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Anova Precision Cooker started out as a Kickstarter project where it raised a total of US$1,811,321 out of their initial goal of US$100,000 from 10,508 backers. It was shipped to backers in October 2014.

The Anova Precision Cooker is available in two versions, Bluetooth and Bluetooth + Wi-Fi.

The Bluetooth version is retailing for S$219 while the Bluetooth + Wi-Fi version is retailing for S$289.

The heating power is also different between the two versions. The Bluetooth version has 800W of heating power whereas the Bluetooth + Wi-Fi has 900W.

Anova has been aggressively advertising their holiday sale on Facebook till they could not meet up with the demand and hence there are a lot of complaints on their Facebook Page regarding late shipping.

During their holiday sale which is now over, the Bluetooth version dropped from S$219 to S$189 while the Bluetooth + Wi-Fi version dropped from S$289 to S$219.

I bought the Bluetooth + Wi-Fi for S$219 and shipping to Singapore is an extra S$29. Considering that shipping is so expensive, I was expecting the best (DHL). I can’t imagine paying S$29 for SingPost shipping.

It was shipped by DHL from Hong Kong. I placed my order at night on Sunday, 31st December 2016 and I received it 4 days later on 4th January 2017!

Anova Precision Cooker does sous vide cooking. So, what is sous vide?

Sous vide, which means “under vacuum” in French, refers to the process of vacuum sealing food and putting it in a water bath. However, you don’t need to vacuum seal your food to cook sous vide. Instead, this technique is really about bringing food to a precisely controlled temperature to deliver super-juicy, flavor-packed results from edge to edge, every time.

You just have to attach Anova Precision Cooker to a pot of water, put your food in a sealable bag, and set the time and temperature. The device will heat the water to a precise temperature while circulating the water around the pot, ensuring a consistent temperature throughout.

Unboxing

Anova App
You can use the Anova Culinary app to control the device. I am not sure why there are two apps for iOS, one for the Bluetooth version and one for the Bluetooth + Wi-Fi version. Whereas for Android, there is only one app.

The app also contains recipes which display the temperature and time needed to sous vide the dish.

The pairing process of the app with the device is pretty seamless. You paired the device via Bluetooth first and then use it to set up the wi-fi.

Sadly, the device doesn’t support wi-fi on 5GHz band, so you have to connect to the 2.4GHz band instead.

Some tips Benjamin Eng gave me:

• For sealable bags, both Ziploc or Glad are fine. You can look for gallon or quart bags.
• Using sealable bags is good enough. There is no need to vacuum sealed the bag because it just adds a teeny weeny bit of effect in making the flavors infuse more into the meat. But the extra effort is not worth it.
• Try not to use alcohol for the marinades because the alcohol can’t evaporate in sous vide.
• Remember to dry the meat with a kitchen towel before searing the meat. When searing, use cast iron or stainless steel pan.
• Due to the current of the water, the sealable bag will move around. To prevent that from happening, use a binder clip to clip the sealable bag against the side of the pot.
• When cooking eggs, put the eggs in a sealable bag just in case the eggs crack and make a mess in your pot. Also, filled the bag with water so that the bag will stay sunken.

Some links he recommended, A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking, Serious Eats and Egg & Beef Temperature Comparison.

Cooking
I cooked eggs first as a test since it is the easiest to sous vide. Next, it will be Steak!