Review on 🍲 Anova Culinary ANTC01 Sous Vide Cooker: Large 16L Capacity, Removable Lid and Rack for Perfect Cooking by Jodi Ward

Two years ago I was given an Anova sous vide heater/circulator pump for Christmas. Used at least once a week, often more often. We love evenly cooked, perfectly tender and juicy meat that comes out with minimal effort and wonderful texture. We had this success with Anova in an old 8 quart, 10" diameter, 6" deep pot. It was enough for most dishes, a few pork chops, chicken breasts, steaks, stews, but when it came to a larger roast and a recently purchased 10-inch silicone egg cooker, there wasn't room for Anova itself. I thought it would time to ascend. I trusted the Anova brand so much that I went straight to their polycarbonate case and ordered without looking for alternatives. Arrived on time last Friday. I unpacked it, washed it by hand according to the instructions, set it up (minimal instructions without explanation) and immediately noticed problems. #1 – The Anova device is loosely attached to the end of the canister so it wobbles. #2 - It takes a lot of water to fill (6 liters?) and a stainless steel shelf designed to store food underwater is useless if it's not full. #3 padding tends to flex on the sides just enough to make the rack unreliable and easy to slide down (not a big deal until the water is 130*F or higher - oops!); #4 - A cover meant to keep warm is not easy to align and install properly for the same reason flexing; #5 - Silicone valves that help seal the lid around the Anova Circulation Heater, emphasizing the problem of lid rocking and leveling; #6-Water takes over three times as long to heat to boiling temperature as the smaller pot mentioned above; #7 - two chicken breasts in individual bags hung on a wire rack with clips that held opposite sides of the container while cooking, repelling like magnets (here's the rounded corner shape that improves circulation); #8 - The silicone egg tray floated on water and could only be submerged by filling a 5 inch plastic lid with water and placing it between the bottom of the counter and the egg tray. As we expected, the results were almost perfect, but the result was very disappointing, definitely not better than my previous setup. Anova Engineers: This model appears to be based on speculation and untested theories; In the next version design a better and safer inlet slot for the circulating pump, flip the lid just behind that slot and lower the ledge holding the post at least an inch. You may also want to add a faucet with a 3 foot hose nozzle to avoid digging. Having seen some of these improved features on competing models, this version goes back in time. Let me know if you upgrade and I can give you a second chance (if you don't increase the price).