$122
Anova Precision Cooker Bluetooth + Wi-Fi
VS
ChefSteps Joule
$175

Anova Precision Cooker Bluetooth + Wi-Fi VS ChefSteps Joule

by Ashlee Clark-Thompson /

The Anova Precision Cooker and the Joule Sous Vide are immersion circulators you can use when you want to sous vide. But which is the best?

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The Good

The easy-to-use $199 Anova Precision Cooker Bluetooth + Wi-Fi cooks food that retains its moisture and keeps a steady water-bath temperature. The device is also poised to have expanded connectivity to Apple's HomeKit in the future, a promising prospect if you're interested in smart home technology.

The Bad

Other than the Wi-Fi, the Anova's latest precision cooker isn't much different than its predecessor, the $179 Anova Precision Cooker with Bluetooth. Like other sous vide devices, you still have to properly prep food in plastic bags before you place it in your water bath and sear some items at the end of your cooking time.

The Bottom Line

The Anova Wi-Fi makes it easy to sous vide from afar, thanks to a response app that the company keeps improving. This is a good product to add to your own kitchen drawer.

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Overview

The Good

The Wi-Fi-enabled $200 Joule immersion circulator has an app that will teach you a thing or two about sous vide cooking. The Joule also works with Alexa, Amazon's digital assistant, to help connect your cooking to the rest of your smart home.

The Bad

The lack of controls on the body of the Joule could be irritating if you want to just glance at the immersion circulator to get an update on its status. The integration with Alexa still has some kinks to work out.

The Bottom Line

The Joule immersion circulator is the right product for the ambitious chef who's also into smart-home technology.

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Ratings

Design

The Joule is a sleek cylinder that looks right at home next to other smart home technology and its shape makes it easy to store. The Anova has more heft because of its control screen at the top and longer body.

Usability

With the exception of a power button at the top of the Joule, all the controls are located within the app that accompanies the gadget. The Anova has a click wheel on its body that you can use to set temperature, and you can also use the app to control it. Both immersion circulators are easy to use, but the Joule's app is a bit more streamlined and polished.

Performance

Both devices excel at keeping a water bath at a steady temperature. Food we prepared as part of cooking tests for each machine came out to the anticipated doneness -- and it was tasty, too.

Features

With the Anova, you can get your food ready to sous vide at a later time rather than right away thanks to an Ice Bath feature in the app. With this setting, you can put your bagged food in an ice bath to keep it at a food-safe cold temperature, and the app will send you a notification when the water has reached 40 degrees Fahrenheit and it's time to start cooking. This provides a bit more flexibility than the Joule.

Overall

It's a really close call, but Joule just barely edges out the Anova thanks mainly to its sleek, smaller design.

Videos / Photos

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Anova WiFi Cooker-product-photos
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The sleek Joule immersion circulator makes sous vide a cinch

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