going to do with the sous vide cooker when you got it, or did that come after? """

i understood the process well first. decided to initially focus on meat then took the plunge and slowly broadened my horizons after that.

[Martin Fisher]

Bread machines, ice cream makers, George Foreman grills and the like, juicers, slow cookers, microwaves, rotisserie ovens, coffee makers, sandwich makers, toaster ovens, popcorn makers, waffle makers, blenders, food processors, rice cookers, various mixers, dehydrators, toasters, electric can openers, etc. etc. etc.

They ALL appear in yard sales and thrift stores in large numbers.

My sous vide rig is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment in my kitchen.

Besides the obvious, cooking meats, eggs and veg at precise temperatures, I also use the rig as a slow cooker via 1/2 gallon Mason jars (I hate modern slow cookers---the temperatures are too high--the original slow cookers were so much better), I make stock in sealed 1/2 gallon Mason jars, I ferment charcuterie in the sous vide rig, I par-cook sausages and cured meats, I make cheese, yogurt and the like, various confits, braises, etc. etc. etc.

It's very handy, I can't imagine living without it.

Edited October 22, 2013 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[piyoman]

Just a few comments about this topic:

I find the biggest issue for me with sous vide is the requirement to vacuum seal the food. Water displacement using a ziplock bag works fine but then you have to worry whether the bag will flip or leak. I prefer not to clip bags to the edge of the pot if I don't have to. When I had a clamp style vacuum sealer I seldomly used it because of the work and noise involved. I ended up upgrading to a chamber vacuum sealer with a dedicated workstation. This streamlined my prep work immensely. With being able to vacuum seal food, it not only encourages me to sous vide, it allows me to store it more efficiently. Most meats are now in flat bags that can be stacked in the freezer unlike before when they formed odd shapes (I'm sure I could have packed it more efficiently but leave it to me to mess it up every time for years on end).

I honestly don't think the cost of the sous vide machine is an issue. It's the vacuum seal requirement that's the tipping point of whether I would use this long term or not. Sous vide allows me to dedicate a few hours in a month to buy meat in bulk, portion, season, marinade and finally seal and sous vide everything. This maximizes my efficiency in not only doing everything I already do but also cooking it. Once complete I'll freeze most of the food so it simplifies my meals in the future. Defrost / reheat via sous vide and searing is simple enough for a main dish after a busy day at work. The key for me is not trading quality for efficiency. That's why I foresee myself using this for the long term and not simply jumping on the bandwagon. If you can integrate sous vide into part of your processes without adding too much work involved that's the primary way I can see this appliance not being resold or relegated to the back of the shelf. Bagging and sealing is the one primary reason people won't use this long term. FYI, I bought a $900 chamber vacuum sealer to compliment the $200 immersion circulator. It's somewhat backwards thinking

On another note I have a bread machine and an ice cream maker that are seldomly used. These are very specific appliances for foods I've never made in the past. Since I can't make better or as well as what I can buy in stores, they stay on the shelf collectingn dust. Sous vide is inherently different because a perfectly juicy chicken breast is easy and consistent and may be worth the effort on those special occasions.

[gfweb]

I rarely vacuum pack my SV stuff. The ziplock bag without the zipper hasn't failed me yet.

[rotuts]

"" It's the vacuum seal requirement that's the tipping point ""

I think this will be the killer for a lot of people who then will miss this boat.

"" Sous vide allows me to dedicate a few hours in a month to buy meat in bulk, portion, season, marinade and finally seal and sous vide everything. This maximizes my efficiency in not only doing everything I already do but also cooking it. Once complete I'll freeze most of the food so it simplifies my meals in the future. Defrost / reheat via sous vide and searing is simple enough for a main dish after a busy day at work. The key for me is not trading quality for efficiency. ""

exactly so and well said.

and cooked perfectly each time while you do something else

Edited October 22, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Shelby]

I bet there are quite a few people like me who have never had anything sous vide to eat in their life.

Do you eat in restaurants? If so, then most likely you've had SV (or variant) and were not aware of the fact.

For example: How Sous Vide Went From Haute Cuisine To Casual Dining

I live in the sticks. The last time time I ate in a restaurant the name of it was "The Hoof and Horn" if that tells you anything.

So, no. I don't eat out. Can't travel. Thus, dinner each night is at Chez Shelby lol.

[Shelby]

I bet there are quite a few people like me who have never had anything sous vide to eat in their life. Thus, I guess we don't know what we're missing.

Shelby! I'm shocked!! When I wrote about SV Beef Wellington in my foodblog nearly three years ago you said, and I quote:

Your step-by-step instruction may finally get me over being scared to try sous vide cooking. It looks beautiful.

What you been doing with your life, girl?!?

My fear came back immediately after your blog ended lol. I have never bought the necessary tools.

[Martin Fisher]

I also rarely use vacuum, but when I do it's an older $35 clamp-style machine that has issues, but gets the job done.

Liquids go in either Mason jars of various sizes or in chamber sealer bags where air is removed via the Archimedes principle or other tricks, they're then sealed with $50 impulse sealer.....no big deal.

[EnriqueB]

(...) I ferment charcuterie in the sous vide rig, (...)

Hi DiggingDogFarm, would be please be so kind as to give some more details/tips/profiles on this usage? I make some charcuterie but never though to ferment it sous-vide.

[dcarch]

Here is what I think will be the most popular appliance in the home kitchen ever:

A cooker that can be PID thermally controlled and which can actually circulate water and oil.

It comes with a lid that can make it a pressure cooker.

The electric heater can get it to roaster oven temperature (450F)

It would be a pressure cooker, slow cooker, crock pot, deep fryer (the best), rice maker, roaster oven, candy maker, and a sous vide cooker.

I believe such a cooker can be made around $120.00, if a roaster oven can be made under $60.00 and a digital pressure cooker can be made around $100.00.

dcarch

Edited October 23, 2013 by dcarch (log)

[Martin Fisher]

(...) I ferment charcuterie in the sous vide rig, (...)

Hi DiggingDogFarm, would be please be so kind as to give some more details/tips/profiles on this usage? I make some charcuterie but never though to ferment it sous-vide.

The idea was highlighted in Modernist Cuisine.

Discussion here.... http://forum.chefsteps.com/discussion/comment/7323/#Comment_7323

Temperatures and times will depend on the culture used and desired results.

[goodgood]

"I believe such a cooker can be made around $120.00, if a roaster oven can be made under $60.00 and a digital pressure cooker can be made around $100.00."

There you go. I am sure you will get tons of backing via Kickstarter.

Edited October 24, 2013 by goodgood (log)

[EnriqueB]

(...) I ferment charcuterie in the sous vide rig, (...)

Hi DiggingDogFarm, would be please be so kind as to give some more details/tips/profiles on this usage? I make some charcuterie but never though to ferment it sous-vide.

The idea was highlighted in Modernist Cuisine.

Discussion here.... http://forum.chefsteps.com/discussion/comment/7323/#Comment_7323

Temperatures and times will depend on the culture used and desired results.

Thanks! I've read Modernist Cuisine beginning-to-end but at the time I didn't make charcuterie and did not remember about it. I'll look it up.

[cdh]

With all of the stick-format immersion circulators coming out, the next hurdle to be jumped is the container. I would love to see an insulated kitchen sink for that purpose. Plug the drain, fill it with hot-ish tap water, insert circulator and let it stabilize at your desired temp, cook away. When done, pull the plug and do the dishes.

A deep double sink with insulation and a circulator mounting bar in one half would be a fantastic addition to a kitchen. I wonder if a local welding shop could add the mounting bar to a stock stainless sink, and duct taping Owen-Corning's finiest pink stuff to the underside would handle the insulation side of things.

[rotuts]

interesting idea, really interesting.

you would use the other sink for Day-to-Day stuff during Long Haul SV's

the sink would enjoy an insulated top that fit snugly and was easy to lift up for an occasional Peek.

[Martin Fisher]

I've looked into almost exactly the same thing.

I'm thinking that one of these mop sinks or the like would work nice packed with insulation.

The immersion circulator could be mounted normally.

[Anna N]

interesting idea, really interesting.

you would use the other sink for Day-to-Day stuff during Long Haul SV's

the sink would enjoy an insulated top that fit snugly and was easy to lift up for an occasional Peek.

On the nomiku web page there is a photo of the nomiku attached to the centre divider of a double sink.

Oops. There was but it appears to have been relaced with more recent photos.

Edited to add the oops and fix spelling.

Edited October 26, 2013 by Anna N (log)

[rotuts]

interesting:

Mop Sink: $244.82/Each

Coleman Coolers:

http://www.target.com/c/coolers-water-bottles-sports-outdoors/coleman/-/N-5xt57Z5xwy5

free shipping and 5 % off with the free target card

some with wheels.

sorry couldn't resist.

[Martin Fisher]

Coolers are fine but I'd like something more aesthetically pleasing and resilient with a decent drain and a faucet mounted above.

I've seen used stainless mop sinks for around $50.00.

A good one should last several lifetimes.

[Brogat]

I'm not seeing much discussion on the Codlo here - http://www.codlo.com/

Thoughts or has anyone tried it? is the lack of a circulator a game changer?

[rotuts]

""" is the lack of a circulator a game changer? """

Id think so. and a heater .

a complete and useful system would have to have at least these components:

Controller, Heater, Circulator, Container, Sealer.

the more that can be stuffed into a compact single unit the better.

Edited October 26, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Martin Fisher]

I'm not seeing much discussion on the Codlo here - http://www.codlo.com/

Thoughts or has anyone tried it? is the lack of a circulator a game changer?

A simple aquarium pump can be used as a circulator.

I'm not a fan of the Codlo design.

It appears that here in the US the unit will block adjoining outlets.

Unless the unit spins it's only going to work with one outlet orientation.

I think that the Sous Vide Magic is a better option, especially when permanently mounted under a cabinet or the like.