This Precision Cooker Is the Perfect Gift for Beginner Chefs

If you're even remotely interested in cooking or culinary culture, you've probably heard of sous vide, the cooking method where food is placed in an airtight container and submerged into a water bath that is temperature regulated.

Now, that may sound super complicated but stay with me. While the name sounds intimidating, sous vide is actually pretty easy to do at home. In the past, this cooking style was exclusively used in restaurants by experienced chefs with very expensive equipment. Nowadays, sous vide is more accessible. With the right tool, anyone can make a perfectly poached egg or precisely cooked steak at home. And the right tool is the Anova Precision Cooker.

Newbie chefs will quickly get the hang of using this sous-vide wand. It features Bluetooth technology for remote temperature control and comes in a sleek, slender shape that's both aesthetically appealing and easy to store. Even better, beginner chefs won't need any fancy equipment or a huge kitchen to get started. (In fact, you can really sous vide anywhere that electricity is available.) Just plop a pot of water next to an outlet, add a glass jar or vacuum-sealed bag of food and start cooking.

In case you're thinking, "Is it really that simple?", I'll let my colleague share her experience.

"Part kitchen tool, part magic wand, part science experiment: the Anova Precision Cooker let me elevate my at-home steak game to the next level. My ribeye turned out perfectly: on the rarer side of medium and butter-basted to perfection. A sizzling-hot cast iron skillet is crucial to the process because sous vide steak may be done but also looks a little unappetizing without the sear." — Laura Susong, Social Media Editor

The secret to Anova's user-friendliness is its connected app, sleek touchscreen and convenient clamp. Young chefs with a limited stock of kitchen supplies can use the Anova since it's compatible with any pot or container large enough to hold water that covers the submerged food.

Another upside to the Anova wand is its slender size. Small-space dwellers will have no problem storing it in a drawer with other kitchen devices.

"It was easy enough for a kitchen novice and innovative enough for the more culinarily adventurous," Laura said. "I'm looking forward to cooking eggs, veggies and many, many more steaks with this fun gadget."

The bottom line is if you're looking for a thoughtful, unique gift for a young home-cook or curious foodie, it's hard to beat the Anova when it comes to price, features and size.