A LaVide sous vide stick next to a plate of sliced duck breast with green beans and mash

Sous vide · Equipment

Sous Vide Cookers at Home: How They Work and What to Look For

A heater, a pump and a thermostat in one stick that clips onto any pot: how a sous vide cooker works, who gets the most out of one, and what matters when you buy.

Sous videBy LAVA AustraliaPublished 24 March 2024Updated 16 October 20265 min read

The short answer

A sous vide cooker heats the water, circulates it and holds it at the set temperature, in any heat-safe pot or tub.
Power decides how fast the bath heats up; precision decides how exact the result is.
It suits busy cooks, entertaining and barbecue fans: set it, leave it, sear at the end.
A lid or insulation balls save energy and water on long cooks.

How it works

An immersion circulator, or sous vide stick, clips onto the side of a pot or container. Inside are three parts: a heating element, a small pump or propeller that keeps the water moving, and a temperature sensor with a controller. The controller switches the heat on and off to hold the water at the temperature you set, and the circulation keeps it the same in every corner of the bath.

Because the water never gets hotter than the set temperature, the food can't overcook at the edges. The sealed bag sits in the bath until the centre has caught up.

What to look for

Power

More watts heat a large bath faster. The PreserVide HydroMix and SmartPro both have 1,200W.

Helps: PreserVide HydroMix · PreserVide SmartPro

Precision

Fish at 47 °C and a steak at 54 °C are a few degrees apart; a good cooker holds the water to a fraction of a degree. LAVA gives ±0.1 °C for its LaVide LX.20.

Container

Any heat-safe pot or plastic tub deep enough for the cooker's minimum water line. A dedicated container with a lid suits long cooks.

Easy to live with

A clear display, a clamp that holds on different pots, quiet running and parts that come apart for cleaning.

Who gets the most out of one

Busy cooks Bag in, timer on, back to work: dinner waits in the bath without overcooking.
Entertaining Cook ahead for a crowd, sear at the end, serve everything at the same doneness.
Barbecue fans Cooked through sous vide, finished over fire in minutes.
Meal preppers Chicken breasts and vegetables for the week, cooked in their bags. Meal prep

White sous vide insulation balls in a mesh bag — Insulation balls float on the water and cut heat loss and evaporation by up to 90 %. Photo: LAVA.

Good habits

1
Preheat firstLet the bath reach the set temperature, then put the bags in.
2
Mind the water lineBetween the cooker's minimum and maximum marks, with the bags fully under water.
3
Cover long cooksA lid or insulation balls keep the water in on cooks of 12 hours and more.

LAVA AustraliaOfficial LAVA distributor and vacuum-packaging specialists since 2018.

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