Sous-vide, the process of cooking food in sealed bags immersed in circulating hot water, has been a popular cooking method among restaurant chefs for the past several years. Previously, options for using the method at home have been limited to just a few rather expensive options. Recently, however, newcomers such as
Sansaire and Anova have developed great options for around $200, and now consumers have a few great choices. However, a new brand has decided to do things completely differently, and has introduced Mellow, a sous-vide machine that is controlled by a users smartphone.
As reported by
Food Republic, Mellow is an immersion circulator that is controlled by an accompanying smartphone application. The device itself has no controls, all settings are toggled through a users iOS or Android device, which connects to Mellow via WiFi. Mellow was designed by Jose Pinto Ferreira of FNV labs, with his partner, and the pair spent two years developing what they call the “world’s first smart sous-vide machine”. It’s overall design is similar to a crock pot, with a clear vessel to contain water and food, supported by a white chassis containing the heating and cooling (the machine will keep your food fresh until you’re ready to cook) elements. Users simply add their ingredients and water, and then use the Mellow smartphone app to control temperature and cooking duration. The app even features recipes to change the settings quickly depending on the food type.
The striking device has a few advantages, as well as disadvantages, over some of the less expensive options. Firstly, integration with a users smartphone is a big plus. Not only does this mean you can control the device remotely, it also means that functionality can be added down the road via software updates. Additionally, unlike some other sous-vide machines, Mellow is quite beautiful, and would probably look great left on the counter in most kitchens. The downsides are that unlike options like the
Sansaire and Anova, which you place inside a pot of water, Mellow uses an inbuilt tank. This means that instead of being limited by the size of your largest cookware (with some caveats), Mellow is limited by the size of its container. The device is also nearly $300 more than those other options, placing it firmly in the “luxury cooking item” category.
What do you think, is a smartphone controlled sous-vide machine worth the extra price, or are the other, chapter options a better value? Let us know what you think via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
Source:
Food Republic,
Image Credit (Mellow)
Tablebases.com
