Just looking back at this thread, I wanted to comment on the Sharp microwave/convection oven. I have one of these, though I don't know if it's the same model. It has discrete temperature settings; the lowest three are 100, 150 and 275. Sometimes I wish there were a 200 setting. It has two ways to set cooking time: enter a number of minutes from 1 to 99, or set it on "slow cook," which will run for 4 hours.

It's been pretty useful, but these are the major problems:

When dehydrating, 4 hours is not enough.

It's never seemed quite hot enough. Recently, it seems to have gotten even less hot. The last thing we tried to make was a cake which was supposed to take about 45 minutes at around 350. After 2 or 3 hours at "450", it was still not done.

We had the machine repaired once because the turntable stopped working. The repairman was extremely rude and we had to have him back a couple of times because the first time he claimed there was nothing wrong with it and we just needed to clean it.

I think the problem now may be that the machine was invaded by cockroaches. They seem to be able to get anywhere inside it - even inside the digital readout. I am loath to call the repair company again because I expect it will be expensive and complicated to deal with them.

PID == proportional, integral, derivative... it's a type of automatic control device with excellent ability to hold a parameter to a particular set point. (I'm a retired Chemical Engineer... these are a big deal in Process Control.) Sous Vide depends on controlling the temperature to a particular temperature +/- 0.5 degrees. If you ever stuck a thermometer in a crock pot, you would be amazed at the wild temperature swings the contents achieve. The PID controller compensates for many more factors by monitoring and controlling to the as measured temperature instead of just setting the current to a particular, single level engineers figured out would probably achieve a particular temp in a very controlled lab.

Hmmm... maybe the PID in the crockpot isn't such a bad idea.

Link to the place that sells the temperature controller: http://www.auberins.com/

You know... I still owe myself a birthday present.

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?m...&products_id=44

I want one too!

I figured out my slow cooker wasn't going to work right so I ordered a rice cooker. I googled and found someone using this for Sous Vide: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...x_ya_oh_product

Ordered the controller too.

Now all I need is the vacuum sealer.

What's wrong with using a slow cooker?

My slow cooker wouldn't work because it doesn't turn on after it's turned off, you have to press a keypad thing. So it wouldn't work with the controller. You need a device that'll come on after being off.

I'll let you read what I read to find out why slow cooker's aren't quite as good as rice cookers.

http://auberins.com/Sous%20Vide%20a...tion%20note.pdf

Oh here, I'll just snip out the relevant portion:


The rice cooker I bought is 20 cup, so it's a big-un.

A slow cooker will need to cook the contents to a more "done" state to get them tender. By using the sous vide technique, you can cook even a tough steak to medium rare, hold it at that temp for as long as it takes to get it tender, then sear the outside for the Maillard reaction to get it brown.

I'm in luck, then, Nancy - my slow cooker just has a simple dial!

The other problem with a slow cooker is it heats from the sides and it'll take a really long time to get it up to temperature because of the ceramic pot inside. But if you don't mind waiting a couple hours for the temperature to stabilize it should be fine.

I'm still waiting for my gear to arrive. Need to buy a vacuum sealer next.

Ok! Whee! Got all my equipment today and I think I picked a really good rice maker for it, it has a hole in the top the probe can drop down. It's amazing to watch because the power cycles on/off pretty quickly as it is heating.

Anyway, I made my first custard-y eggs in it. 148 degrees for about 1 hour. Really was nice! They were soft and like custard but the yolk was slightly firm, whites were very custardy.

I just packaged up some meals. 2 pieces of steak with S&P and grill seasoning. And I have 4-5 chicken thighs sealed with olive oil, tiny cherry tomatoes, S&P, garlic, fresh marjoram and a bit of red pepper flakes, oh and red bell pepper slices. I'll probably cook them tomorrow, or at least one of types, they might require different temperatures.

So the idea is to cook these to perfection then finish in a very hot cast iron skillet for a bit of a sear.

The sealer was fun to play with too.

How bulky is the probe? Would it make it impossible to close the lid of a slow cooker?

The probe is tiny. The thing you have to be cautious of is if the wire thing the probe is connected to is so thin that a sharp lid or edge could cut it. So yes, it'll work fine with the lid on a typical slow cooker.

If you're using a slow cooker you might want to pour some hot water into it so you don't have to wait so long for it to heat up.

Oh! I just read about someone using Ball jars for sous vide. They must have a weight on them to hold them down. Or perhaps there's a way to pump out the air?

Ah neat! Foodsaver makes an attachment to seal them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSKg...feature=related

I'll post pictures of my bagged and ready to go meals. Tomorrow I'll cook some of them up!