Anova Culinary Review
About Anova Culinary
Once you get the knack for sous vide, the technique is practically fool-proof. Delivering tender, consistently delicious results, it’s used for everything from potatoes and eggs to tri tip, tenderloin, and all that’s in-between.
Anova Culinary helps you create restaurant-worthy food at home with its signature Precision Cooker and Precision Oven. Exact and app-controlled, its appliances fit perfectly into any creative cook’s kitchen.
Known as a quality brand for sous vide cooking, Anova has been featured in popular publications like Insider, The Wall Street Journal, and Good Housekeeping. Its smart, WiFi-compatible tools have drawn a crowd of over 520K across Instagram and Facebook.
Are you ready to sous vide? We’ve got everything you need to know about the brand right here in this Anova Culinary review, including meaty details on products, feedback, and promotions, we’ll help you discover if they’re the right pick for all your steamy culinary adventures.
Overview of Anova Culinary
Translating to “under vacuum”, sous vide is a culinary technique that’s usually reserved for the pros. Thanks to the surge in home cooking shows and YouTube channels, chefs have now made the process look easier than ever — and the results are too good to miss out on.
Founded by Stephen Svajian, Jeff Wu, and Natalie Vaughn, Anova put out its first Precision Cooker in 2014, receiving so much attention that the brand was acquired by a big-time Swedish home appliance manufacturer, Electrolux AB, in 2017.
Based in San Francisco, CA, the brand bridges the gap between professional cooking results and the at-home chef, offering a sleek and contemporary line of sous vide-specific products.
There’s a lot to unpack in this Anova Culinary review, and just below, we’ll get things started with a list of the brand’s highlights to give you a sneak peek of what’s to come:
Highlights
- Good range of models and accessories
- Easy-to-use
- Anova Culinary WiFi connected
- App has tons of amazing recipes
- Control your appliance from the app
- Comes in eco-friendly packaging
- Offers biodegradable vacuum seal bags
- Partners with charities like Meals on Wheels, San Francisco Marin Food Bank, and La Cocina
- Ships internationally
- Free shipping to many countries
When landing on the brand’s site, we were swiftly introduced to its fuss-free selection. Including only two different types of major products—the Precision Oven and Precision Cooker — we began to believe that sous vide isn’t just reserved for those who don a white apron in stainless steel kitchens.
We learned how simple the process was, which meant your results rely solely on the tools you use. And in the case of this particular brand, we had an inkling that quality and performance would surely be found.
The next section of this Anova Culinary review will introduce you to a range of its cooker models, oven, and a few extra accessories that make the (what we used to think was) daunting process actually enjoyable, smooth, and flexible.
Anova Culinary Review
Professional chefs choose sous vide for a reason: there’s nothing that makes meat quite as buttery — we’re talking “cut it with a fork buttery” here folks. Used as a technique mainly for meat, the options to what you can sous vide are surprisingly endless. Check out the recipes section on their site for some inspiration whenever you run out of ideas.
Coming up next in this Anova Culinary review, you’ll find details on the brand’s best-selling products. All are designed for sous vide, but one does it a little less traditional than the others. Keep reading because you’re in for an awesome surprise.
Anova Precision Cooker Nano Review
Precision is the name of the game when it comes to cooking. There’s a fine line between perfect and overcooked, which is why Anova created the Precision Cooker to be exact.
The Precision Cooker Nano is small, weighing just over 1 lb, tucking neatly in your utensil drawer. Using Bluetooth, it connects to your smartphone and the Anova Culinary app, allowing you to stay in control of your meal even when you’re not in the room.
It pushes out 750 W of power but is water and splash resistant so as to not harm the motor inside. The smaller version of the brand’s signature appliance is definitely one you can add to your cookware collection for just $99, on sale from $129.
Anova Precision Cooker Review
Freedom. That’s what we all really want, right? The improved Precision Cooker delivers via WiFi, allowing you to roam freely without needing to be home — simply do it all from the app!
This stainless steel and sturdy plastic version got an upgrade in power too, now putting out 1000 W. Water and splash-resistant, it comes with an adjustable, detachable clamp and removable skirt, yet is still small enough to fit in your utensil drawer. Pick up this classic appliance for $139, discounted from $199.
Anova Precision Cooker Pro Review
If power is what you crave, the Precision Cooker Pro has you covered. With 1200 W of power, this skilled device can tackle large jobs but deals with single pieces just as brilliantly.
Heating up 26 gallons of water to the specific temperature you need, the Pro is made of a stainless steel and Teflon-coated aluminum mix, equipped with a touchscreen control board where water has zero chance of getting through — no matter what. Now compatible with WiFi, you can set it up for tough jobs and head out to grab that last item you forgot at the store.
And, there’s more. The Anova Culinary Precision Cooker Pro comes with a detachable clamp, removable skirt, and has reliable speaker tones. An ETL Certified Commercial Electric Cooking Appliance, you can add this baby to your kitchen for 50% off right now — for $200 (down from $399).
Anova Precision Oven Review
Sous vide… in an oven? Is that even possible? Those were our first thoughts when coming across this interesting appliance. Anova calls it a “combi oven,” which essentially means it does a whole bunch of cool stuff like steam, bake, air-fry, proof, bake, toast, roast, sous vide, and more.
The Precision Oven is exact in temperatures — what you see is what your oven will be at. You’ll be able to connect to the oven via the app and control it from there, and you can even set up Anova to control it that way.
For sous vide, the smart oven uses a food probe and wet bulb sensor to ensure your meals receive the proper treatment. You won’t need a bag; instead, steam works to tenderize meat and create perfectly-cooked veggies.
Ranging from 77-482°F, this compact, countertop oven is ready to take on your most creative meals. Equipped with 1 pan, 2 racks, and an attachable food probe, you can get it right now for $510, on sale from $600.
Anova Precision Vacuum Sealer Pro Review
The key to a great sous vide experience is the vacuum seal, considering the term literally means “under vacuum” — this part is crucial. With more power than its previous model, the Vacuum Sealer Pro features a double sealer function, the option to seal wet foods, and is even equipped with built-in bag storage and a cutter.
It gives you the option to seal containers and even wine bottles, with enough gusto to take on 100+ back-to-back vacuum seals. Along with the Precision Vacuum Sealer Pro, you’ll get a Precision Vacuum Sealer Bag Roll ready to handle whatever task you throw at them. The 5lb sealer has 7 different modes too, including:
- Vacuum & Seal
- Moist
- Dry
- Seal
- Pulse Vacuum
- External Pulse Vacuum
- Hose Attachment
Measuring 14.75” x 7” x 4.3″, start your sous vide journey off the right way. The Vacuum Sealer Pro is also on sale right now for $99, it’s usually $150.
Anova Precision Cooker Base Review
Though your Anova fits nicely inside your utensil drawer, a base allows it to either sit on your counter or in the pot of your choice without the need for a clamp. The Cooker Base fits both Precision Cooker and Precision Cooker Nano, using a counterbalance to stay upright as you sous vide.
Sliding easily around the bottom of your cooker, it gives you more freedom as to the type of containers you can use. Dishwasher safe and a sturdy 1 lb, you can get this convenient base for $17 (normally $20).
Anova Culinary App Review
Anova is a modern brand. That means its appliances wouldn’t be as ground-breaking if they didn’t hook up to your smartphone. We’re all for taking a break from devices, but in the case of cooking, having a digital reminder around isn’t so bad.
Synced via WiFi, you can literally go anywhere and keep an eye on what your Precision Cooker or Oven is doing. Need to adjust the temp? No problem, dial it down in the app.
Sous side can take a long time depending on what you’re cooking, so having a virtual control pad can really come in handy. But that’s not all the app is for.
With an entire section of recipes by renowned chef J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (author of the critically-acclaimed book The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science), you can actually select a recipe on your app and your Precision Cooker will respond. Cue the “oohs” and “ahhs.”
You’ll find recipes by food editors, celebrity chefs, and James Beard Award-winning chefs too, along with cooking guides (including videos), notifications, and the option to share your own recipes — pictures and all. A truly valuable tool, we love how seamlessly this app syncs with select Anova products.
Who Is Anova Culinary For?
Anova Culinary is about all things sous vide. If you’re new to the concept, it simply means vacuum-sealing foods in a plastic bag and heating them. The results are restaurant quality.
Never tried it before? That’s ok, its products come with walk-through guides and once you get the hang of it, the process is relatively simple: prep, seal, and heat. Anova’s precision cookers are designed for convenience, giving you the freedom to stray from your kitchen thanks to the device’s WiFi connectivity.
Whether you’re new to the world of sous vide or have been using the technique in your home kitchen for years, Anova’s devices are perfect for the home chef that’s not afraid to try new things.
Anova Culinary Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
Sous vide can seem like an intimidating process but you can be sure that the results are worth the learning curve. Anova Culinary products are designed to be used for the home chef and are as streamlined as possible.
Need some proof? That’s exactly what this section of our Anova Culinary review is for. Here, you’ll read a variety of comments and ratings about both its Precision Cookers and Precision Oven that we’ve collected. Let’s start close to home at anovaculinary.com:
- Precision Cooker Nano: 4.7/5 stars, 170 reviews
- Precision Cooker: 4.5/5 stars, 361 reviews
- Precision Cooker Pro: 4.6/5 stars, 260 reviews
- Precision Vacuum Sealer: 4.5/5 stars, 82 reviews
- Precision Cooker Stand: 4.9/5 stars, 171 reviews
About the Precision Cooker, customers said that it works like a charm and operates as claimed. The Anova Culinary reviews section contained simple comments, most just saying how much they like it. One read:
“The Anova Sous Vide device is super easy to use and cooks to perfection. Highly recommend it for any foodie’s kitchen.” This review brings up an important point, that these tools are amazing for anyone who likes to experiment with food.
For our next spot of feedback, we headed over to the Anova Culinary review section for the Precision Cooker on Amazon. The appliance was awarded a 4.5/5 star score from 5,282 shoppers and it broke down like this:
- 5 stars: 79%
- 4 stars: 9%
- 3 stars: 3%
- 2 stars: 2%
- 1 star: 5%
Just as an example of how tender the Precision Cooker can make beef, we decided to include a comment about a user who put the tool to the test with a very tough cut of chuck under-blade steak. What happened? See below:
“The result was a delicious melt in your mouth delight, no knife needed, cut it with the side of a fork dinner. Really amazing.” That’s the wonder of sous vide cooking, doing what no grill or pan could ever try to.
Our last two comments come from CNET and a blog called Sous Vide Guy. Both are popular cooking websites, so their scores mean a lot.
The Anova Culinary review on CNET awarded the Precision Oven a 7.3/10 score. About how it handled chicken, it revealed, “My results were perfect, yielding a chicken breast that was juicy and ready to eat or shred into a recipe. I used mine to make chicken pot pie.”
We’ll tell you right now, that’s very hard to do in a regular oven — the oven is generally a chicken breast’s foe. As for the Sous Vide Guy, he gave the brand an overall score of 9.6/10 with ratings in the following areas:
- Performance: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 10/10
- Design: 10/10
- Features: 9.5/10
Trying out one of the recipes on the app, Sous Vide Pork Shoulder, the results were nothing short of spectacular. Here’s what the Anova Culinary review had to say:
“It was phenomenal. We then made the best pulled pork sandwiches we ever ate. It’s worth buying the Anova circulator solely to make these sandwiches day after day. And I say that unapologetically!” We love it when we stumble upon products that a) work, and b) make a regular appearance in our lives. It sounds like the Precision Cooker does both.
In the end, the reviews for this brand are fantastic. Customers are over the moon for the Precision Cooker, and though they find the Precision Oven to have a little more of a learning curve, they believe that both are fun and effective tools for the modern and traditional chef.
Is Anova Culinary Worth It?
Is mouth-watering, buttery steak worth it? How about creative restaurant-quality meals? If you’re into food, we think Anova is a must.
Maybe we’ve watched one too many sous vide videos of the most perfect-looking filet or have seen how moist and life-changing sous vide chicken can be. Whatever it is, we always thought doing it at home was out of the picture.
It turns out that sous vide devices, and more specifically, the Precision Cooker, is actually super affordable. Loving their sustainable bag options to ditch the plastic, the brand proves that the fancy technique can be used by chefs of all levels and lifestyles, making us dream of amazing, versatile dishes, like perfectly creamy potatoes.
Of course, the number of positive reviews we came across during this Anova Culinary review doesn’t hurt our opinions either. All of these things swirl together, causing us to believe that sous vide cooking is a must-try, but more so, that this brand is too.
Anova Culinary Promotions & Discounts
As we write this Anova Culinary review, it’s the holiday season and that means deals. While we browsed the brand’s website (for article-specific reasons only, of course), we saw that it’s offering a sale of up to 50% off select items. On top of that, US (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), CA, and AUS customers get their orders shipped for free.
Where to Buy Anova Culinary
Anova has quite the reach. Sold in accessible stores like Target, Amazon, and Best Buy, you’ll also find them at Crate & Barrel and Williams-Sonoma. Want to reap the brand’s great deals? Head straight to anovaculinary.com.
FAQ
Who owns Anova Culinary?
Though the brand was founded in 2014 by Stephen Svajian, Jeff Wu, and Natalie Vaughn, the company was acquired by Electrolux AB in 2017. Not familiar with the name? Apparently, the Swedish company is the world’s 2nd largest appliance manufacturer (calculated by number of units sold), right behind Whirlpool.
Where are Anova Culinary products made?
Anova Culinary products are proudly designed in San Francisco, CA, where the brand’s headquarters are. Its products are now manufactured in China.
Does Anova Culinary ship internationally?
Yes! The brand ships all around the world and quite a few locations qualify for free delivery. See the next section of this Anova Culinary review for more info.
What is Anova Culinary’s Shipping Policy?
Since the brand is based in California, the continental US and Canadian shoppers can expect their orders to arrive in 3-6 business days — including processing time. Delivery for these locations is free, as well as for Australia, and some parts of Europe and Asia.
Once your order ships, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a tracking link to count down the days until you’re cooking up something delightful.
What is Anova Culinary’s Return Policy?
Anova has a 100-day return policy that allows you to try out their cookers and send them back for a full refund if you’re not totally happy. The only qualifications for a return are:
- You must have purchased your products in the past 100 days from the brand’s website.
- You need to have the necessary contact details (original order number or email) when you made the purchase.
If you need to make a return, start here.
And that’s it. All Precision Cookers and the Precision Oven come with a 2-year warranty. To make a warranty claim, use any of the contact methods listed below.
How to Contact Anova Culinary
Still have questions we didn’t quite get to in this Anova Culinary review? You can get in touch with the brand in a couple of ways:
- Phone: (855) 421-8282
- Email: support@anovaculinary.com
The customer service team is available from Monday to Friday, between 9 and 5 pm EST.
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