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Sous vide cookers, also known as immersion circulators, are kitchen appliances that allow water temperature to be precisely controlled over a long period of time — hours or even days. While the term may sound fancy, sous vide simply means the food is cooked in a plastic bag, ideally sealed with a vacuum sealer (though a plastic zipper bag with most of the air removed from it can work nearly as well).
When you cook sous vide, the immersion circulator is set for the desired doneness — for a medium-rare steak, that would be about 135 degrees Fahrenheit. The machine heats the water and maintains it at that temperature so that you can cook the steak for as much time as it takes to reach the same temperature as the water all the way through, eliminating the risk of overcooking.
While the science is simple, there is a wide variety of differences in the quality and features of sous vide machines. At the Drexel Food Lab at Drexel University, we use immersion circulators for applications including and beyond sous vide, such as gently reheating delicate foods, quickly chilling wine or food (not possible with all circulators), poaching perfectly cooked eggs in the shell, or holding warm sauces like hollandaise that are vulnerable to breaking when heated on a stovetop. For this article, I tested five sous vide machines and talked to chefs about what they look for in an immersion circulator and which models they like best.
What we’re looking for
Temperature range
Circulators can range from no heat (useful for chilling with the addition of ice) to boiling, with most needing to work well in a zone from warm enough to melt chocolate (around body temperature) through cooking tough cuts of meat, around 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Display
Sous vide machines range from having no display on the device itself and relying on a smart phone app for controls and readout to full touchscreen interfaces with sound and video that resemble a tablet.
Capacity
Relying on too small a sous vide machine to heat a large quantity of water will breed frustration and reduce the longevity of the appliance. Look for something that is sized to your needs: Will you be cooking a few pieces of fish or lamb chops on a weekly basis, or do you need something that can handle a whole brisket for entertaining?
Best sous vide machine overall
Temperature Range: 68–208 °F | Display: smartphone only | Capacity: up to 10 gallons
At under two inches in diameter and just over a foot long, the Joule Turbo is unassuming enough to live in a utensil drawer next to your rubber spatula, but when powered on and connected to a smartphone, it transforms into an efficient cooking machine. The robust app includes visual signs of doneness, recipes and video guides and can connect with a smart speaker for voice activation. The magnetic base keeps it upright in a pot without the need for a clamp. While Alexandra Holt of Roxanne uses circulators frequently for projects like making cheese, cooking octopus or snails, or steaming whole apples, she prefers the Joule for “cooking shorter term projects and holding various things in iSi containers. “I think a home cook would like Joule because the app provides a lot of recipes that are easily accessible,” she says.
Best (less expensive) sous vide machine
Temperature Range: 32–197°F | Display: Digital display on unit as well as app | Capacity: up to 15 L (4 gal)
While not quite as sleek as Breville’s Joule, the Anova 2.0 gets the job done for a fraction of the price. The temperature range is wider and is conducive to chilling as well as cooking, while the digital display allows you to control it from the unit itself or from the connected app. For those new to sous vide cooking, the subscription companion app offers more hand-holding and guidance than those of other appliances. Chef Scott Calhoun of Ember and Ash uses the professional version from the same brand for a wide variety of applications. “For proteins, it allows us to do certain cuts of meat like a coulotte or spare rib, and cook it to a perfect medium rare inside so that all that is needed during service is a hot sear over charcoal before slicing and plating.”
Best sous vide machine for pros
Temperature Range: 68–194°F | Display: Color touchscreen display | Capacity: up to 45 L (12 gal)
Nearly every chef I spoke to uses the HydroPro Plus in their restaurant — often, like Holt, in addition to immersion circulators from other brands. Chefs like its large capacity (nearly 12 gallons), speed in heating, reliability for long cooking times of 24 hours or more, and accuracy (within one-tenth of a degree). The unit has preset recipes and also allows for custom programs. One particularly attractive feature is that the HydroPro Plus works as well at lower temperatures as at higher ones, which is important for applications like making yogurt. Pastry chef Emily Taylor of the restaurant NAOS uses two HydroPro Plus circulators to make Greek yogurt both for savory dishes and frozen desserts. Chef Randy Rucker of River Twice agrees that this model is great for low-temperature cooking to “poach the best soft eggs possible.”
Chris Roslan, a PR professional who calls himself a “very enthusiastic home chef,” has found the company’s product durable. “When sous vide first became a thing in the mid 2000s,” he says, “I bought the original PolyScience unit that was really only used in labs back then. It was expensive, but it’s ultra-precise and has lasted with no problems — it is still in use today. Definitely got my money’s worth!” Roslan agrees with Rucker’s soft-egg assessment and says he also uses it for “long braises of meats like short ribs, [as well as] butter-poached lobster, and fish fillets.”
Best all-in-one sous vide machine
Temperature Range: 86–210ºF | Display: Digital LED | Capacity: 9 liters
While other circulators are sticks that can clip on to the side or magnetically stick to the floor of a container filled with water, the SousVide Supreme Touch is marketed as a “Water Oven.” It’s a self-contained water chamber, heating element, and display and has the look and feel of a countertop appliance like a microwave or air fryer. Buddy Gillespie, vice-president of culinary innovation at the food-service concept Sous Vide Kitchen, prefers SousVide Supreme for home use because of its all-in-one format. “For the home cook, there is not a simpler solution,” he says. “With a traditional immersion circulator, one needs to purchase the circulator then find a vessel that has the proper depth for the circulator to latch onto and make sure it is not too big of a vessel to heat the amount of water the circulator can handle but also big enough to hold the bags of food you would like to cook. This option is an all-encompassing alternative.” Gillespie also appreciates its quietness in operation and that it comes with a removable rack that allows for multiple bags to cook at once without crowding.
Best splurge all-in-one sous vide machine
Temperature Range: 32–194°F | Display: 12.3” touchscreen or connected app | Capacity: up to 12 L (3.17 gal)
All of the circulators discussed also need bags, may need weights or a plate to keep them submerged, and require a fair amount of learning, either by looking to the web for recipe and video guidance, or tutorials from apps connected to the device. The Typhur sous vide station differs in being an all-in-one solution containing not only the circulator tower but also the container, a lid, a vacuum sealer, vacuum bags, and weights that snap on to the bags to keep them fully submerged. The built-in Android display includes step-by-step video recipe guides by Typhur staff and guest chefs. I first tested it with chicken thighs and was impressed by how efficiently it heated up (about 25 minutes to get the full tank to 149 degrees Fahrenheit) and by the quality of the bags and seal.
Our experts
• Scott Calhoun, chef of Ember and Ash
• Buddy Gillespie, vice-president of culinary innovation, Sous Vide Kitchen
• Alexandra Holt, chef of Roxanne
• Chris Roslan, Roslan & Associates Public Relations
• Randy Rucker, chef of River Twice
• Emily Taylor, chef of NAOS
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