Gourmia GMC650 11 in 1 Sous Vide & Multi Cooker - Stainless Steel with LCD Display Multiple Cooking Options, Bonus Accessories & Free Recipe Book

Ok. First and foremost I purchased this unit because it offered a Sous Vide setting. My crock pot gave out months ago and I needed a new one but I also fell in love with the Sous Vide cooking method. In that respect this cooker has performed beautifully! All I do is look for more ways to Sous Vide my meals! The fact that I can brown my meats in the same cooker afterwards is a major plus. This unit takes the place of so many kitchen utensils I’ll never put it away!Now for the bad news. When I first got it and attempted to follow the directions given in both the owners Manuel and Multi Cooker Recipes guide I thought I was either stupid or received a defective machine. After much research and reading of others reviews I finally found an answer to why nothing worked as I thought it should. I could input the temperature I needed, and I could adjust the time without any problem but I couldn’t get the thing to start counting down the time no matter what I did! Long story short, after making your initial settings for time and temperature you cannot press “Start” until your water bath in Sous Vide has reached the actual temperature you want. So it is best to put water into the unit as close to that temperature as possible. The second thing I recommend is purchasing a digital thermometer to make checking the temp quick and easy. The cooker will beep when the water is at the proper temp, notifying you it’s time to press start. Unfortunately, the owners manual does not. Once this little quirk got figured out I have been thrilled with both this cooker and the results it produces. But having to go crazy trying to figure this out when it should have been part of the instructions is the reason for 4 instead of 5 stars. I should also mention that their customer service closes at 6pm Eastern time. Always minutes too early for me when I needed them.

I love this cooker! I cooked chicken breasts using the Sous Vide setting for the first time, and it came out so tender and juicy! I honestly think it is the best chicken I have ever made. I will definitely be using this a lot.The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is the instructions included with it. They provide a lot of information, but their step-by-step instructions assume a lot. The instructions for cooking with the Sous Vide setting don't even mention that you need to fill the pot up with water first. I knew that was required since I had done the research before I purchased the cooker, but some people would have no reason to know that. Also, nowhere does it explain that a tone will go off when the water bath has reached the required temperature, at which time you have to push "Start" to actually engage the timer. It took a good 40 minutes to reach this point, and I was starting to wonder if I had done something wrong.

Last year, we learned the hard way that food isn’t included in the cost of sending your kid to college, As we were lucky to find our daughter off campus housing, this year, that also meant more options in terms of ways to keep her food costs down (cooking in the dorm is not allowed, As she takes after her foodie aunt she’s up on all cooking styles, and when someone recommended us the Gourmia GMC650 we felt problem solved…and so far, it seems we’re right. It’s clearly not one of those “everything but the kitchen sink” type gadgets that promises to do everything but actually does nothing, based on her comments (and food bills) it seems to be a nicely versatile unit. I don’t understand what the big deal is about “Sous Vide”, but according to my husband who stopped by for dinner and a visit on the way back from a sales call, the Sous Vide salmon she served was the best salmon he ever had. (she wasn’t anywhere nearby when he reported this, so I guess he was serious). All I know is she used it to make my mom’s meatloaf recipe and my aunts famous (in the family) Chili recipe and the reviews were supposedly very positive, so she must enjoy using it—I know her room mates are!

I have been using this appliance for a few weeks now and like it very much. It replaces my slow cooker for most recipes, and I have tried roasting, stewing, and making soups in it. I love that I can brown things first and then add other ingredients to finish cooking. I love that I can set the temperature myself to cook at the desired rate. I have not tried to bake, make yogurt or the water bath cooking--which I still don't completely understand.I gave the appliance 4 stars instead of 5 because the instruction manual and cookbook manual are not very complete and are confusing to me. I also have noticed that the non stick coating on the removable pan insert is already scratching a bit. I now am using cooking utensils that will not scratch it further, but wish it had a thicker coating.

New believer in the Sous Vide method of cooking. If there is a downfall of this machine is that you may be finding yourself eating more red meat in your diet! Oh, this thing makes the best steak, pork chops and sausages you will ever eat. My wife actually didn't want to eat a steakhouse because she knows we can make such a better steak at home. Water temp is quick. I still haven't learned how to get this to auto start when the water reaches the correct temp. Same as many here, only have used for Sous Vide but we di lend our rice cooker out so we have to give this cooker a try. ...UPDATE: Outers are correct, coating comes off or scratches very easily, had to take off 1 star

We used the heck out of this for over two years but it suddenly went out of control and is heating even when turned off. It 'was' five star while it lasted though.Added later: Now that I come to think about it... this malfunction could have set my kitchen and entire house on fire. If the thermostat gave out, as it did, the unit should shut off. As it was the water would have eventually boiled off, the meat and plastic could have then ignited. I hope their quality control department looks into this. I would be glad to surrender this unit to them for examination.