Anova Culinary Review: Is This Sous Vide Pioneer Worth the Hype?

As an avid home chef always looking to up my cooking game, I‘ve been intrigued by sous vide for years. This technique of cooking vacuum-sealed food in a precisely temperature-controlled water bath is famous for producing incredibly tender, evenly-cooked, flavorful results. But sous vide machines have typically been bulky, expensive gadgets reserved for professional chefs — until now.

Anova Culinary has made it their mission to bring sous vide into home kitchens with their innovative and accessible precision cooking devices. I decided to dive in and test out their flagship Precision Cookers and new Precision Oven to see if they live up to the hype. Spoiler alert: my family is now obsessed with sous vide.

Here‘s my in-depth Anova Culinary review covering everything you need to know about their game-changing products, mouthwatering results, and why I believe every passionate home cook needs an Anova in their kitchen.

What is Anova Culinary?

Founded in 2013, Anova Culinary is a San Francisco-based kitchen appliance company that has quickly become the leader in affordable, easy-to-use sous vide devices for home cooks. Their mission is to "bring the world together through amazing food experiences."

Prior to Anova, sous vide immersion circulators cost hundreds (or thousands) of dollars and were large, unwieldy contraptions made for professional kitchens. Anova changed the game with their compact, powerful, and wifi-connected Precision Cookers starting at only $99.

Anova‘s product lineup has grown to include several models of Precision Cookers, vacuum sealers, and accessories. In 2021, they launched the innovative Precision Oven, a countertop combi-oven that functions as a steam oven, air fryer, and sous vide machine in one. With half a million combined followers across their social media channels and glowing reviews from the likes of Serious Eats, Bon Appetit, and legions of satisfied customers, Anova has earned their reputation as the sous vide experts.

Overview of Anova Products

Anova Precision® Cookers

Anova‘s sleek immersion circulators are the heart of their product lineup. Precision Cookers heat and circulate water to a precise temperature, allowing you to cook vacuum-sealed food to the exact level of doneness you want. There are three models:

Nano Precision Cooker ($99)

The most compact and affordable model, with 750 watts of power, Bluetooth connectivity, and the ability to cook up to 5 gallons. Perfect for those new to sous vide or cooking for 1-2 people.

Precision Cooker ($139)

The mid-tier model with 1000 watts of power, adjustable clamp, and both Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity for cooking up to 12 gallons. Great for the frequent home chef.

Precision Cooker Pro ($200)

The most powerful and advanced model made for pros and fanatics, with 1200 watts, a commercial-grade design, touchscreen controls, and WiFi to easily tackle 26 gallon containers.

All models are water and splash resistant, incredibly simple to set up and control, and sync with the Anova App for remote cooking control and access to hundreds of sous vide recipes.

Anova Precision® Vacuum Sealers ($80-99)

To cook sous vide, you need to first vacuum seal food in plastic pouches to remove all the air. Anova offers two vacuum sealers optimized for sous vide:

The Precision Vacuum Sealer ($80) is a compact, easy-to-use sealer ideal for portion cooking, quick meals, and easy storage. One-touch controls and a powerful suction make it simple to get an airtight seal.

The Precision Vacuum Sealer Pro ($99) is a heavy-duty, multi-functional powerhouse with smart controls, built-in bag storage and cutter. It can handle everything from delicate foods to back-to-back sealing of large volumes. The double-sealer function ensures a secure seal and no leaks during long cooks.

Anova Precision® Oven ($600)

Anova‘s newest innovation brings the precise temperature control of sous vide to a countertop combi-oven. The Precision Oven uses steam and convection heating to cook in five different modes: sous vide, steam, convection bake, and broil/sear.

So how does it sous vide without a water bath? The oven utilizes steam, precise temperature control, and wet-bulb thermometry to mimic the effect of sous vide cooking, no bags required. The result is a mini professional oven capable of restaurant-quality cooking in a compact, easy-to-use package.

At $600, it‘s an investment, but one that can replace multiple appliances and open up a world of cooking possibilities. The Precision Oven launched in late 2021 and sold out multiple times, proving that demand for Anova‘s innovative cooking solutions is higher than ever.

Why Do Home Chefs Love Anova?

Restaurant-quality results at home

The precise temperature control of Anova‘s Precision Cookers and Oven allow you to cook foods to the perfect doneness, every time. Proteins come out incredibly tender and moist, while vegetables retain their color, flavor and nutrients. Cooking sous vide is almost foolproof – no more overcooked steak, rubbery shrimp, or mushy veggies. As Antonia G. wrote in an Anova review, "We have eaten some of the best tasting and moistest meat ever!"

Takes the guesswork and stress out of cooking

Even for kitchen novices, Anova‘s products and app make it easy to create impressive meals. Simply set the time and temperature using the device controls or phone, drop in your sealed food, and walk away while Anova does the rest. No babysitting the stove or worrying about over or undercooking. Many customers rave about how Anova has made cooking faster, easier, and more enjoyable for them.

Opens up a world of new cooking possibilities

Curious about cooking the perfect soft-poached egg? Crafting succulent, fall-off-the-bone short ribs or ribs? Whipping up healthy fruit-infused custards? Anova‘s devices and library of recipes empower home chefs to expand their cooking horizons and try new techniques or dishes they never thought possible.

Sous vide is famous as a tool for cooking proteins, but Anova‘s large community of users have discovered its versatility for cooking everything from yogurt and pickles to infused liquors and cheesecake. The only limit is your creativity.

Tech meets technique

Anova has seamlessly married cutting-edge technology with the art and science of cooking. WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity allow you to control and monitor your Precision Cooker remotely. The Anova App is a one-stop culinary command center, with 1000+ recipes, guided cooking controls, and multi-device syncing. Voice control via Alexa or Google Home makes using your Anova hands-free.

For data-driven cooking nerds, Anova‘s devices deliver unparalleled precision and repeatability. Many pro chefs and serious home cooks use Anova to experiment with recipes, logging time and temperature to achieve the exact results they want.

Hands-On With Anova: My Experience and Review

To truly put Anova to the test, I cooked with their Precision Cooker Nano and Precision Oven for a month. I prepared a variety of recipes from the Anova app and website, as well as a few of my own devising. Here‘s what I found:

Precision Cooker Nano

This mighty little sous vide machine is incredibly easy and fun to use right out of the box. I was up and cooking within minutes of unboxing thanks to the quick setup and intuitive controls.

The Nano heated water quickly and held the temperature steady throughout cooking. I tested it with several proteins (steak, chicken breast, salmon, eggs), as well as vegetables, and the results were excellent.

Steak has always intimidated me – I can never seem to get the doneness and texture quite right on the stove or grill. Following Anova‘s guide, I cooked an inexpensive top round roast for 12 hours at 135 F. It came out medium-rare from edge to edge and was insanely juicy and flavorful – the best steak I‘ve ever made by far.

Chicken breasts and salmon fillets also came out succulent and evenly cooked in a way I‘ve never been able to achieve through traditional methods. Even just cooking soft-boiled eggs was a revelation. No more guesswork or disappointment – just perfectly jammy yolks every time.

Cleanup was also a breeze. The Nano‘s detachable stainless steel skirt was easy to remove and clean. I appreciated the Nano‘s compact size, which made it simple to store.

My only gripe is I wish the Nano could sync over WiFi instead of just Bluetooth. A few times my phone lost connection when I strayed too far from the kitchen. But overall, I was very impressed with this small but mighty sous vide machine.

Anova Precision® Oven

I‘ll admit I was skeptical about the Precision Oven at first, especially with the $600 price tag. But after a month of use, I‘m a total convert. This magic little oven has completely transformed weeknight cooking for my family.

The first recipe I attempted was one of Anova‘s most popular: the "Apartment Steak." The process felt like sorcery. I seasoned a thick New York strip steak, popped it in the oven, and let the oven steam sous vide it to a perfect medium-rare 135°F. A quick post-cook sear in a ripping hot cast iron skillet, and I had a steakhouse-quality piece of beef. My steak-snob partner declared it one of the best he‘s ever had.

Next I tried Anova‘s famous Precision Oven bacon – no splattering grease, no flipping, just gently sous vide steamed strips that crisped up gorgeously under the broiler. Crispy, juicy, and hands-off.

Over the next few weeks I cooked pork tenderloin, bone-in chicken breasts, whole fish, and assorted vegetables in the oven. Every single protein I cooked in the Precision Oven sous vide mode came out juicier and more evenly cooked compared to traditional methods. It felt like I was unlocking cheat codes.

But the Precision Oven isn‘t a one-trick pony. The steam mode produced restaurant-quality vegetables, retaining color, flavor and snap. "Bake" and "Broil" modes performed as well as my standard full-size oven. I even managed to make a killer Detroit-style pizza and crispy, shattering egg rolls in this thing.

The Precision Oven is a delight to use. The color touchscreen display is intuitive and provides helpful prompts. Having the same guided cooking functionality as the Precision Cooker right on the oven display is fantastic. Synchronizing the oven with my phone took seconds.

Cooking is extremely precise and consistent thanks to features like the wet-bulb sensor, dual temperature probes, and powerful convection fans. Seeing the real-time internal temperature of food as it cooks gives such peace of mind.

Considering the Precision Oven replaced my toaster, air fryer, and countertop pizza oven, it feels like an excellent value. For a passionate home chef that loves gadgets and precision, this is an absolute gem of an appliance.

The Verdict: Is Anova Culinary Worth It?

After extensively testing Anova‘s flagship Precision Cookers and Precision Oven, my answer is a resounding yes. These products have genuinely leveled up my home cooking, allowing me to craft restaurant-caliber dishes with ease. Anova has succeeded in making the revolutionary cooking technique of sous vide accessible for home chefs of all skill levels.

I was consistently blown away by the quality of food I was able to produce with minimal time and effort – perfectly medium-rare steaks, juicy chicken breasts, crisp-tender vegetables, and more. Even for an experienced home cook like myself, Anova‘s products take so much guesswork and stress out of cooking. Set it and forget it, then come back to impressive results.

But Anova isn‘t just for novices. The amount of precision and control provided by the Precision Cookers and Oven is a ticket to experimentation and food nerdery. I had a blast playing with time and temperature to dial in my ideal doneness.

I was also very impressed with the quality of Anova‘s app and customer experience. The app makes it seamless to discover recipes, control your device, and tap into Anova‘s passionate global community of sous vide enthusiasts. Their dedication to customer service really stands out, with prompt and helpful support.

Another big selling point for me is Anova‘s commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. I love that they‘ve partnered with hunger relief organizations like Meals on Wheels and the SF-Marin Food Bank. And their new biodegradable sous vide bags help reduce plastic waste without sacrificing performance.

While their appliances are certainly an investment, I believe they provide excellent value for the quality and utility they offer. These aren‘t just novelty gadgets – they can completely change your cooking workflow and capabilities. Whether you opt for the entry-level Nano at $99 or splurge for the Precision Oven, I‘m confident you‘ll be blown away by the flavor and consistency.

In conclusion, Anova Culinary gets my wholehearted recommendation for any home chef looking to up their game and make incredible food with ease. Once you experience the magic of cooking with Anova, you‘ll wonder how you ever lived without it.