Full Steam Ahead with The Anova Precision Oven

We’re super excited to share that we’ve been working on The Anova Precision Oven, a connected, countertop steam oven. It will ship in 2020. Steam will fundamentally change the way people think about cooking. We’re proud to be driving this next wave of innovation that will offer unlimited possibilities to even the most inventive #anovafoodnerds. We've been working on the oven behind the scenes now for over a year. Our original plan was to debut the model at CES 2020 (which we will still be doing); but the Anova way has always been about authenticity, being transparent with our community, and allowing you to be a part of the journey. So, as a team, we've decided to do this the right way, and bring the community along for the ride. As we near this next stage of development, we wanted to bring you up close for the final haul. All aboard the steam team. 

History

Since our inception our mission has been to make it super simple to cook like a pro by taking pro-level tools and techniques and making them affordable and easy to use through great design and connectivity. At the outset, there were two techniques that fit this mission. The first is obviously sous vide. The second technique is steam, which is quite simply the best way to cook most things. When we launched, most sous vide devices were used exclusively in professional kitchens. They cost north of $1,000, were bulky, and were as easy to use as your universal remote. We changed all that. The Anova Precision Cooker, a user-friendly, connected, affordable sous vide device, created the sous vide category. Similarly, steam is mostly used in professional kitchens around the world. Existing steam ovens are expensive, built-in, or otherwise out-of-reach for home cooks. In 2016, we set out to solve these problems. We wanted to give the world what it needs – a modern, connected, countertop steam oven. In 2017, we were acquired by Electrolux and our work on the oven temporarily ceased. We started working on the oven last year and this year got approval to push it forward. We believe this marks a rebirth for Anova and a commitment to lead the smart kitchen into the future.

Steam is faster, better, and more precise.

Home ovens are notoriously imprecise, partially because their thermostats were designed before the sous-vide era, and partially because dry air is such a bad conductor of heat. Steam is a much better conductor of heat. Steam, combined with heating algorithms written in the age of endless computing power, can maintain temperature with levels of precision would make your old-school oven blush. Yet, we were unsatisfied with the levels of precision in crazy expensive, state-of-the-art ovens. You see, ovens have two temperatures. The temperature of the air inside the cavity and the temperature that the food experiences. The temperature of the air is referred to as the “dry bulb temperature.” The temperature that the food experiences is lower because water evaporating off the food cools it off. This temperature is called “wet bulb.” To achieve the best results, the oven needs to understand both. In addition, most current steam ovens don’t allow users to control relative humidity. As a result, well . . . they could do better. Oven manufacturers are loath to give controls to end-users, because they don’t trust you. We do. Control over wet and dry bulb temperatures and relative humidity gives you ultimate control over what you’re cooking. We can’t wait to see what you do with this power. And, you’re welcome. In addition to unparalleled levels of precision, The Anova Precision Oven has the following benefits:

• Foods can’t dry out. In sous vide cooking, foods can’t dry out because there’s nowhere for the water to go. A sealed oven full of humid air is just like a sous vide bag: foods can’t dry out because there’s nowhere for the water to go.
  
  
• Faster cooking. Dry air is a poor conductor of heat. That’s why you can reach into a 300 degree oven with your bare hand unscathed. But an oven that’s saturated with steam transfers heat much faster.
  
  
• No need to use a frighteningly hot pan to sear. We’re truly excited to be able to make something crispy without the omnipresent risk of a grease fire.

The Importance of Connectivity

Connectivity has enabled important use cases for sous vide cooks. But when you're controlling dry bulb, wet bulb, relative humidity, air circulation, multiple cooking stages, and monitoring and responding to probe temperature.... well that's a mission worthy of a Mission Control. With the Anova Precision Oven, connectivity will go beyond convenience and content. It will drive better results and unlimited possibilities.

Meet the Team

I'm really excited about the team we have working on the oven. In particular, I'm excited to be working with Scott Heimendinger and Harry Lees. Scott is the ultimate food geek. He's the real deal. I met Scott when he was running Sansaire, one of Anova's early competitors. Scott and Sansaire helped shape the market for sous vide devices. He’s spent a ton of time working with steam ovens and I’m pumped to be working together (this time on the same side) to create a new market for steam ovens.

Scott is incredibly knowledgeable and he'll be dropping his knowledge on you through a series of educational posts on steam. (Think Neil deGrasse Tyson meets Alton Brown). Harry Lees has been driving development for Anova. Harry is going to be giving the community insight into what's happening with the oven from a development perspective. I’m thrilled that the community will have direct access to someone who’s creating this revolutionary product.



Scott and Harry have been working incredibly hard on the oven and they're doing an amazing job. I think you'll love hearing from them directly. We’re incredibly excited about The Anova Precision Oven. A tool that was once available only to top professionals, will now be accessible to our #anovafoodnerds. I can’t wait to see what you do with it!

Thanks so much for your support.
Stephen Svajian Co-Founder and CEO