Sous Vide Supreme: One Small Step For Cooks...

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If you read this blog then you know (and probably agree with me), that some form of sous-vide device is going to be the next microwave oven. It seems weird and scary to the general public today, but my great grandkids won't remember life before them.

"Great Grand Pa-Pa, what does overcooked mean?"

Ok, maybe a little far fetched, and, uhh, did my great grandkids grow up in Bavaria? But the first big step forward towards my utopian future will be available for pre-order on October 23rd. What is this, you ask?

Why it's the Sous Vide Supreme, of course.

Sous Vide Supreme With Rack
SousVide Supreme With Rack

Introductory pricing is going to be $399, which puts it between DIY style PID Controller like the Sous Vide Magic ($140)/Rice Cookers ($0-100) combo's and professional immersion circulators (~$1000). This price point is excellent news, because if a small company can produce them and make money at $449 MSRP, then when the Kenmore's of the world produce them, the price will drop further.

Even though this is the first sous-vide appliance really aimed at the consumer market, I think PID Controller
nerds
types will have a number of potential reasons to upgrade:

  1. Better temperature regulation. The biggest issue I have with the PID controller today compared to an immersion circulator is the ability to precisely regulate temperature. It doesn't matter too much for the home cook, but if you have a PID controller now, you probably aren't your average home cook. All of this is, of course, assuming this isn't a PID Controller glued to a rice cooker taped inside of a fancy case.
  2. Aesthetics/Ease of Setup. When guests come over and see your set up they should be thinking: "The Future Of Cooking". Instead, they are thinking: "Meth Lab". Also, the PID controller/rice cooker setup takes up a fair amount of space, and is kind of annoying to store.
  3. Built-in Rack. The lid has a rack builtin to it, making it a lot easier to keep bags that might float over time submerged under water.
  4. Reclaim your rice cooker. You can cook rice while making your 198 hour short rib!

One of the challenges I think the Sous Vide Supreme will have face is educating the consumer market.
  1. Changing The Way People Cook. Sous-vide is going to change the way people think about cooking, as well as change the way people prepare food at home. I give them a lot of credit already for the use of the term "water oven". So much more friendly than "immersion circulator" or "temperature controlled water bath". That being said, change is scary. That means we are going to see a lot of:

  2. Fears over health. Just like the microwave oven, there are going to be a ton of health concern objections. Long cooking time in plastic. Botulism. These were all questions that came up when I tried to learn about sous-vide, and I was actually excited about cooking.
  3. Additional Costs. A hidden cost for the average consumers new to sous-vide will be the vacuum sealer and bags, which adds to the cost of using the device. EAT should really figure out a way of bundling a vacuum sealer in the future.
Very promising snippet from their about page:

The Eades also consulted with world-renown chef Heston Blumenthal, who added decades of gourmet sous vide cooking expertise to the product's research and development and ensured the SousVide Supreme would meet the highest culinary standards.
Besides their website, you should also check out this blog post from the folks bringing this to market.

Either way, I am really excited to see sous-vide march forward. And I wish the EAT team the best of luck. May your product succeed (and not suck).

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