What does /ck/ think of sous vide immersion cookers? Is it

>>9015974
They work well, but they're expensive as fuck because they're a niche product. You can easily DIY one for a fraction of the cost of buying one ready-made, just google it.

>>$100 on a highly specialized blow torch to sear meats?

A kitchen torch, even a really good one, costs under $20. And they're super useful. You can sear with it, get more even browning on a roast, make creme brulee, roast the skins off peppers, and all sorts of other things. Even if you don't sous vide a kitchen torch is very handy.

It's one of those things that gets you a little bit closer to perfection. Of course most people are fine with "good enough", but for anyone more into cooking they're a good buy. There are basically three main advantages that you get with sous vide over traditional cooking that apply to just about anything that you can cook:
1. Encasing food in plastic prevents flavor from the food from dissolving into the cooking medium (oil or water). When you boil carrots for example, you're not only making boiled carrots but also carrot-infused water. This loss of flavor is eliminated with sous vide.
2. When heat is applied to food, the volatile flavors in it will begin to evaporate. Additionally the water that evaporates from hot food will also carry away some flavor as the polar water molecules stick to the flavor molecules. The plastic barrier reduces flavor loss through evaporation, as any compounds that vaporize will condense on the inside of the plastic bag and stay on the food.
3. Heat itself will also destroy many flavor compounds, so being able to precisely control the temperature the food cooks at is helpful in preserving as much flavor as possible. You generally always want to use only enough heat and time that is needed to sufficiently cook the food. Any more will just be cooking off flavor, and possibly worsening texture.

>>9016240
Agreed about points 2 and 3, but not so much about 1.

Boiling things in water is the sign of a shitty cook. You can preserve or even add flavors to food by simply cooking them in stock, juice, court bullion, or other flavorful liquids. Sous vide is not the only way to avoid flavor loss in that regard.

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>>9015974

I have a couple friends that have them. I asked them a couple questions when they got them and they were very excited when they first got them.

After about 3 months I would see them again and ask if they had sous vide anything lately. The answer always seems to be "no, i haven't used it in about a month."

I think its sort of a hot thing at the moment, and when someone gets one and its new they use it all the time, or look for recipes to use it in, but eventually I think it goes into a drawer and doesn't come out.

I look forward to picking them up at garage sales in about 5 years for 10 bucks a piece. You can already get them for 80 bucks a piece, instead of the several hundred that they debuted at a couple years back when they were the hot new trend.

I have found that I can use a remote thermometer probe (cheaper and more modular) and a low oven (something everyone already has) to recreate a lot of sous vide dishes.

There are a lot of people around here that blew 500 bucks on a setup a couple years back, and even though they haven't used their shit in the last 6 months they will defend it with foaming mouths because they don't want to admit they got cucked the fuck out. try to take those people with a grain of salt. There are people that will show up and say I am poor, because that seems to be the going argument with the sous vide cucks these days, but its a retarded argument. people on food stamps can afford sous vide machines.
>>9015978
>They work well, but they're expensive as fuck

There are many options under 100 bucks on amazon right now. Here is one for 50 bucks:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRRGX15/ref=asc_df_B01MRRGX155016810/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B01MRRGX15&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167141308073&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15002785570710606496&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9010790&hvtargid=pla-365086308127

There are other models that sell with a vacuum sealer for under $80.

>>9016300
>but eventually I think it goes into a drawer and doesn't come out.

It's a fun toy, not something that people use several times a week, or even several times a month after the first couple months.

If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad, right?

But expect it to be like the immersion blender, or the vitamix, or your stand mixer that you promised yourself you would use to make gazpacho, healthy morning smoothies, and homemade bread with ALL THE TIME.

Owning a sous vide, is like owning a deep fryer. Go ahead and get one if you want. People are going to laugh at you and you should ignore them if that's what you want.