Kitchen Gizmo Sous Vide Immersion Cooker - Cook with Precision, 800 Watt Grey Circulator Stick with Touchscreen Control Panel and Safety Feature - Bonus Recipe Book Included

Sous vide cooking is amazing and you should definitely try it if you haven't already, but this review is about the product, not the style of cooking. To sum it up, I have been quite pleased with this device. The display is large and bright, the clip seems to grip fine to the pots I've used it on so far, and it's very easy to use. The ease of use is actually one of the things I'm most happy about because I was going back and forth trying to decide between this and the Gourmia GSV140 and many people commented on how difficult and non-intuitive that one was to use. The Kitchen Gizmo, on the other hand, is so easy to use that I used it the first time without even reading the instructions. Every button flashes in sequence when it's time to press it (setting the timer, pressing the power button to start it, etc.). The only thing I had trouble figuring out is that you have to hold the power button for 3 seconds to turn it off (but unplugging it works too!). Another nice thing (for someone living in the US anyway) is that it defaults to Fahrenheit, but if you want to change it to Celsius it will retain that setting the next time you turn it on, whereas the Gourmia defaults to Celsius and you have to press two buttons simultaneously to change it every time. One thing I was concerned about when deciding between the Gourmia and this one was that this one operates at 800W and the Gourmia operates at 1200W. I was thinking I would have to wait a significant amount of time longer to get the water up to temperature. Let me tell you, that is not something you need to be concerned about. I found that if I simply fill up a pot with hot water from the faucet, the temperature is already so close to where I need it that it only takes literally about 2 minutes to get it up to the right level (138 degrees when cooking a steak, for example). I'm not sure how well it would do if starting with cold water or if using a much larger container, but for my needs (cooking for 2) this works great. There's one minor drawback I've found, which is that it doesn't beep when the water has reached the target temperature. But again, this really isn't much of a problem because it gets to temperature so fast (as long as you start with hot water from the faucet) that it will be ready by the time you finish getting your meat seasoned and vacuum sealed. And it does beep when the timer runs out by the way.

I looked into Sous Vide many years ago, but at that time it was an expensive and space-consuming thing to get into. The lure of thick, perfectly cooked steaks from edge-to-edge just wasn't strong enough for the dent in the counter space and the wallet. Fast forward to the modern kitchen, and we now have immersion heating wands like the Kitchen Gizmo that, when compined with a simple stockpot, can provide the benefits of Sous Vide at a reasonable cost of entry and takes very little space to store. I am really impressed with the quality and simplicity of the Kitchen Gizmo heater. The controls are straightforward, it does a great job of heating and circulating water, and gives a nice loud alert when it is finished with the timed cook. I have made chicken, pork, and yes, that elusive 2" thick steak that came out perfectly - once seared on a hot cast iron pan it was one of the best steaks I have ever had, something I would consider restaurant quality. And yet it was also the most simple steak I have ever made. It's practically foolproof. There are other immersion heaters on the market with more features such as bluetooth connectivity, but honestly, I can't see why I would need that - this is pretty much a "set it and forget it" style of cooking. At this price point the Kitchen Gizmo is a great buy.

Update 2019: Company sent me a brand new unit for free. Happy again. UPDATE: OCTOBER 2018. Regrettably, I had to return and change my review. About a month ago, I went to use my beloved Gizmo and noticed the bottom clear plastic piece had come off of the unit. Assuming it had somehow become dislodged (no idea how) I tried to put it back on. No luck. The part that latches onto the unit is broken. It can not be reattached. Bummer. So I emailed the company to find out if they could sell me a replacement part.... Crickets...... Then I emailed again and left a message with the Chat feature on the website..... Crickets.... Nothing. I then tried to see if the unit would work (hoped it was just a cosmetic thing). Nope. Will not work. It actually errors out. The plastic piece apparently needs to be on in order for the unit to work. I believe it has something to do with the spinner that ciruclates the water. So now I am totally PO'd. I just bought in April and loved it. I have the Chefsteps Joule and actually prefer the Kitchen Gizmo. But if the Gizmo is inoperable and the company has no solution after 4 or 5 months, I cannot recommend it or leave a rating of 5 stars. I live alone. I guess it is technically possible the cleaning woman banged it when she was cleaning but I doubt it. I am wondering if the heat of the unit caused the plastic latches to break on that bottom clear piece. Either way, I am not happy. I wanted to buy another Sous Vide "stick" but I will look elsewhere. I have friends who have asked me about the Gizmo and I have told them the same. All this could have been solved by a return email from the company. I wasn't even looking for a freebie. I was going to pay for the part. What a shame. ORIGINAL REVIEW Received this about a week ago and I have used it a half dozen times already. I am new to sous vide cooking but having a blast trying out different things. So far, I have made steaks, boneless chicken breast, eggs and pork ribs. I have been watching tons of videos to pick up tips. I would like to try a tougher cut of beef to see how that turns out but have not found anything thick enough in the supermarkets (I live in México). When I visit the US I will bring it with me to try out some flank steak or plain old chuck steak. I have made sirloin and, honestly, it was almost too tender after just over an hour. I like some bite in my meat which is why I might seek out a different cut. The eggs were great. I have been on a quest to conquer the not too runny egg and the KG has helped me achieve that. I noticed that flavors are enhanced with this type of cooking and much less seasoning is needed. I popped in some smashed garlic with my steaks and chicken and the results were incredible. Who doesn't love concentrated garlic flavor??? The KG is a solid piece of equipment that seems to be well made. I purchased a12 L container and lid that are suggested on Amazon but the lid just fits OK. It is actually a lid for the Anova. Oh well. BTW I am going to purchase another immersion cooker, the Chef Steps Joule, as I now realize I need to be able to make different things at the same time. My KG was tied up for 24 hours so no eggs for breakfast this morning!! I have not tried the Anova so I can't say that this one is better or worse. The Joule will allow me to have one cooker that is connected and one that is not. That is good enough for me. I recommend this product.

I'm a noob at sous-vide. I really wanted to try it. Boy am I glad I did. And I'm even "glader" I chose this model, because it works like a charm : It comes with an app, so it can be monitored/controlled it from a cell phone. I would say it's easier to control from the app. It's also easy to pair to wifi. It's easy to manipulate, stays in place while working, and stores well. The food (so far I've done chicken and ribs) came out delicious, very tender. Overall, a great purchase.

Arrived on time. I have a Sous Vide so I bought this one for my daughter. She was skeptical at first but after cooking chicken breasts that were moist and delicious she's sold!

Temperature adjust dial was broken turning dial would make the temperature increase/ decrease when turning it the same way and it would jump between high/ low temps impossible to set to the temperature you wanted.

This device works as it is supposed to. I have no experience with more expensive versions, but I am inclined to wonder after my experience with the Kitchen Gizmo why others are so expensive. The instructions included are not precise and it takes a bit of fiddling and trial and error to get the device to do what it is supposed to do. However, this process only took a minute or so on my first use. Part of this was made more difficult by the fact that the touch-sensitive (heat-sensitive?) switching is not sensitive enough for the fingers of my left hand. I play stringed instruments and calluses sometimes interfere with touch-sensitive screens. I have trouble with touch-pads at supermarkets sometimes, so often have to use my right hand to complete transactions, although I am left-handed. My experience with the Kitchen Gizmo was similar. The included "cookbook" is little more than a pamphlet and has not proven useful yet. There is far more useful information on the internet. Sous-vide cooking takes some getting used to and can be quite expensive in terms of equipment and time-consuming in terms of getting it right. Most of the information on the net seems to describe cooking expensive cuts of meat. I would not bother cooking a tender cut of meat sous vide. However, cheaper cuts of meat such as blade and round steak can be made quite tender while still medium-rare, juicy and flavourful with sous-vide and this device works perfectly well for that. I have also used this device in homebrewing for processes that require precisely timed and controlled temperature sequences, such as extraction of sugars from malted grain. This has been, for me, one of its most useful applications to date. So, for its price, the Kitchen Gizmo has so far delivered quite well at a much more economical price than other similar devices.

Muy buen producto,muy difícil de manejar,por otra parte es preciso.