This “What is Sous Vide?” post was sponsored by Anova as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
Anybody else been doing more cooking than ever in 2020? It’s probably still too early to call myself a “good cook,” but I feel like I do have a couple recipes under my belt now. I’ve been wanting to branch out a bit in my cooking and have had multiple friends rave about sous vide, so I figured now would be the perfect opportunity to give it a try!
What Is Sous Vide Cooking?
Sous vide cooking is a cooking technique where food is cooked at a precise water temperature for an extended period of time. The food is seasoned and placed inside a vacuum-sealed bag before immersed in a water bath, where the temperature is guaranteed to remain constant for the entire cooking period.
How Do You Sous Vide?
To sous vide, you really only need three basic pieces of equipment: a sous vide immersion circulator, a large bag or food container, and a large pot or container to hold the water. I was a little intimidated by the idea of sous vide but after a bit of research, I decided to pick up the Anova Nano and it’s made it so incredibly easy!!
Anova Nano Sous Vide
Anova Nano sous vide | vacuum-sealed sous vide bags | Caraway dutch oven | electric salt/pepper set
For starters, I found the Anova Nano to be intuitive and easy to use — there are 3 different buttons that allow you to see the current water temperature, another to set the target water temperature, and the last one to set a time. The display shows down to the tenth of a decimal and it’s proven to cook food within 0.1° accuracy! Anova knows that precision is important when it comes to sous vide as the difference between a rare and medium rare steak is only 3° — you can always trust that the Anova Nano is cooking the food at exactly the right temperature!
The Anova Nano also pairs via Bluetooth to a mobile app, so I’m able to monitor and control the sous vide even remotely! Plus the app provides thousands of recipes that help get me started with different meal ideas.
Storage is also super convenient as the Anova Nano is a total of only 12.8″ and stores neatly away in our drawer without taking a lot of space!
Vacuum-Sealed Bag
You’ll want a heat-safe bag to place your food while it’s cooking in the sous vide. A normal Ziploc bag will work as long as you are able to push out all the air within the bag — I do recommend doubling up on Ziploc bags to prevent leaking. I personally picked up these reusable sous vide bags from Amazon as I wanted to ensure that they were BPA free and the included vacuum hand pump made it so much easier to remove excess air from the bags.
Large Pot
There are min and max lines for the sous vide to work. I used my Caraway Dutch Oven and at 10″ / 6.5 qts, it was just deep enough to hit the minimum water line. If you’re needing a large water bath container, there are lots of options on Amazon!
What Are The Benefits of Sous Vide?
- Food is never overcooked – With a sous vide, food remains at a constant temperature the entire time, no matter how long it is in the sous vide. For meat especially, the slow heating sous vide method also results in meat that is tender and juicy!
- No stove necessary – The Anova Nano does it all! There’s no need to have the pot on a stove and you can literally sous vide almost anywhere. Where was this when I was in college??
- Set it and go – There’s no need to watch the food while it sous vides. The Anova Nano sous vide will maintain the water bath temperature and once the food is placed inside the pot, there’s no need to check back until the timer goes off! The Bluetooth features of the Anova Nano do allow for monitoring of the sous vide device from anywhere as well.
Is Sous Vide Worth It?
In my opinion… 100% YES!! For my first creation, I made lemon-garlic halibut and omg, it was incredible! It had it in the sous vide for 45 minutes and finished it off on the grill for a couple minutes just to give it a slightly crispy glaze on top. Meat, especially red meat, cooks exceptionally well in via sous vide and I’m also planning to try my hand at making egg bites (just like the ones available at Starbucks!) this week. Sous vide also allows for easy batch cooking so fingers crossed that these egg bites will end up being a tasty healthy breakfast option as well! And did you know you can even make sous vide cheesecake?? It’s going to be a busy and delicious holiday season filled with all the sous vide cooking!
Do you have any other questions I didn’t answer in this “What is Sous Vide?” post? If so, let me know in a comment below!
Shop This Post
Cara Duncan says
Yes, girl! This is also on my gift guide for men! It’s the best way to cook a steak, especially if you’re entertaining.
Brianne says
I’ve been wanting to try sous vide cooking for a while now, but it seemed so daunting. Thanks for sharing all this great information!
Neely Moldovan says
My hsuband really wants a sous vide! I really have no idea what it does so this was super helpful!
Tyler says
Using a sous vide seems so intimidating, but this guide was so helpful! I can definitely see where there are big benefits to using one, and I had no idea it was a set it and forget it kind of cooking tool. Thanks for sharing!
Angela says
SOUS VIDE?Never heard about these. That’s so fun way to cook. Also best gift for anyone.
Maartje van Sandwijk says
I never heard of this way of cooking but it sounds so interesting! Just don’t know if I’d be able to wait (I’m very impatient :))
Stephanie says
My husband was JUST telling me the other day how he’d really like to begin experimenting with sous vide cooking. It’s such an interesting technique, and until now, we’d only seen it on TV. So cool that it’s available to the average home cook now!
Lizzie says
This is so interesting! I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this! So cool!
Lizzie
http://www.lizzieinlace.com
Morgan Klein says
Wow, I’ve never heard of this cooking technique! I definitely want to try – I have just started cooking a TON more this year so this would be so fun to try! Thanks for sharing!
Heather says
I’ve heard so many great things about this technique! I hope to one day be able to try it myself!
Ben says
I want to give sous vide cooking a try. I’ve been hearing about how good the food is when it’s cooked like this, but I’ve never given it a go before.
Rach says
I’ve never tried sous vide cooking! I might need to try this out!
http://www.rdsobsessions.com
Jessica Collazo says
I’ve always wanted to try something like that. I’ve seen similar products but I would love to try this one after reading your review. Thank you so much for this review and I bet that food was so delicious.
Valerie Claresta says
This is new for me. I would love to buy sous vide cooking.
Vera Ida says
I heard about this technique but didn’t know that there is a tool also can buy. I might try this one.
Angelica says
I’ve never heard of sous vide but always looking to learn new ways of preparing meals… and buying new kitchen gadgets 😄
Rachel says
I’ve heard so many good things about Sous Vide! I need to get one ASAP!
Rachel
http://www.hello-her.com
Stephanie Stebbins says
I’ve always wanted to try this. It seems much easier with your explanation. Thank you!
Tanvi Rastogi says
This is the first time I am hearing about it and not I am intrigued. It looks quite intense though 🙂
❥ tanvii.com
Cinny says
I absolutely love my sous vide. We cook with it regularly!
Bruce Schinkel says
I’ve always been interested in what sous vide was, and this post just answered all my questions! I can’t wait to try this style of cooking.
Mosaic Designs says
I’ve heard a lot about sous vide but i didn’t buy it yet! I would love to, it seems perfect to cook fish or meat.
Lee says
My sister got really into sous vide cooking last year but I hadn’t thought about it until now. I need to try it!
may palacpac says
It’s my first time to hear of sous vide. looks interesting. the output looks a lot like steamed food. but since i’ve not tried it, i don’t really know for sure if it is the same. curious about the tool you’re using.
Rhonda Albom says
I never heard of Sous vide before, but the food never being overcooked and set and go are enough to convince me.
Kathy Kenny Ngo says
I have heard so much about this type of cooking. I am most curious though I want to try this first before I buy the apparatus.
yudithnapitupulu says
Never hear about sous, but I would love to buy this product. This product sounds great.
Yanitza Ninett says
Wow! I had never heard of this. This really looks quite amazing.
Julie Cao says
This is the first time I learned about sous vide cooking. I have no idea that it is so convenient and that we do not need to keep checking the food. Thank you for sharing the information and your experience.
Norma says
This is very informative. I had no idea about sous vide before reading this blog. I will definitely include it in my Christmas gift list.
Heidi says
Never heard of this! Sounds interesting!
Greta says
My friend has one of these and she makes the yummiest meals with these! I need one for myself!
Tweenselmom says
seems a little technical cooking skill but you made it look so easy, good job.
Elizabeth O says
I think the buzz around sous vide or precision cooking is a good one. What’s not to love about perfectly cooked foods, right?
Mae says
I always wanted one! It makes fish dishes so delicious! Getting myself one for Christmas.
Anna English says
I have been dying to try one of these!
Veronika Sykorova says
So throughout! I always wanted to learn how to cook sous vide!
Lydia says
It’s always nice to have some hands-off cooking options, that aren’t going to mess up the whole kitchen, and perfectly cooked tender meats and fish seem so attainable this way!
Chic on the Cheap
Amanda says
I’ve heard this term but never knew what it meant. This has been so interesting to learn about, I’m always intrigued with new kitchen gadgets!
Melissa says
I have heard about this kind of products before but I didn’t really understand how they work. Definitely something I would love to have at home! I think is very helpful.
Jennifer Prince says
Whoa! That is such an interesting method that I’ve never heard of before. So cool!
Carrington | Chaos and Coffee says
I’ve always wondered about their brand! It sounds like they have great products and would make great Christmas gifts! Xx.
Aarika says
This is such a helpful guide to understanding Sous Vide cooking. I always love that style but I don’t know much about it. Thanks for this helpful article!
Erin says
Sous vide cooking is the best! So flavorful. Thanks for this post!
Caitlin says
Sous vide cooking has always intimidated me but your post makes the tool and method so much less scary! I would really love to try it out now!
Ntensibe Edgar says
Hhhhmmmm….I believe you have answered just about everything I had my eyes on. Good job!