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Aobosi Sous Vide Cooker Review

We found this fairly run-of-the-mill to be disproportionately expensive given its mediocre performance in our evaluations
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Aobosi Sous Vide Cooker Review
Price:  $110 List
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Manufacturer:   Aobosi
By Michelle Powell and David Wise  ⋅  Feb 14, 2022
65
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Temperature - 40% 5.9
  • Circulation - 30% 8.0
  • Ease of Use - 30% 5.7

Our Verdict

Delivering a so-so set of results overall, we weren't terribly impressed with the performance of the Aobosi Sous Vide Cooker compared to the very best sous vide machines. This mediocre machine did fairly well in our circulating tests but gave a lackluster performance in some of our temperature tests and isn't incredibly user-friendly. On top of all that, it has a price tag that is on par with some of the top-tier products, making it hard for us to get excited to recommend it for your kitchen cooking lineup.
REASONS TO BUY
Proficient at maintaining temperature
Good circulation performance
REASONS TO AVOID
Relatively expensive
Took a very long time to recover in our test

Our Analysis and Test Results

Performance Comparison


aobosi sous vide cooker - the aobosi wasn't our overall favorite product but still made some...
The Aobosi wasn't our overall favorite product but still made some tasty meals.
Credit: Laura Casner

Likes


The Aobosi's most noteworthy set of results came in our circulation metric, responsible for 30% of its final score. We did a circulation test by adding a small amount of dyed water to a corner of the sous vide container with 9.5 quarts in it, then timed how long it took the pump on the Aobosi Sous Vide to achieve a consistent shade throughout the bath. It took around 26 seconds for this to occur, with the slowest models taking close to 200 seconds and the fastest only taking 15 or so.

This product took a bit longer than most to distribute the dye.
This product took a bit longer than most to distribute the dye.

The Aobosi also did decently well in our temperature accuracy and stability evaluations. We compared the accuracy between machines by setting each one to 135°F, giving it plenty of time to come up to temperature, measuring the water bath in six different locations with a precision thermometer, and then averaging the results. We repeated this process with the water bath set for 147°F and found the Aobosi Sous Vide had an average error of 0.63°F over; we found these results when set to 135°F and 0.93°F under when it was set to 147°F.

aobosi sous vide cooker - the aobosi did quite well when we compared its display to the...
The Aobosi did quite well when we compared its display to the high-end thermometer.
Credit: Laura Casner

For our stability assessment, we used a data logging temperature sensor placed in a bag to measure the temperature in the center of the water bath every minute for an hour, then awarded points based on the amount of time each sous vide showed a discrepancy from their steady-state temperature. The Aobosi Sous Vide only has an error for 8.33% of the time in our test, with an average difference of only 0.07°F.

aobosi sous vide cooker - the touch buttons are fairly responsive to taps on this product.
The touch buttons are fairly responsive to taps on this product.
Credit: Laura Casner

The interface on this model is okay but far from the most user-friendly compared to other top-ranked sous vides. It lacks a companion app, so you are limited to just the touch buttons and digital display on the device itself.

aobosi sous vide cooker - the clamp can take a bit longer to tighten on the aobosi than on...
The clamp can take a bit longer to tighten on the Aobosi than on other models.
Credit: Laura Casner

Dislikes


The Aobosi did take a decently long time to heat the water in our initial heating test. We started it with 9.5 quarts of 48°F tap water, and it took almost an hour — 57 minutes — to warm it up to 147°F. The fastest sous vides took about 20 minutes less to do this. However, in our recovery time test, we found the most disappointing results. For this test, we timed how long it took each sous vide to recover to the set temperature once cold food was added — three frozen hamburger patties, to be exact. It took 18 minutes to recover to 135°F when the top sous vides took only a minute or two. The screw action on the clamp also doesn't spin super freely, so it can be a little more cumbersome to attach than other models.

Should You Buy the Aobosi Sous Vide?


Overall, we aren't enamored with the Aobosi Sous Vide. It has plenty of flaws, and there are other options in the same price range — or an even lower — that we liked much more. While the Aobosi isn't our favorite, we appreciate its strong showing in our temperature stability and accuracy assessments. The Aobosi isn't a great value, pairing an unimpressive set of results with what we felt to be a higher price tag than it should. Overall it isn't the king of the kitchen countertop.

What Other Sous Vide Machine Should You Consider?


For a similar list price, the VPCOK Sous Vide Cooker is an excellent option with better performance for temperature over the Aobosi. It was somewhat less in our circulation tests, but overall we'd choose it over the Aobosi for the price. If your budget is higher, we like the Anova Culinary Precision Cooker Nano with better temperature test results and ease of use. Alternatively, if you love technology and the idea of incorporating your smartphone into your cooking, the Breville Joule 1100W is a gadget worthy of consideration that is easier to use and offers better temperature test performance.

Michelle Powell and David Wise