I am really happy to have received my Anova unit a few days ago and am very excited to start using it. I had a question though. What are the best utensils/cooking vessels to use with this sous-vide device? I currently don’t have a super large pot which I think I might need based on the min/max water markings on the unit but I tried attaching to my ‘Le Creuset’ Dutch Oven and it does manage to create a water level just under halfway between the min/max water markings. The pot I am using is similar or the same as this one:
I just wanted to check that this is a suitable pot to use with the Anova? If I were to buy an additional pot are there any tips other than it needing to be large enough to hold the Anova and food? Should I choose stainless steel, non-stick, etc? I also wanted to check that the manual is correct in that the bottom of the Anova should actually be touching the base of the pot? That kind of seemed counter-intuitive to me but maybe I am wrong?
As long as you are over minimum, you are good. I started with one pot that was a bit over minimum. I then remembered I had a pressure cooker that is pretty study. We use that, and it is maybe 3/4 of the way up. Maybe a bit more. I figure if I need a lot more space, I’ll use a cooler.
Thanks @rifter … I think there may be a kitchen supply store near my office which I believe may have the Cambro polycarbonate storage boxes which a lot of people seem to favour. I might try that out too
@AnovaRick, you are indeed fortunate to have a Le Creuset Dutch oven! It should work just fine. I’ve had great success with aluminum and stainless stockpots, stainless Dutch ovens, and the Cambro and Rubbermaid containers. My favorite is my All-Clad 8-quart Dutch oven which can be used on an induction burner to quickly get the water up to desired temperature. The surface material of the container doesn’t matter much since only water is exposed to it and the food is sealed from the water. For long cooking (days, not hours), wrap a towel around the container to help keep the heat in, and cover with foil or plastic wrap to reduce evaporation.
It doesn’t really matter as long as you can get enough water depth. It doesn’t need to sit on the bottom of the pot. The Anova 1 didn’t, and neither does this one. The food doesn’t contact the water, so the material that the pot is make of, within reason, doesn’t matter. I have a cambro, it’s nice. However, most of the time I use one of those Orange buckets from Home Depot covered with a piece of aluminum foil. The large volume of water helps stabilize the temperature when you’re cooking several pounds of meat.
I think the smartest choice is to use a cooler. I have a tall and narrow one that is great for many types of food, and a square one for roasts, etc. Very efficient, esp for long cook time requirements.
