‘Agatha All Along’ Makes the Sous Vide Relevant Again

Spoilers for Agatha All Along, Episode 2

Technology and magic — the kind witches are known to wield — have historically been at odds in the world of Marvel Comics. Iron Man, for example, prefers microchips over magic, constantly tweaking his armor and implementing the latest innovations while afraid of anything science can’t explain. But at times, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has merged the two, defining magic as an advanced mode of alien science rather than anything mystical.

Understanding this background makes Episode 2 of Disney Plus’s Agatha All Along — in which a bro-y cooking tool beloved by many a suburban dad aids a coven of witches as they race against the clock to bring their makeshift cauldron to a boil — all the more satisfying, especially for committed super fans of sous vide machines like the Anova.

The pivotal scene centers on a coven of witches, led by Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), gathering in a luxurious home outfitted with a spacious and modern kitchen, the witches use a sink instead of a cauldron to mix a life-saving potion. But as they toss the ingredients of their witches’ brew into the sink, Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata) realizes this fancy sink lacks a “boil” setting.

The five women who make up the coven panic, as time ticks. They must mix their concoction before time expires spelling certain doom. Well, good thing they brought along a teenage boy. The mysterious Teen (Joe Locke) has an instant solution: a sous vide machine, and there’s no way this suburban dream house would be without a sous vide machine. Teen says his father used one all the time, dropping a rare clue about his identity.

Immersion circulators have surged in popularity over the last 10 years, much of the credit goes to J. Kenji López-Alt’s work on Serious Eats, and eventually his partnership as a spokesperson for Anova. Sous vide involves sealing an ingredient in a vacuum-sealed bag and gently heating water to enable foods — especially heat-sensitive proteins like steaks — to be cooked evenly, giving the chops a tender texture. The gadget found an audience with suburban barbecue fans, especially among bros in the Midwest where colder weather can make outdoor cooking a challenge during the winter. Using sous vide, folks can season, seal, and cook their meats for hours before searing them in a pan.

It’s fitting that the only man on screen would call out for a sous vide gadget to bring the makeshift cauldron to a boil. It’s another punchline in a show whose initial success and enduring main premise relies on the constant trying on and discarding of character archetypes in unexpected places. However, there’s a small hole in the plot: It would take several minutes for a sous vide machine to bring the water in that kitchen sink to boil. There’s no way a regular immersion circulator would save the day before the timer expires.

But at the end of the day, this is a series about witches. Maybe it’s a magical sous vide machine?