The sous vide: what you need to know before buying.

There are several types of devices that will allow you to cook at low temperatures. It all depends on your goals and budget.

What you need to decide before buying:

— The volume of the water bath.
The working volume of the suvid can vary from 5 to 120 liters. Keep in mind that when cooking you will need free space between the products to circulate the water. It will be correct not to fill the container with products more than half of the water volume. The working volume depends on the power of the device, its size and the installed pump.

— Container capacity.
Some devices have a built-in container specially designed to save energy and a lid that prevents evaporation. This is very important if you cook for 18 hours or more. Another type of device, such as submersible thermostats, are universal because they can be used in any container. But in this case the energy losses are quite high.

— Constant temperature.
In low-temperature cooking, even a change in 1 S can significantly affect the final product. The best thermostats have an error of only 0.05 S.

— Size.
The availability of space in the kitchen is an important aspect that you need to pay attention to. Estimate the space that the equipment will occupy during use and storage. Temperature baths take up a lot of space, even when not in use.

• Heating power.
  This is the time it takes the equipment to warm up the water to operating temperature.

— Security.
During cooking, the water evaporates, and it is very important to ensure that the products are completely immersed in water. Some devices include lids to reduce evaporation, others use a sound signal to notify the user that the water has reached a critical level. Another equally important feature of the equipment will be the presence of a protective grid, preventing the contact of packages with a heating element or pump.

• Maintenance and cleaning
  As a rule, this is not a problem.

— Price
Ranging from 300 to 1000 $. Submersible thermostats are the most expensive.

1. rice Cookers with external regulators. (The same rule for multivarok)
   For low - temperature cooking, rice cookers with an external PID regulator determining the difference between the set and measured temperature are quite suitable. The controller minimizes the difference of the temperatures by adjusting the heater of the rice cooker. It has a temperature probe that is placed in a rice cooker filled with water, turns on and off when the temperature reaches the set value. PID controllers cost around $ 150.

This method is quite problematic, so we do not recommend using it, unless, of course, you have an extra controller. If you just want to try the method before you buy something better or you don't want to spend $ 1000, this is a good alternative.

First, you will need a large rice cooker. It is likely that much more than the one that you now have. It should fit a large amount of water and food.

Secondly, rice cookers do not provide uniform heating of the bath. In most cases, the heating element is located at the bottom and this can lead to a temperature difference.

Third, rice cookers are not equipped with a water level sensor and the controller can send signals for heating, even if the water is completely evaporated. In this case, you need to be very careful.

1. water bath with temperature controller.
   These devices are equipped with a tank with a heating element and overheat protection. Their price starts from $ 300.
   The obvious downside is that they take up a lot of space regardless of whether they are used or not. Also limited capacity makes it impossible to use them in large restaurant kitchens. They heat water much better than rice cookers, but due to the lack of pump - pump temperature difference is still available.
   As a rule, water baths have a display with a timer and temperature indicators.

2. Immersion thermostats — the next(and last) stage in the development of technology suvid. Thanks to the pump, the water moves evenly throughout the tank, ensuring uniform heating at all points. Convenient to use, they take up little storage space. Typically, submersible thermostats are protected against low water levels.
   The price for the device starts from $ 500, but good models cost about$1000.

Now on the market there were models of companies Nomiku, Anova, Sansaire in the price range of about $300. They are designed specifically for home use. They do not require large volumes, but here are useful things like control from the iPhone they have.