As a passionate advocate of the sous vide cooking technique, the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker 2.0 has revolutionized the way I prepare meals. Its precise temperature control and consistent results have elevated my cooking experience to a whole new level of culinary perfection. Pros: Precise Temperature Control: The device's ability to maintain a precise temperature throughout the cooking process ensures that my meals are consistently cooked to perfection, resulting in a delectable and mouthwatering dining experience. WiFi Connectivity: The added convenience of WiFi connectivity allows me to monitor and control the cooking process remotely, providing the flexibility to manage my meals from anywhere in the house. Versatile and Easy to Use: Its user-friendly interface and versatility make it suitable for chefs of all skill levels, guaranteeing a hassle-free cooking experience and delicious results every time. Cons: Requirement of Additional Equipment: While the device itself is exceptional, using it effectively often requires additional vacuum-sealing equipment and containers, which might add to the initial setup cost. In summary, the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker 2.0 (WiFi), 1000 Watts, is a game-changer for anyone passionate about achieving perfectly cooked meals. Despite the potential need for additional equipment, the device's precise temperature control and user-friendly features make it an essential tool for any culinary enthusiast looking to elevate their cooking game. Highly recommended for its consistency, convenience, and the superior quality of meals it produces!

***UPDATE: About 3 years later from my initial purchase and review, giving it 5 Stars now!! It still works like a champ. I do not use the wi-fi though. It kept disconnecting and honestly, I do not need to start and stop it with my phone. You literally tap the screen to set the time and temp, it is so easy! This makes THE BEST chicken, steaks, chuck roast, fajitas, etc. It turns inexpensive cuts into heaven! You do not need a vacuum sealer. I use ziplock bags and lower the food inside of the bag in the water and the water surrounding the bag helps crush the ziplock as you press the air out and seal it. Google water displacement method. You do not need to make this complicated!!! Keep it simple. Once you are done cooking, pull the bag out and submerge it in a bowl with ice water and leave it for an hour. Then you remove your meat, pat it completely dry. You do not want excess liquid to boil your meat when searing. Remove as much of the liquid from the meat as possible with a paper towel. Then, sear the outside quickly in a hot pan or under a broiler just enough to add a golden brown crust. Not too long, because the meat is already cooked. That is it! Everyone will think you are the most amazing chef. THE BEST PURCHASE!!! SOOO WORTH IT!!! This is my update after several years of use. Still a huge fan! So far so good. It does make noise the entire time it is on. I guess I thought they were all supposed to be quiet. The noise is not super loud. I took a video, but decided not to post it due to the video making the noise seem louder than it is truly is in person. It is a low humming sound. I guess it’s a good reminder that you have something cooking. You probably will not notice it from another room in the house. 4 stars only, because I thought it would be silent. Maybe it truly deserves 5 stars. I love that it is wifi! At first, I ordered a cheaper one that was not wifi as I initially thought, “who really needs that feature?” I sent it back thankfully. I LOVE THE WIFI!! I have lots of wifi products in my home already...I admit it, I am hooked on controlling things via my phone from any location! LOL Buy it. You will not regret it. Yes, it is a little more expensive, but your food will be amazing and it is fun! This one did not take very long to heat up either. I am impressed. This will cook your meat to the perfect temperature. You never have to worry again about overcooking. Click the helpful button below if you found this review helpful at all. Thx.

My first attempt using this machine was an expensive steak, which came out perfectly after a pleasantly easy cooking experience. I made this purchase knowing exactly what I wanted to achieve and only after having scoured the internet for reviews and tips. The research paid off and I’m going to share it. This unit was always in the top five of any review site I found; it was often in the top two. My reasons for selecting the Anova from the list of well-reviewed devices were: 1) Ease of use: six simple buttons and a large display that my older eyes appreciate are neatly organized unto a control panel on top of the unit that is slanted for easy access. 2) Power: I felt that 1000 watts was a nice compromise. It’s important that the unit be capable of preheating in a reasonable time and maintain a constant temperature in a larger vessel (if I want to use one). I didn’t believe that my needs (8 or less people) justified the additional expense of a more powerful unit. 3) Comments from somebody who purchased the competing, well-reviewed unit and emphatically lamented the lack of any controls at all on the device itself (i.e. that device relies on a mobile phone app for control and monitoring). As this reviewer pointed out: these units are simple water heaters; that’s all they do. There is absolutely no reason to overcomplicate, glorify or cutsey-fy that simple fact. You will do well to consider that during your evaluation. The Anova also provides an app but one has the option to use it or not. I have not yet attempted to do so, so I cannot speak for ease of connecting this unit to wifi. 4) Price: attractive considering the features, relative to the competition. Anybody who is considering sous vide needs to carefully consider what it is and what it is not. • First off, if you like your meat rare, well-done or charred, don’t waste your money. Lovers of medium-well should also consider carefully. Rare is much easier to accomplish on a grill or skillet (i.e. flash sear on each side and done). Likewise well-done or charred. Medium-well that is truly medium-well can be a bit tricky to achieve consistently and may therefore warrant this device but, in my opinion, it negates most of the benefits (e.g. tender and juicy). • It works best on small to medium-sized meats or fish. You get foods that are perfectly cooked from edge to edge and crackling with flavor every time, because they are slow cooked at a constant temperature inside a vacuum-packed bag that seals in all of the goodness. Assuming that you start off with good cuts of meat, you will end up with flavor, tenderness and juiciness that will blow you away. • You can get a really nice but relatively thin crust on steaks and crispy skin on fish/poultry by finishing with a pan sear. Tips will be shared below. • You cannot get the intense BBQ flavor or thick crusting of grilling but you can get a thinner crusting and some of that BBQ flavor by searing with a grill or blowtorch. Sous vide is probably not for you if you like your steak infused with the smokiness of a grill; you may find this method to be too bland for your liking. • You’re likely to never use this device if you are always in a hurry at mealtime. Sous vide takes time, which is the secret of its tender and flavorful results. The included app and wifi capabilities of this device may be useful to those who lack the necessary time. Set everything up before you leave home and, later in the day, use the app to activate the unit (i.e. such that the food is cooked when you get home). • Sous vide is not suitable for most vegetables. You can make it work for some, notably carrots and corn on the cob, but not for most. It's also not for large chunks of meat (e.g. roasts, hams or whole birds), which I believe do far better in an oven. There are some who claim that they have successfully cooked a roast sous vide but I prefer an oven at 250 to 275 with a good meat thermometer. Tri-tip is an exception to this rule; it does quite well with sous vide. • Everybody at the meal must like their meat cooked to the same level of doneness. I suppose that you could accommodate a guest who wants rare (i.e. briefly seared on each side) or well done (i.e. cooked to death) but anything in between would be better handled with sous vide and, unless you have more than one machine, everybody must like their meat the same way. My experiences: • I am a foodie who enjoys cooking. I want to enjoy the results of my cooking and I am willing to pay for good quality food. I like my meat medium rare to medium. I like a good crust on a steak and crispy skin on poultry or fish fillets. I got tired of the mediocre meats that I was able to purchase at the supermarket. I now patronize butchers and fishmongers, who sell high quality goods at a much higher price. • At these price points, I want to do everything in my power to maximize flavor and minimize the risk (i.e. of me screwing something up). Grilling is fun, sauté and/or baking is fine but the results are all-too-often inconsistent, especially for thick steaks and some poultry (e.g. duck): it's far too easy to get perfectly-cooked flesh and wimpy skin or crispy skin and dead flesh. • Hence my interest in sous vide. Cheap was not an objective. If I’m going to do it at all, I’m going to do it right. So, I also purchased the Anova 12L cooking container and vacuum sealer. The vacuum sealer is unnecessary if you are adept at using Ziploc bags and the displacement method of creating a vacuum; I am not, so vacuum sealer for me. The cooking container is not cheap but there are several reasons that I am happy I bought it: 1) its large but not enormous size fits perfectly inside my sink; 2) the included rack enables me to hang eight bags without impeding water circulation; 3) the cover minimizes evaporation; 4) I can see through the transparent walls from any angle and ensure that none of the bags have sunk, or have sprung a leak (especially important when cooking at higher temperatures). • Everything came well packaged and nothing was damaged. Unpacking was easy (i.e. no chainsaw required) and setup was a breeze. I am very pleased by the high quality of everything. The instructions for the sous vide unit are adequate. I did have to play around a bit with the clip, until I got the hang of it, but everything else was clear enough, even for a klutz like me. I found the controls to be very easy to use and the display is very easy to read. Temperature wavered by 0.1 or 0.2 degrees until preheating was complete but thereafter it was rock solid, possibly because I am using a covered container inside the sink, which provides some degree of insulation. It makes a noticeable hum while operating, which did not annoy me but it probably could annoy some. When the timer expires, it makes a couple of noticeable beeps. The vacuum sealer was more challenging; I had to watch some tutorials – I did mention that I’m a klutz – but this is not a review for that unit. • Most importantly, I got highly-satisfying results from the onset. I am delighted with this purchase. As long as your expectations are in alignment with the capabilities and limitations of sous vide, I am confident that you will also be delighted with this unit. Tips: 1) Do some research! I especially appreciate tips and recipes provided by Food Lab’s J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at the SeriousEats site and Helen Rennie’s tutorials at YouTube. 2) Read the instructions and follow them. The two individuals I named above will tell you everything you need to know about temperatures and timings for myriad types of food and doneness. 3) Temperature is critical; always cook at the temperature advised to achieve the level of doneness that you prefer, no matter how big your pot is or what it's made of or how many bags are inside it. Don’t worry too much about letting things cook longer than the recipe calls for. Most meats are very forgiving; up to an hour longer than recommended won’t make a noticeable difference. Fish and seafood are much less forgiving; up to about 15 minutes longer than recommended is maximum. Eggs are even less forgiving of overtime (i.e. if you want your yolks less than hard). 4) I have two sinks, so I put the container into a sink and fill it with hot water right out of the tap. Cooking occurs in the sink, covered. I believe that the cover and confined space of the sink enhance heat retention. After I’m done, water is simply dumped into the sink. 5) Don’t forget to add your favorite aromatics to into your bags. Do NOT add fat of any kind to meats except fish or seafood (see below). 6) I prepare steak with a generous sprinkling of sea or Himalayan salt on both sides and letting it sit for about 30 minutes before adding the aromatics and sealing the bag. 7) To cook more than one piece of fish in the same bag, it’s advisable to add some oil to the bag to prevent sticking. Vacuum sealers and liquids do not get along, so: a) use a Ziploc bag and water displacement; b) brush the fish with a light film of oil; c) place thin pats of butter inside the bag. 8) A pound of raw, peeled and deveined shrimp should be tossed in 1/3 tsp baking soda (NOT powder) for about 30 minutes before cooking to enhance texture. I like to cook it together with butter, tarragon and several cloves of crushed garlic for about 30 minutes at 132 degrees. 9) The biggest trick to sous vide is the searing process after the cooking is done. There are a million different opinions about how to best sear. You will find some great advice at the websites mentioned above, so I’m going to focus on what I like. I do not much care for the bitterness added to the flavor by placing non-clarified butter in the pan and/or using a blowtorch. I do, however, like a dark brown crust on my steaks and crispy skin on my duck / salmon. Searing immediately after removal from the bag did not achieve optimal results, no matter how much paper towel I applied. There is too much moisture bleeding and too little time to achieve the crust I sought without adversely affecting the perfect doneness. So, here’s what I do. 9a. Meat is removed from the bag and triple wrapped in paper towel. Steak is placed in refrigerator for 10 minutes, rewrapped in new paper towel and put back in the refrigerator for 5 minutes longer. Duck is also wrapped but left in the refrigerator longer, until it has completely cooled, which enables a longer sear. 9b. After removing the meat from the refrigerator and unwrapping it, I preheat my aluminum pan to medium high heat. I prefer aluminum because it preheats more evenly and reacts more quickly to heat changes than cast iron does (e.g. when my stovetop is too hot and I need to turn down the heat pronto). I use ghee in my pan because I like the rich flavor that it adds but any oil with a high smoke point will work too. Since ghee has moisture and milk fats removed, it doesn’t burn as butter does. 9c. The pan is ready when ghee just starts to smoke (at about 450 degrees). Oils with higher smoke points will be shimmering but not smoking. Immediately add the meat (i.e. don’t permit the fat to smoke more than seconds). For duck: place it skin side down for about 7 minutes, jiggling and pressing it with a spatula every once in a while. Start peeking for doneness after about 3 minutes and every 30 seconds thereafter, permitting the skin to get as brown as you like (up to 10 minutes). Finally, flip the piece and cook it for 30 seconds more. For other meats: sear on one side for a minute, flip, and cook for a minute more. If the upside is not crusty enough, flip again and continue to flip every 30 seconds until both sides are satisfyingly crusty. It’s a myth that you ruin the crust by flipping. For all meats, you may want to pour the cooking juices over the meat (not the skin) to add flavor and warmth.

First time using a Sous Vide method of cooking, BUT it works great!! I have cooked hamburger, steak, pork loins and it was cooked perfectly each time. I also got the 12qt Enive container to cook in. I can cook an entire weeks worth of meat for suppers in one session. I’ve never had meats perfectly done to the desired temp until I tried the Sous Vide. This Anova unit works great and easy to use.

8/23 Update: I did go ahead and purchase Anova 3.0. -It does heat a bit quicker, but seriously, for the amount of hours I typically cook I'm not sure that is of great importance. -My biggest issue is that the temperature is not monitored when turned off. The display remains at the Programmed temp. This makes me uneasy. Previous unit would always display current temp as water cooled. I was more comfortable always seeing current water temp. Not that I make a habit out of leaving items in once shut off, but if it shuts off, you don't know what the actual temp is that the water has cooled down to, without thermometer. Eliminating live monitoring rather loses my trust of unit accurately monitoring temp. Temp probe came loose and unit failed at 3.5 years. Treated with kid gloves with wiping down to clean. Never could get wi-fi to work. Would prefer same unit without actually. Never had issues with temp or it's ability to maintain consistency with high or long cooks. Was very pleased with its performance, but with maybe an average of 2 uses per month, and the cost, I am disappointed with its short life. Deciding on replacement. I would try the Joule but, app only, I think would bug me. Anova 3.0 only seems to have upgrade to wi-fi (don't really care), and the dual display(a bit nicer but no biggy over waiting a few seconds for display change). There appears to be no core changes to components, and now I know the temp probe is an issue.

When I had to put my smoker away for the winter, going back to fried or broiled meat seemed impossible, until I was told about this little device. It is so easy to use and produces such PERFECT results, it almost feels like cheating. I can take a steak out of the freezer (I buy mine vacuumed seal), put it in the sous vide bath frozen solid, ignore it for a couple of hours, and have a perfectly cooked, juicy, tender steak. No mess. No pan to scrub. No added fats. Mmmmwah! I recommend investing in a vacuum sealer. It isn’t entirely necessary, but works best.

I really like this thing. It is simple, and gets the job done. I had been using a Joule sous vide stick for a few years and that thing was too smart by half. You needed an app to set it, and app had constant troubles connecting and staying connected. This is great - just like my oven, you set the temp on the display, hit go and that is it. Once you sous vide for a while you don’t need endless advice or multiple screens just to get the thing going. Mine has the WiFi, it I haven’t set it up. Can’t imagine why I would need it. Highly recommend this product.

Okay I am not the best cook but this makes me feel like a great cook haha. So far I have made steak, chicken, roast and a few others and it makes the meat so tender. What really sold me on getting a sous vide is being able to put it in earlier and then being able to get it out when I'm ready to sear it. My husband gets home at different times and it makes it easier to have dinner ready at the right time. My other favorite way to use the sous vide is to defrost ground beef at a safe temperature. It does it so fast. I've had it for a while and it still works great. Heats up fast and retains the heat well. I spent extra to get the smart kind to hook up to my phone and I only used that a few times in the beginning. Other than that it really isn't worth the extra money in my opinion.

The product arrived on time. This was my first adventure into Sous Vide cooking. I was sent the Precision Cooker and not the Precision Cooker 2.0. which I was disappointed since that's what I had ordered. The Precision Cooker temperature control is within .2 degrees which I wasn't expecting. I was hoping to be within 1 - 2 degrees and was REALLY happy when it was within .2 degrees. The app works fine and controls the cooker very well. When I setup the cooker through the app I made sure that I was on the 2.5 GHZ network since it won't SETUP in the app with the 5 GHZ network. I put HOT water into the tub I was using for the Sous Vide - this cut the time for the water to come up to temperature - saw this on a YouTube video.

TLDR – Best available, but the app is terrible and it makes a ‘skeeter sound. I chose this model after two solid weeks of research. I read everything I could find, watched all the videos, and even made a comparative spread sheet. Only two other units came close. The primary reasons I chose this over the others was power (1000W), circulating ability (8 Liters/min), and my need for controls on the unit itself (one of the contenders had none). SETUP - I downloaded the app, plugged in my Anova, followed app’s directions, and created a user profile. A four digit code was generated on my Anova cooker’s digital readout, and I punched that into the app when it asked. Done. There is no Bluetooth with this, just WiFi. PREHEAT - I clamped it to the side of my thick 6 quart insta-p0t with room to spare. This resulted in the Anova cooker being about 5mm off the bottom of the actual inner pot, so no vibration from touching. I was a little stunned by how quickly it heated up the water to 130°F. Yes, I used hot tap water, but it took less than 4 minutes to completely up to temp from about 111°. NOISE - Many reviewers reported that this was much noisier than others, including it’s predecessor, with a mechanical whine. I would say it’s exactly the same noise as a mosquito strafing your head. You can hear it across the room in a quiet house, but if there’s any other noise, you won’t notice it. At least it doesn’t bite. CIRCULATION - You can see the water roiling in the pot. I have no doubts about the 8 liter/min claim. CONNECTIVITY – The app can set the temp and start the cooker, but it can’t turn it off. At least in my case, I always have to turn it off manually. Attempting to stop it via the app always results in an error. When the time is up, the cooker lets me know with a nice alarm tone. But NO alarm or notification on my phone (yes I allowed all notifications). App no worky. CLEANING - It’s just circulating clean water, so no cleaning is necessary. But unlike the top contender, you can remove the outer sleeve if you do need to clean it if maybe a bag popped open or something. READOUT and TOUCHSCREEN – Very nice. Three buttons with intuitive icons for Current Temp, Target Temp, and Time, as well as Start/Stop and Increase/Reduce. Touching any of these allows manual adjustment of that parameter. Once set, the digital readout alternates between current temp and remaining time. MEASUREMENTS - Here are some measurements I couldn’t find anywhere. Diameter of the cooker’s outer metal tube is 56mm or 2.21” (2 ¼” would be 57mm) Diameter of the tube, including the tiny lip to stop the clamp, is 57.49mm Min and Max water level, from the bottom of the cooker is 2.5” and 6.0”, so you have about 3.5” of leeway for water depth. Top of control head flares to maximum of 71mm (2.77”) by 79mm (3.12”) Maximum clamp opening is 30mm or 1.16”, but you can easily remove the thumbscrew and get 35mm or 1.4”. The clamp is made entirely of plastic. COOLER COOKER - The internet is teeming with sous vide ‘cooler-cooker’ instructional videos, but if you’re planning one, here’s something to be aware of. The discontinued model had a 3/16” lip all the way around the tube, but this new model is the same diameter from the bottom of the stainless steel outer tube, to the plastic base near the top where the cord exits. There is only one tiny 1” wide by 1.5mm lip that sticks out to stop the clamp from sliding all the way up. Point being, if you have plans to make a cooker vessel out of a cooler, you can’t just drill that 2 3/8” hole in the top to keep it from slipping in. You’ll have to use something with a tighter tolerance, like a pvc fitting, unless you’re willing to let your cooker to go in all the way to the cord. NOTES - * App does not not automatically turn off unit, or alert you that the food is done. * App can not manually turn off unit, although you can set temp and start it. * Makes a buzzing mosquito sound during operation. * You have to sign up for an account to connect to the cooker app. * No bluetooth, only WiFi. * You can only run one unit at a time through the app (at this time). * No ‘delay’ timer. Starting from the app (or manually), just starts the timer and the cooking. * You should be able to start, stop, check temp and remaining time from your phone, but my app only works for starting and checking remaining time. * Fortunately, you can use and control the cooker without using the app at all. * Checked Anova temp vs my Thermap&n (high end thermocouple) difference was less than 0.1°F so it’s right on the money, temp-wise. So the app stinks, and the mosquito noise can be annoying to some people. After using it for a week, I still think it’s the best out there right now… but hopefully they get the app fixed and updated soon (current ver 3.2.14). Hope some of this helps.