The first WiFi-connected immersion circulator makes sous vide meals easier

I stood in front of a nondescript iron gate in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District and rang the doorbell. The scent of bacon-wrapped hot dogs and grilled corn on the cob from sidewalk food carts filled the air, seducing my senses as I waited patiently for someone to let me through. Soon, the door behind the gate opened, and Abe Fetterman, Nomiku’s co-founder, escorted me in. We walked down a narrow hallway and up a skinny flight of stairs, making pleasantries and exchanging small talk to relieve the awkwardness. When I emerged from the steps, I was welcomed to the office by Nomiku’s other co-founder, Lisa Q. Fetterman. There, in a small modest office surrounded by boxes, laptops and wires, she introduced me to one of the most recognized food science writers in the country: acclaimed author of On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee.

Of course, I was invited here not just to meet McGee, who happens to be one of Nomiku’s advisors, but also to learn all about the all-new Nomiku, a brand new immersion circulator that not only promises to make perfectly cooked food via sous vide, but also to let you do so wirelessly via an app. That’s right, the new Nomiku is the first and only immersion circulator in the world to have built-in WiFi. Not only can you use the app to set and monitor the temperature of the water, but you can also view recipes from the app right on the new Nomiku’s 2.4-inch IPS LCD display. What sort of recipes? Well, recipes such as sous vide sticky ribs from Top Chef Master Chris Cosentino and sous vide halibut from Hugh Acheson, another well-known name in culinary circles. Oh yeah, and if you’re concerned about the old Nomiku being made in China, this new WiFi-enabled Nomiku will be manufactured right here in the Bay Area.

But let’s back up a little here for a bit of history. We first saw the original Nomiku a couple years ago at a HAXLR8R event in San Francisco. The curiously-shaped tubular device was the first immersion circulator we saw that we could actually envision ourselves using in our own home. All you needed to do was to clip it to a pot you already own, fill it up with water, and you could cook via sous vide — a method of cooking vacuum-sealed food in a water bath at a precise temperature — just like the professionals do on Iron Chef. “Circulators are wonderful,” McGee tells us. “They provide really precise temperatures … they’re like slow cookers, only better and more versatile.”

Most immersion circulators at the time cost anywhere around $500 to $2,000, so at $299, the original Nomiku was a bargain. Since the initial Kickstarter success of the original Nomiku, there’ve been a slew of copy cats, like the Anova and the Sansaire, which Lisa interpreted as a flattering sign that they were onto something special. Besides, because the Nomiku was so much smaller than the competition, it gained fans amongst professionals such as Cosentino and other restauranteurs, who valued its smaller footprint and portable form factor.

After spending months traveling back and forth to Shenzen, China and learning how to create one of the original Nomiku circulators from scratch — they actually lived right next to their factory during the process — the Fettermans grew more confident that they could build a version of the circulator without having to make it in China. Abe tells us that making it in China wasn’t terribly ideal, as you typically had to order a huge production of everything. “If we wanted to change something, it was really difficult,” he says. “In the end we just wanted to do everything ourselves.”

They initially wanted to get the new version of the Nomikus manufactured by Factorli, an initiative founded by Jen McCabe to build hardware for startups in the US. Unfortunately at the very last minute — we’re talking late yesterday afternoon — they found that Factorli had closed its doors. The new gameplan? To rent a warehouse in the Bay Area and plug away there instead. It’s an audacious idea, but it’s one that Lisa is extremely gung-ho about. “We’re so excited to manufacture in the Bay Area,” she wrote to us in an email. “Let’s bring it back to the Bay!!”

As for the design of the new Nomiku, it’s actually one that they came up with way back in 2012, during the launch of the original model. Why didn’t they just make it then? For a few reasons: they weren’t entirely confident of the product just yet, they needed more testing, and they simply weren’t sure if a front-clip design would fly. Now, of course, they think the front-clip design is much better. “You no longer have to reach over a pot of hot water to change the temperature,” says Lisa.

Indeed, the new Nomiku’s design is better than the old in many ways. Not only is it clipped on the front for easier access, it has that aforementioned much wider 2.4-inch touch-screen LCD, a rotating outer dial for manual temperature control, a removable bottom for easy cleaning, a minimum water level of only 1.5 inches (it was previously 3.5 inches), an improved temperature stability of 0.01 degree Celsius and a much more powerful 1200W PTC heater which Lisa says will ensure faster heating and the ability to cook more food at the same time. And that WiFi connectivity we mentioned earlier? It’s actually powered by Spark Core, an open-source WiFi effort that symbolizes the Nomiku’s roots in hardware hacking (the Nomiku’s predecessor was a DIY sous-vide kit called The Ember).

Unfortunately, however, I wasn’t able to see the new Nomiku in action, as it’s still in prototype stage. And therein lies the catch: Just like the original Nomiku, the new one needs some crowdfunding love before it can take off. It launched a 30-day Kickstarter campaign just a few hours ago, with a goal of $200,000 to make it all happen. The reasoning for this is to gauge whether or not there really is a big enough demand before the company commits to making it.

McGee happened to be an early fan of the original Nomiku, so he immediately agreed to come on board as an advisor several weeks ago when the team asked. Cosentino is another advisor of the new Nomiku. One of the reasons the Fettermans brought McGee on board as an advisor was to gain additional insight as to what they could do with the new circulator. “The wired aspect of it, the fact that it connects to the internet … makes it more than just a simple appliance,” says McGee. “It opens up a whole other venue of possibilities.”

One of those possibilities, as we mentioned, is that of a connected app that’ll control the temperature remotely. Called Tender, the app also lets you scour recipes from professional chefs as well as those posted by the Nomiku community. You’re encouraged to come up with your own recipe by taking pictures and posting your instructions to the app as well. Similar to Tumblr, you can repost recipes from others and augment them with your own comments. Another advantage of having the app, Lisa says, is that you can get tips and tricks from the community. Want to know if a 64 degree egg is better than a 63 degree one? You can dig in and find out.

And, who knows, perhaps some day you can send a message to Harold McGee himself and have a specific cooking question answered. Since I was right there in front of him, I asked if it was better to use a cast iron pan or a blowtorch to sear sous vided meats. His answer was that either would work, but he prefers to use a pan for meats he’s cooled down in the refrigerator so that the meat could have some time in the pan to build flavor without overcooking. The blowtorch, on the other hand, is best for a quick browning when you want to enjoy it there and then. Oh, and another hot tip? In order to quickly heat up a cast iron pan, simply put a shiny side of aluminum foil on its surface. It should get up to the desired temperature in just a minute or two.

“Conventional cooking can give good results, of course,” says McGee. “It’s just really difficult and you have to babysit it … Immersion circulators like the Nomiku is really kind of a no-brainer. It’s the only appliance you can really trust. It’s the best possible combination of a stove and an oven.”

If all of this makes you feel like getting a sous vide machine of your very own, there’s good news: the new Nomiku is more affordable than the original. The final version is set to retail for $249, but if you get in on the Kickstarter early enough, you could get one for as low as $129. And that, as McGee tells us, is cheaper than both a toaster oven and a cooktop.

Filed under: Household

Comments

Source: Kickstarter

.CPlase_panel display:none;

Sky Sports to go free for the first day of the Premier League

As if launching two new channels wasn’t enough, Sky Sports has another piece of programming-related news to share today. The company has shared that it’s going to open all seven of its Sky Sports channels to Sky, Virgin Media and Talk Talk TV customers this Saturday (August 16th), allowing a potential 15 million viewers to to watch one of the first matches of the 2014/15 Premiership season. Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace will be just one of the key contests shown on Sky Sports’ channels on that day, with England’s 5th Test against India, Australia vs. New Zealand in the rugby, live PGA Golf and dutch football coverage also in the lineup. Once you’ve got a taste, Sky hopes you’ll sign up to its Sports package, subscribe to its free two-year broadband deal and deliver a fresh blow to BT in the process.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments

Source: Sky Sports

.CPlase_panel display:none;

Verizon’s first phones with LTE-only calling will arrive in 2016

Verizon has largely finished rolling out its LTE network, but that only raises a new question: when is it going to phase out its long-running CDMA phone service? As it turns out, the transition may start sooner than you think. The carrier’s Fran Shammo has revealed at an investor conference that the first phones to rely solely on LTE for calls will be available in the first half of 2016, or just under two years after the launch of LTE voice service in late 2014. He didn’t say when Big Red would turn the lights out on CDMA, but it’s safe to presume that this won’t happen until the majority of devices in use can handle the newer technology. In short, you shouldn’t worry about buying a Verizon phone today — just don’t expect to keep it for several years.

[Image credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon

Comments

.CPlase_panel display:none;