Please Don't Buy Me This for Christmas!

Cooking with fire - one of mankind's great inventions - isn't good enough for some 21st-century foodies.

The Sous Vide Supreme, which coddles food in lukewarm water, is finding its way into home kitchens, according to The New York Times.

Here are some of the advantages of Sous Vide cooking:

1) You'll need to start Sunday dinner on Friday - cooking in warm water can take up to 48 hours.

2) Food has to be sealed into plastic bags before being submerged. The New York Times' Julia Moskin endured "splashing, scalding and profanity" before getting it right.

3) The method carries "an edge of risk, because vacuum sealing creates an anaerobic environment that can silently breed" botulism spores, according to The Times.

And what's the payoff for all this? The ability to cook meat that emerges "unnervingly pale and soft," according to Moskin. That's why most Sous Vide cooks finish off their dishes on the grill or in an oven. (Why not just start on the grill or oven?)

Like I said, cooking with fire was one of mankind's great inventions.

Oh, and the price tag for the boxy counter top device? About $500. For that, you can feed 10 children in Malawi for a year. But don't try doing it Sous Vide.