Breville Joule Sous Vide, 1100 Watts, All White (Packaging May Vary) By Innovative smart health home item for gift

★★☆☆☆ If you've done any research into sous vide devices, you know that ANOVA and ChefSteps rule the roost. Objectively, the Joule bested the competition in every respect that mattered to me: efficiency, speed, and size. It's smaller, it heats water quicker, and the minimalist style appealed to me.I saw no reason the Joule wasn't the best. Every review I read said something along the lines of "we'd give the Joule the top spot, but the lack of physical controls will be a deal-breaker for some.""Ha!" I scoffed. "Who are these fuddy-duddy luddites?" Dials and knobs are so last century! Yes, the Joule requires an app, but I always have my phone on me. No problem.I began to get a sinking sensation as soon as I unpacked the Joule. "Say Hello To Your Little Friend" smarmed the box. I was then informed that my "new kitchen BFF" was going to help make "epic edge-to-edge" steak and the "cutest lil cheesecake you ever did see."Ha! Dude, Scarface! Epic!Now I wouldn't normally mention the brotastic marketing douchebags, but the Joule's sophomoric tone doesn't stop at the box. Why? Because you have to download the "awesome app" and deal with their nonsense just to turn the damn thing on.Look, Joules, you are a machine that heats water, and keeps it at a certain temperature. We don't have to be BFFs. I'm not pals with my blender. I'm not even on speaking terms with most of my kitchen appliances.But it's worse than just having a piece of metal and plastic strike an inappropriately familiar tone with you. Joule will constantly badger you to connect to your Wi-Fi. "Uh-oh! Joule can't connect to the internet!" But why would I need to connect to the internet to heat water? Why do you so desperately want to connect to the internet? I paid $180 for a machine that heats water. Let me just heat the water, for the love of god.No, I don't have Alexa, I don't want Alexa and I do not care that I can link Alexa with this abomination.Meanwhile, the Bluetooth, being Bluetooth, usually takes 5 minutes to finally connect. Even when it does turn on, the Joule app tells me that it didn't work. But it's clearly heating the water. Five minutes later when I check the temperature the Joule app decides that it was in fact working. Or maybe not. At this point I am wondering why in the world does this damned device not have a temperature dial. Why? Why?! Why!?!?

★☆☆☆☆ Seriously, people? In this day and age, you are selling a supposedly connected product that will not connect?I'm a newb to sous vide cooking, and after cooking a couple of chicken breasts, I can tell I'm going to love it.I am not a newb to bluetooth and wifi issues, and I can tell that these are going to be unresolvable. The device will not hold the temperature I set, and the connection is very unstable. As noted, chicken breast was excellent out of the sous vide bath. But there are no controls on the device, which leaves you at the mercy of ridiculously buggy software. On a wireless interface, no less.The device appears to have done little other than circulate water. I had to babysit the temperature, frequently re-heating the bath. The app's readout indicated temps consistently 15 degrees off what my recently-calibrated instant read thermometer indicated, and as a result of these temperature variations the device's timer was completely useless. I had to guess when the food was done.One session of sous vide cooking has turned me into a believer, but I'm going to look further for a sous vide cooking device. This one is terrible.

★★★★★ I have both the Anova WIFI cooker and this Joule cooker. I love both cookers, but the apps for both leave a lot to be desired, which is the reason for the 4 stars. Comparing the two sous vide cookers, both have their advantages and disadvantages. 1 - The Joule cooker is 1100 Watts vs. the 900 Watts of the Anova. So the Joule will heat the water more quickly than the Anova. Joule wins 2 - The Joule cooker has a magnetic bottom that will hold it up in a pot that is magnetic such as a cast iron pot, and the Anova must be secured with the clamp attachment. Joule wins. 3 - The Joule cooker has a clamp that works only on thin rimmed containers, and the Anova has a clamp attachment that will accommodate thick rimmed containers. Anova wins. 4 - The Joule cooker must be controlled with the app as there are no controls on the device, and the Anova may be controlled manually for temperature and time settings on the device without the use of the app. Anova wins. 5 - The Joule cooker requires a minimum 1.5 inches of water to operate and the Anova requires 2.75 inches minimum of water. Joule wins. 6 - The Joule cooker can heat up to 10 gallons of water, and the Anova can heat up to 5.5 gallons. Joule wins. 7 - The apps for both cookers do not have much in presets that would be used for everyday meals. Most of the time, the manual modes would be used, A draw for both cookers. 8 - When setting temperature in time for both cookers, the temperature must be attained for the Joule cooker before the timer is set since the timer countdown starts as soon as it is set and before the cook temperature is reached. For the Anova cooker, the timer doesn't start until the cooking temperature is attained. In this case, it is sort of a draw as the food shouldn't be put into the water until the cook temperature is reached, The plus with the Anova is that an ice bath can be used to keep the temperature down for longer and the cook time won't start until the cook temperature is attained. In this case, the Anova wins.Whether or not the Joule or the Anova cooker is best for you depends on your uses and your availability to the apps. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I generally use the manual modes for both as the presets don't allow for many of the foods that I cook. In addition, the presets are for store bought meats and we us only pasture fed and pasture finished meats that take less cook time. As mentioned previously, both apps leave a lot to be desired, but both cookers are excellent if you do your research and use the manual modes.UPDATE 717/18I have been using this sous vide cooker for about 7 months, and tend to gravitate to the Joule more than than the Anova. The Joule is much easier and faster to clip onto a cooking container than having to install the screw on holder for the Anova. Although the Anova can be used manually without the use of a phone app, I use my cookers in a second kitchen, and use the phone apps to check on progress from the main kitchen. With the phone apps, I can easily flip back and forth between cookers. I often have the meats for more than one meal cooking at a time, and have them timed so they are finished on the day the meal is planned for as some cuts of meat can take as long as 72 hours to cook. So far I have sous vide cooked chicken (whole and cut in half), roasts (pork, beef, and bison), ribs, tuna steaks, and a few others. I have never been disappointed with the results. I have also found that it is easier to set the timer after the sous vide cooker has come to temperature than to try to get the food in at the moment the timer starts. So, the timer issue mentioned above isn't a problem for me.I have also found that one of the best features of the sous vide cooker is rewarming foods. How many times have you cooked the perfectly cooked roast, and rewarming overcooked the leftovers. This won't happen with sous vide cooking even if the leftovers are frozen. Simply set the temperature for your desired doneness, and the leftovers won't cook more than the temperature set.As an experienced cook, I have methods to cook the perfect steak and perfectly cooked fish, but have never found a method to cook tuna steaks as perfectly as when they are done with the sous vide method. By cooking them sous vide, they come out a light pink inside and so very moist - never dried out.Another thing that I really love about sous vide cooking is that foods don't get overcooked if you leave them in the cooker until the rest of your meal is ready. This isn't true with any other cooking method. If you are running late, you can leave food in the cooker to keep warm until you are ready for it without fear of overcooking it. I do love the Joule sous vide cooker for the speed that it get the water to temperature and for the consistency of temperature control.UPDATE 08/14/18:Other than the Mellow sous vide that I have, the Joule cooker has become my favorite sous vide cooker. I like the Mellow because it is small and convenient to keep handy on the counter, but the Joule is always the cooker that I use for larger portions, like roast and ribs, since I can use a larger water container. This cooker is small, but it heats up a large amount of water much faster than many cookers, and keeps the temperature extremely accurate. If the app contains the meat you are cooking, it shows pictures of what the meat will look like at each different doneness, and describes them so you can choose what you would like best. If you find one of the presets that works for you, the cooker will set the time and temperature for you. If you work and want to set up a meal before you go to work, you can add ice cubes to the water to keep the meat cool until it is ready to cook. I like the Joule app better than the Anova app because it has presets for meats, poultry, and seafood rather an recipes that do nothing for me when planning the cooking of a protein.