Was a novice when I received this tool for cooking. This is so new to me and I had to get books on how to use it. Overall the food I have made is great. Had to get use to the idea the steaks are not on a grill and the time it takes, as you have to not wait for the last minute to prepare your meal. Ordered a special container with a rack to use with this tool and I am glad, as the first time I used this I did in a dutch oven, and since I am a beginner, it was a little more work than using the special container I now have. Looking forward to trying more recopies, as everything I read about cooking this way is positive. A great bonus is that it is kind of prep and leave it to do its thing.

Amazon Vine Customer Review of Free ProductI'm going to give this product two evaluations—one for how well it performs as a sous vide cooker, and another for the overall sous vide cooking experience, which might be important if, like me, you’ve never used this method before. (Though ironically, I used to "sous vide" leftovers—mainly for reheating or thawing if frozen—by sealing them in a Ziploc and tossing them in a pot of hot tap water.)As for the product itself:Although I haven’t tried others, this one seems to perform exactly as described and does what a sous vide cooker is supposed to do based on my research. Once you figure it out, it's easy to use, and it clips to any deep pot. The timer and temperature controls are simple, visible, and intuitive.At first, I assumed I’d need to buy a matching pot and special bags, but no—any reasonably deep pot that can handle hot water will work, and most Ziploc or vacuum seal bags are food-safe at the temperatures involved.A few quirks I ran into:1. Finding a deep enough pot was tricky. The only one I had that worked was my pressure cooker pot, which did the job just fine.2. The clamp is plastic with a loose rubber head. On my pressure cooker pot, the clamp came out right at the top where the rim is, so the rubber piece kept slipping off. This wasn’t a huge problem, though, since the clamp only needs to keep the unit upright.3. I cooked two steaks in vacuum zipper bags, and they kept gravitating toward the heating tube due to the circulation. This can restrict proper water flow, so I had to clamp the bags to the pot to keep them away from the heating element. (See my photos for clarity.)I’d rate the product itself in the range of 4.5+ stars. It performs well for what it is.Now, about sous vide cooking in general:This takes more time and patience than I expected. The instructions said to cook steak at 134°F for one hour and showed a photo of a perfectly cooked steak, which appeared to be medium. That did not match my experience. After an hour, the steak was still pretty red and mushy—maybe medium-rare at best, unlike the picture, which showed a perfect medium.After some online research, I learned medium requires closer to 140°F for 1.5 to 2 hours. I upped the temp and added another 30 minutes, which helped a lot.In the end, it did a very nice job of cooking the steak, and as advertised, I have to admit these were the juiciest steaks I've ever had since not a single drop was lost to the cooking process.But the whole process took me over 2 hours between setting it up, preparing and bagging the steaks, cooking, and then pan-frying (and this isn't factoring in cleanup). That’s a lot compared to around 30 minutes just quickly throwing it on the outdoor pushbutton-ignite, ready-to-go grill. That said, this may be much easier and more appropriate for things like vegetables and other foods that don’t need a second cooking step of pan-frying. Will try that next round.The good part is there’s not much cleanup after cooking—everything stays sealed in the zipper bag, so you just throw it away and your water stays clean. But for steaks, since you still have to finish them in a pan with oil, cleanup isn’t totally avoided.Overall, 5 stars for the product for being a quality sous vide cooker, in spite of me questioning if sous vide cooking in general is necessarily worth the time and effort.

This was super easy to use right out of the box. I used a really big pot though and it had a tiny bit of trouble keeping the desired temperature up so I am going to buy a Sous Vide container to use with it. Any sous vide machine would've done the same with the type of pot I was using. It is a little bigger than other models I've seen but that didn't bother me. The controls are easy to use and understand.

A couple of years ago I was visiting my sister, and she was using a sous vide to prepare meat for a meal. I had never heard of it, but it seemed interesting. But not interesting enough to rush out and buy one.Fast forward a year or two: When I had the opportunity to receive this Chefess Sous Vide machine to review, I jumped at the opportunity. I had a brisket in the fridge, waiting to be cooked, so I was able to try it out.Oh.My.Goodness! The unit just finished, and I sliced into the meat - it is nothing short of amazing. So tender and flavorful! Cooked to perfection. Granted, it took time (48 hours at 155F), but the results are worth it.The good:Easy to assembleIntuitive to use (once I read the initial instructions)Temperature seems to be consistent - I inserted a thermometer into the water, and the temperature was very close to the setting on the sous vide heater.Silent - I barely knew that it was running in the backgroundAbility to choose either Metric or Imperial settingsThe downside: I wish the end-of-cycle notification was louder -- I was in my office, down a short hallway from the kitchen, and didn't hear it at all.I will certainly be scouring the internet for more ideas for using my new kitchen toy!

The chefess sous vide cooker has been an absolute game-changer for my kitchen. The temperature control is super precise, and I love how the digital display is clear and easy to read. The 3-mode LED makes monitoring the cooking process simple even from across the room. It heats up quickly and maintains the exact temperature without constant adjustments. I’ve made steaks, chicken, and even veggies with it — all perfectly cooked and incredibly tender. It feels well-built and user-friendly, making gourmet-quality meals accessible for anyone. Highly recommend it if you want restaurant-quality results at home!

This was easy to use. I was concerned about learning a new cooking method, but shouldn't have been. I ordered it mostly for steaks, as they are my nemesis. I never seem to be able to get them just right. Until now. Our steaks came out so amazing and so perfect! And these were cheap steaks!! I didn't want to chance overcooking them by browning in a frying pan, so used my little kitchen torch to make them look as good as they tasted. So tender and yummy! This little device is going to save me a small fortune on steaks, as I no longer have to buy the pricey cuts to get them to turn out halfway decent. Cheap cuts and this device made PERFECT steaks!