Hi guys,
Need recommendations on a sous vide. Based on the deals that have been posted a lot lately it seems like the Inkbird Sous Vides are pretty decent (and cheap). Is that correct?
Can anyone comment on how accurate their temperatures might be? I.e. if you set it to 40 degrees C are they likely to be within a degree of 40 degrees?
Does this look like a legit deal?
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/313537100634?amdata=enc%3AAQAIAA…
$84.37 for a ISV-100W WIFI
What are you using it for? I feel like sous vide was 2010s cooking gimmick, sure it's good to have and lets you do some pretty cool things but in most cases there is a better and simpler method.
Also regarding temp, depends on the shape/size/insulation of the vessel but you'll see maybe a degree or two variation probably not even that if you've got some sort of insulation.
It's great for people who can't cook. It's pretty foolproof for cooking evenly.
True but I reckon it’s just as easy with a $30 thermometer
You can replicate what it does without the tools, but using the sous vide you can't stuff anything up, making it great for home cooks.
It is the Russian Roulette of food. Monsieur Pasteur documented when bacterias die. You count them if you prefer to stay healthy.
I'd rather eat every blowfish, at least if I'd cark it I would know where from.
It's really not lol
It's literally the opposite though?
If you set it to a safe temperature, you can guarantee after leaving for a set length of time that it will be sterile (thanks to ol' Pasteur's work).
High end restaurants often use sous vide to par-cook ahead of time and simply heat/sear + serve later.
People also literally die in Japan from fugu every year, and an insane number of people get sick or die from just normal (unsafe) cooking practices.
If you leave something to cook sous vide, at a certain point you can guarantee that the internal temperature has reached safe levels - something you can't do in an oven etc without poking a hole through the food with a thermometer. Not only that, but it's nearly impossible to overcook as the timeframes are so forgiving and the temperature literally can't go above what is set.
What? As long as you cook stuff over 55 degrees you are okay, and even if you do it under that you will be okay as long as you don't do it for five or so hours.
You have a higher chance of choking on your food
Of course risks are fun. I love French cheese made from raw milk. It tastes great and carries a similar risk to sous vide. And it IS prohibithed in AUS.
The Inkbird is more than accurate enough for regular cooking; it's impossible to verify it is at the temp it says it is without an accurate (read: expensive) measuring tool, but it is internally consistent (i.e. if it reads 40, it will be the same 40 as last time).
It's not a bad deal; I recently paid $105 for the 200W, which was decent (outside of sales), because I occasionally get up to the upper limits of the 100W (90°).
I've had both an ANOVA and the Inkbird; they perform similarly and I never use the apps anyway so I can't comment on them.
I'm surprised at people saying it's a gimmick etc because it's simply another tool to add to your kitchen. Sure, it's not going to replace your oven or stovetop anytime soon, but you can't get a better device for precision and edge-to-edge cooking without heavily investing in both expensive equipment and your skill at using said equipment.
With sous vide, you can stick a bunch of steaks in a couple of hours ahead of time, then just pat dry and sear for the best-cooked piece of meat outside of a restaurant. No thinking, no crazy skills required, no watching over the pot for hours and adjusting every so often. Easy.
There are better ways to cook steak though. Reverse sear or the just keep flipping method (flip every 30 secs) will both give you a better sear and flavour and be close enough to edge to edge. I eat a lot of steak and I pretty much never use the SV. I’m on the sous vide reddit and they’re all circle jerking over the saddest looking steaks.
In saying that though there are some cool things it lets you do, for example I had a weekend rager for my buddy’s birthday recently and with the SV I was able to prep 10kg of bbq beef rib midweek which I was then able to heat up on the weekend while I was well inebriated just by dropping in the SV bath. There also things like egg bites and pots de crème that I like using it for. I think if you’re into cooking it’s a good tool to have in your repertoire but for the average person I think there are better options.
Inkbird stuff is great in general. They also sell devices that can switch AC power to control temperature https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/322181962638?hash=item4b038a9b8e…
Combine with a cheap slow cooker (e.g. kmart store brand) for a very cheap option with more usability (you also get a slow cooker).
Personally, after years of screwing around with different options I got an instant pot slow cooker/pressure cooker that also has a sous vide mode. It's a more expensive option but its a hugely useful appliance that gets used multiple times per week for all sorts of meals unlike a dedicated sous vide device. Being a completely enclosed device it should be more power efficient and have better temperature stability than other options, but I've never confirmed that. Just check that the model has a sous vide mode https://www.ozbargain.com.au/search/node/instant%20pot
I bought the Anova back when it was super cheap, $150? , still chugging along after 6 years. Ridiculous that they remade it and its now double the price. No idea how accurate the temperature is, just hope for the best haha.
Would be getting an Inkbird when the Anova dies due to price point, and that it would fit the Anova sous vide container nicely
Temperature gauges can be calibrated, but no idea accurate they are over the entire measurement range.