Basically an electric pressure cooker, right?

I never heard of it before until you. FMB, mentioned in earlier in other cooking threads. So I looked it up.

What's so great about it? Or should I ask, what are the benefits of cooking "sous vide" instead of fire.

Read the thread, I've posted all about benefits. The most notable is extremely fine temperature control. Anything over 130 will pasteurize anything given enough time, which means you can cook chicken at below 165 or pork to medium rare, if you like. It also means the entire protein gets to the exact temperature you want, minimizing the band of overcooked meat on the outside from the sear.

(And I created this thread way back when I bought a SVS.)

Son of a gun, you did. I thought it was new. I just read your first post and then posted.

Yep, and slow cooker.

I have a traditional pressure cooker. It can't be beat for some things.

Yep. My grandmothers cooked in them all the time.

I cooked 2 Sirloin roasts in it for 40 mins. Shit just fell apart.

I generally don't pull mine out unless I'm doing stock, but I've done everything from roasts to chili to risotto to pasta sauces in mine.

I wanna learn how to can.

Thinking about growing Habaneros and Tomatoes and make my own salsa.

I'd like to pickle habaneros. Sweet brine.

I've tried pressure canning, never really had luck with it. I've had no problems with water bath canning, but pressure canning seems to be problematic for me. :shrug:

Dumb question, but don't want to go through pages to find the answer....

What is recommended process for searing and resting? How long after I cook sous vide should I throw it into the pan for searing? I would think if you sear it too soon, it's easier to get above the perfect temperature. I also didn't know how that affects meat cooking while it rests.

Not a dumb question at all, just takes experience or someone telling you how to do it.

No rest needed. Take it out of the bag, dry it really well, and put it in the pan to sear.

If you get the pan really hot (I mean, really hot; get a cast iron and heat that sucker up to 700 degrees), you're only going to sear for 30 seconds or so per side; that's not enough to overcook it.

What is water bath canning?

Anything that's sufficiently acidic doesn't have to be pressure canned. You fill the sterilized jars with your product (pickles, most jams, jellies, etc.), lightly cap, and put in a boiling pot of water (let the water come up over the lids by an inch or so), and process for the set amount of time.

The acid is a preservative, so you don't need to get it over 212 degrees.

Product that isn't acidic you have to get up to like 245 to kill botulism, so you have to use a pressure canner.

Cool. Thanks for the tip. Hadn't thought about doing that on cast iron.