Anova vs Breville Joule Sous Vide

A Compact Classic vs a Powerful Pro

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide means “under vacuum” in French. It refers to the process of vacuum-sealing food in a bag, then cooking it to a precise temperature in a water bath. Sous vide started as a lab safety measure for sterilizing equipment used by labs and hospitals, but from there spread to the commercial food industry and then the restaurant industry. Sous vide appliances for the home kitchen made their debut in 2009; the price tag, however, made it inaccessible for many Americans.

It wasn’t until 2016 that an affordable option for sous vide cooking outside of commercial-scale kitchens debuted. The Joule Sous Vide, designed by ChefSteps, made a name for itself as a small but powerful immersion circulator for home chefs for the astonishing low price of $199. Breville acquired ChefSteps in 2019 but kept the Joule model, and the design behind it, intact; after all, why change something that doesn’t need improvement?


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Overview
The Joule Sous Vide, with all the culinary history behind it, is one of the immersion circulators we’ll review today. Its opponent is the Anova Precision Pro, a relative newcomer (is a release date of 2019 still counted as new?) that’s made waves with its industrial-grade power, runtime, and capacity. There’s already a disparity between the two in their purpose: the Joule is, and always has been, meant for smaller residential kitchens, while the Precision Pro (so called to differentiate it from another model in its line, the Precision) is marketed for commercial-scale professional chefs. With that in mind, we’ll compare how the two fare in categories that are essential to consider for every immersion circulator.

Specifications

People say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but in this case? What you see is what you get. The Joule is sized for the average home kitchen, which uses pots and containers meant for the average family. This means a diameter of 1.85”, a height of 11.0”, a width of 1.85” and a weight of 1.28 lbs– this all adds up to a compact package that you can store in a kitchen drawer. The part of the circulator you immerse in water is made of polycarbonate, with a stainless steel, magnetic bottom so you can stand it straight up in the middle of your pot, and it has a cord length of 42.0”. The magnetic bottom can be removed for cleaning.

In comparison, the Precision Pro is proportional to its purpose (excuse the alliteration). Its diameter is 2.375”, its height is 13.8”, its width is 3.0”, and its weight is 2.8 lbs. Its immersible material consists of a stainless steel skirt and cap. The rest of the circulator is made of Teflon-coated aluminum, which makes it a perfect, durable powerhouse that can withstand the demands and rigor of a chaotic industrial kitchen. It has a cord length of 45.0”, and its skirt and cap can be removed for cleaning.

Performance

When put to the test, these machines show their mettle. The lowest temperature that the Joule can run at is 68 degrees Fahrenheit, while the highest temperature is 208 degrees Fahrenheit. It boasts a temperature accuracy of 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit, and can heat up to 60 Liters of water– a capacity rivaling home immersion circulators one and a half to two times its size. The Joule’s pump speed is 6 Liters/minute, and it offers direct pump output control.

Double the size means double the performance, right? The answers might surprise you. The Anova Precision Pro’s lowest tolerated temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit, which outdoes the Joule, but it falls astonishingly short of its maximum operating temperature– 197 degrees Fahrenheit compared to the Joule’s 208. The Precision Pro pulls ahead again when it comes to temperature accuracy with a fine-tuned 0.05 degrees Celsius, and its maximum water capacity is no joke: 60 Liters is nothing to sneeze at! Its pump speed is double the Joule’s at 12 Liters/minute, and it offers the same direct pump control.

Water Levels and Spacing

All immersion circulators have a minimum water level, which requires the water in the bath to be above it, and a maximum water level, which requires the water to be below it. The precise location of these levels may greatly affect the performance of the circulator. The most important measurement, though is the spacing between the minimum and maximum levels: the bigger the spacing, the more leeway you have when it comes to monitoring water levels and using a lid for your container.

It might be due to the limited space on the device itself for labeling, but the Joule is unique amongst immersion circulators in that it does not have its minimum and maximum water levels clearly indicated. Measurements were obtained with rigorous testing and calculation by reviewers. The Joule’s minimum immersion depth is 1.5”, which is relatively shallow, but could be useful for cooking flat food items. Its maximum immersion depth is 8.0”, which leaves us with min/max spacing of 6.5”.

The Precision Pro’s immersion depths are clearly indicated and read at a minimum depth of 2.4”. The maximum depth is less than the Joule’s at 6.7”. Its min/max spacing of 4.3” falls short of the Joule’s as well– a surprising outcome for a circulator so large.

Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Pro,...
  • Perfect results every time: Never over or undercook your food again. The Anova Precision Cooker Pro circulates...
  • What to cook: Sous vide (pronounced “sue-veed”) cooking offers the perfect level of doneness for nearly...
  • Our most powerful sous vide cooker: The Anova Precision Cooker Pro was ruggedized to thrive in the most...

Last update on 2024-03-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Clamps and Connectivity

You can’t sous vide anything without a clamp to hold your circulator to the container. Joule comes with both an interchangeable clamp and a magnetic base. The magnetic base only works with cast-iron, steel, and other induction-ready pots, so unless you have a pot that meets those specifications you’re stuck using the traditional clamp method. The Precision Pro uses a screw clamp with a slide adjuster. No fancy magnetic bottoms here!

As for interface and connectivity, the Joule can be interacted with using WiFi and Bluetooth for the mobile app. There’s a few simple buttons to manually control settings on the device itself, but nothing to the level of detail the app has. The Precision Pro only uses WiFi for its app, but boasts a more detailed touchscreen display.

Breville Joule Sous Vide, Stainless Steel, CS10001
  • Smallest, sleekest sous vide tool available at just 11 inches tall and 1.3 pounds, with streamlined white body...
  • Saves space: Half the size of other sous vide machines, it's small enough to slip into a top drawer. IEEE...
  • Heats up fast: 1100 watts of power for hyper-fast water heating. System requirements: iOS 8.0 or later,...

Last update on 2024-03-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Sous Vide | Bestsellers (last 24h)

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Sous Vide | Bestsellers (last 24h)

Last update on 2024-03-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API


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