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So I Bought A Thermomix….

24

Comments

  • #32
    Raichų
    Site Banned Posts: 1,745 ✭✭✭Raichų


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123131056#Comment_123131056

    To use examples like this makes it quite evident the benefit and purpose of the machine is being totally overlooked.

    It’s best to compare a high end blender to another high end blender think so that’s what I’ll do.

    I own a vitamix and have done for close to 10 years now and the damn thing is a beast. It would blend fecking rocks into a smooth silky puree and beg for more. That said; if I wanted to make strawberry sugar I need to spend another few hundred (yes that’s correct) euro on a dry mixing bowl for it.

    The TM is 3x more expensive but at least 30 times more useful. You can literally make anything in it. Anything at all. Ice cream, milkshakes, smoothies, purées, tuile, flavoured sugar, blend spices, grind coffee, weigh Ingredients, cook stuff, reheat and blend food; so on.

    Of course it won’t mean you can chuck out your knives and chopping boards, but who said that? If you buy an air fryer would you expect someone to say “sure you can get rid of your oven now I reckon” course not! 🤣

    But streamlining recipes and approach to cooking is just the modern way. Look, if you want to sit and grind spices and herbs in a pestle and mortar when you want a curry paste, God Bless, I’ll just get the kitchen aid cordless blender and have it done in 30 seconds.

    I love cooking, I love food in general every part of it from touching to smelling to tasting and feeling the textures and flavours in my mouth, (that sounds kinda weird actually)…. Anyway, point is I love it.

    But I also working 9 hours a day 5 days a week— so sometimes to enjoy the food I like I need to do things in a modern or non traditional fashion. Am I bad for that?

    I mean, I’ll ask you this; do you still walk to the shops and carry the groceries back on your head to cook on an open fire? I doubt it. If how we approach food in terms of sourcing and cooking it has changed so much— why is a Thermomix such a bad or stupid thing? if you think you can do all it can do with as minimal effort and equipment? Think again.

    the damn thing is a beast and well worth the money. Frankly even most professionals don’t use it to the fullest extent it can be used. Lots of kitchen just use it to blend..

    also there’s cheaper versions of the TM by other good brands if you wanted one without the €1500 tag.



  • #33
    the beer revolu
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,160 ✭✭✭✭the beer revolu


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123131277#Comment_123131277

    No one here is mocking or criticising TM owners or suggesting that they are useless. It's just that for me, the way I cook and what I cook, I can't see why I'd want one. But then I'm a person who can't see the benefit of a rice cooker despite rice being eaten daily in this house 🤷



  • #34
    Dial Hard
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 15,567 ✭✭✭✭Dial Hard


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123131277#Comment_123131277

    You said yourself earlier you don't really see the need to have one in a home kitchen, and all I'm saying is pretty much the same thing. I already have a good blender, I have no interest in making ice cream or caramel, and I've yet to meet a soup recipe I can't make on the hob and finish with my stick blender or in the jug one if I need to. And I actually do quite enjoy grinding spices by hand in the pestle and mortar 😆 Even at Christmas when I'm making large quantities of ras el hanout as gifts.

    Like TBR, I just don't see the appeal for the way I cook, or the way most people I know cook, tbh. That doesn't mean I'm advocating for a return to the fulacht fia.

    And fwiw, I've seen more than one thread on Boards where people have been fully prepared to die on the hill of an air fryer being a perfectly reasonable replacement for a full oven!



  • #35
    Raichų
    Site Banned Posts: 1,745 ✭✭✭Raichų


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123131418#Comment_123131418

    Yeah but that’s because I know realistically very few people are in a position whereby spending €1500 on a blender isn’t reasonable!

    Like no one needs one. Great if you can afford and I was just trying to illustrate they’re not just a Gucci blender essentially. Certainly they’re a reasonable price I think but I think you can also live happily without one (and I do- I don’t have any plans to buy one).

    It certainly means some jobs I do at home are a nuisance but that said I wouldn’t have food to cook with one if I bought it anyway. 🤣


    Never could replace my oven. I think air fryers are decent at high end but generally a bit shite tbh. Just my personal feelings.



  • #36
    Raichų
    Site Banned Posts: 1,745 ✭✭✭Raichų


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123131380#Comment_123131380

    oh no you NEED a rice cooker!! They’re unreal handy.



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  • #37
    cobham
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,160 ✭✭✭cobham


    I cant understand why you need a special device to produce rice! Rice+bit of salt+boiling water at ratio of 2 to 1. Lid on and turn down/off heat = done in 10 mins.



  • #38
    lazeedaisy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,344 ✭✭✭lazeedaisy


    I always microwave my rice, so long now I thought there was no other way, habits ha



  • #39
    the beer revolu
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,160 ✭✭✭✭the beer revolu


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123131685#Comment_123131685

    I had one. Didn't see the advantage of having another appliance so we got rid of it after using it for a bit. As far as I'm concerned a saucepan, hob and timer are a rice cooker.



  • #40
    awec
    Administrators Posts: 56,211 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭awec


    Are these the fancy blender things that you always see chefs using on the likes of Masterchef and Great British Menu etc? They at least look similar but the touch screen with recipes etc doesn't seem like something a professional kitchen would have, is there a consumer version and a pro version?

    I always wondered what those yokes were.



  • #41
    Dial Hard
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 15,567 ✭✭✭✭Dial Hard


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123133151#Comment_123133151

    I feel the same way about the soup maker my friend went into raptures over. Actually now that I think of it, she'd probably love a Thermomix too!



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  • #42
    the beer revolu
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,160 ✭✭✭✭the beer revolu


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123134661#Comment_123134661

    I think we're just not kitchen appliance people. I have an old Braun food processor and a stick blender that cover my occasional needs and I borrow a kitchen aid blender once a year to make chilli sauce! I like knives and l love my grinder and espresso machine but that's pretty much it. Had a grinder/sausage maker but got rid of it due to lack of use. Same for vacuum sealer. I don't even have a pressure cooker or slow cooker. If I had a bigger kitchen I might consider an air fryer for economy. And perhaps an old school sealing sandwich toaster 😊



  • #43
    10-10-20
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 10,031 ✭✭✭✭10-10-20


    I hear that they are great for 'hot wet rice'. (Sorry in advance, but this has to be shared.)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yr_etbfZtQ

    😆



  • #44
    squonk
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 11,489 Mod ✭✭✭✭squonk


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123134282#Comment_123134282

    They are the same machine. I’d say the recipe app is there to widen the market. Chefs know what they’re doing out of the box but I don’t doubt it helps them make components quickly and reliably. The recipe function is there for tge rest of us!



  • #45
    Raichų
    Site Banned Posts: 1,745 ✭✭✭Raichų


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123134282#Comment_123134282
    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123135165#Comment_123135165

    To be honest more than you’d think chefs will follow recipes (as in it will be in front of them while they make the dish)! I know lads who have binders full of recipes they bring to work every single day or they’d be completely fcuked.



  • #46
    squonk
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 11,489 Mod ✭✭✭✭squonk


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123135264#Comment_123135264

    Oh I’d believe that. I was just thinking of the basics like bechamel and the like. I’d assume that’s stuff they know straight off.



  • #47
    Raichų
    Site Banned Posts: 1,745 ✭✭✭Raichų


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123135274#Comment_123135274

    you again would be surprised..



  • #48
    Raichų
    Site Banned Posts: 1,745 ✭✭✭Raichų


    I asked a chef to make me béchamel for lasagna and they went for this

    IMG_0326.png

    So yeah, unfortunately some things have been lost on many



  • #49
    the beer revolu
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,160 ✭✭✭✭the beer revolu


    High end restaurant chefs are all about carefully following recipes. It's not the splash of that and pinch of this that some might imagine. I guess if you are weighing ingredients a lot (I rarely weigh much), that facility would be very handy.



  • #50
    squonk
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 11,489 Mod ✭✭✭✭squonk


    A few days in and I’m finding I’m using the machine about 3 times daily during the week. Unattended soup reheats at lunchtime, making hot chocolate at night. I also make porridge at breakfast. I altered the standard recipe, 40g oats, 120 milk and 95ml water to about 200ml milk and 55g oats. Recipe runs for 8 minutes. The stock recipe came out well but was very thick. I’ll use it for dinners later in the week once I’ve burned through my stash of batch cooked things.

    Tge self clean doesn’t quite do the job with porridge. It gets busy if the stuff off the bowl but there is she stuff still left at the bottom. A bit of a run over with the dish brush does the job. You could probably just skip the self clean and manually wash the bowl instead.

    There is no timed start either. The machine trashes about 20-30 seconds to start from cold but it would be great if it had a timed start so you could switch it on venue you woke up.

    Post edited by squonk on


  • #51
    Dial Hard
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 15,567 ✭✭✭✭Dial Hard


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123136116#Comment_123136116

    You're going to have to explain again for those of us in the cheap seats (i.e. me) why you need an appliance to make hot chocolate or reheat soup. Does the microwave not do that for you in, like, two minutes? And doesn't need to be cleaned afterwards.

    I'm genuinely not trying to be facetious here, I literally just don't understand!



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  • #52
    AnnieinDundrum
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 289 ✭✭AnnieinDundrum


    I bought a fake thermie… we call it that. From a well known German supermarket. Bought online while living in France.

    It is so useful. Ok they are basic things but you can make a sauce or a soup practically hands off. Chop veg in it, splash in oil and it start’s sauteing. It bleeps.. add water, it carries on heating while stirring, then it speeds up to purée when needed and bleeps when it’s all done.

    Mine was €500 and I consider it money well spent. But my food processor and rice cooker were both broken so this replaces both of them so in terms of counter space it’s not an issue and I’d have spent €200 ish on a processor anyway. It cooks rice, pasta, spuds etc while another veg or chicken or fish steams on top. I don’t use that facility much but it works well. As a rice cooker it’s useful but so is a regular saucepan.

    The processing aspects are good, it’ll chop an onion in 6 seconds. I’ve used it to whip egg whites for meringue and they’ve been perfect. I can use it to mix cakes but actually I prefer my stand mixer for that, but for mixing and kneading bread it’s great. Warms up the bread for proving. There is a scales built in so that’s handy.


    It has a self cleaning routine which isn’t bad, it’ll clean most stuff off and the bowl can go in the dishwasher just gotta be careful to dry it before plugging it back onto the base.


    like the real one it has recipes online and you can add your own. No monthly subscriptn.



  • #53
    awec
    Administrators Posts: 56,211 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭awec


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123137011#Comment_123137011

    Presumably you can tell it to reheat to a temperature rather than just a time, and because it heats and stirs it'ss a consistent temperature rather than having hot and cold spots.



  • #54
    Dial Hard
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 15,567 ✭✭✭✭Dial Hard


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123137257#Comment_123137257

    Well I don't know about you, but I personally tend to give everything a quick stir when it comes out of the microwave anyway!

    Sorry, I clearly just have a complete block when it comes to these things, I honestly can't get my head around the point at all - particularly given the price. I'll mark myself down as "Not the target audience" and bow out!



  • #55
    awec
    Administrators Posts: 56,211 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭awec


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123137449#Comment_123137449

    Yea I get you, I was just pointing out what I presume the difference is for this versus a microwave. Having an appliance that can heat to a set temperature is certainly useful, but this feature by itself is not worth spending this money on.

    I think the value / point of this is that it does a lot of things very well.

    If you're looking for a blender, you can buy a really good blender for much cheaper. If you're looking for a mixer, you can buy a really good stand mixer for much cheaper. If you're looking for a rice cooker, you can buy a really good rice cooker for much cheaper. If you're looking to slow cook, you can buy a slow cooker for next to nothing. Etc.

    If you're looking for a machine that does all of these things really well in 1 single appliance, and then some more on top, the Thermomix is an option to consider.

    I think it's just about convenience really. As far as the cooking part of it goes, I think the general gist is no-risk mostly unattended cooking of good food with minimal washing up afterward (since in theory, the only thing you should have to wash is the Thermomix pot and maybe a knife on the side).

    I think it's really for people who don't particularly love cooking, or people like myself who do really enjoy cooking but doesn't have the time to spend on it during the week.

    Like I'd happily open a bottle of wine and spend an hour or two cooking at the weekend but I don't have the time or brain capacity to do this at 6pm on a weekday, so something where I can just press some buttons and it bleeps to tell me when I need to perform the next step (which usually involves just dropping something into it) does have appeal. During the week we tend to default to oven dinners or batch cooked stuff, and this thing does seem like it would provide more variety for those mid week meals for families.

    These things seem very popular in professional kitchens and my impression is they are growing in popularity in domestic kitchens so the target audience does seem to be very wide.

    I think so anyway, I don't own one so just my own speculation.

    Post edited by awec on


  • #56
    Raichų
    Site Banned Posts: 1,745 ✭✭✭Raichų


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123137680#Comment_123137680

    pretty much sussed it- it’s not just a jack of all trades; it’s a master of all trades!

    As well they’re really only selling to people who want one already. You won’t find them in Harvey Norman on offer some day where impulse buying comes into play— like OP mentioned you’ll have demo events etc where you can buy them but otherwise it’s ordering directly from TM


    Unlike say a Ninja Foodie or similar “mass appeal” products. This is for a niche market of professionals and home pros.



  • #57
    MacDanger
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 4,178 ✭✭✭MacDanger


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123133151#Comment_123133151

    Way off topic but I've recently switched to cooking my rice in the oven with the saucepan lid on rather than on the hob, I think it gives a fluffier rice. I use only slightly less water than I would when doing it in on the hob. I'd recommend trying it 👍



  • #58
    squonk
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 11,489 Mod ✭✭✭✭squonk


    I don’t have a microwave. I could happily reheat soup in that if I had one. Sane with hot chocolate but I’ve found microwaves can be a bit funny with heating milk anyway. So, without a microwave it’s the fastest way to heat these for me. That’s all really. Having said that if I had a microwave I’d still use the TM for milk as it does a good speed job with it.



  • #59
    squonk
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 11,489 Mod ✭✭✭✭squonk


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123137257#Comment_123137257

    Yes, just that. Set a temperature, a stir speed and a time and it’ll heat to that temperature while stirring and maintain it. It would be nice if it was just a bit smarter in that you could set it to stop on reaching the temperature without specifying a time but that might come with a software update. There is a “Kettle mode” I haven’t tried which might do that actually.



  • #60
    rowantree18
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 242 ✭✭rowantree18


    So, for the uninitiated, like me, is it just basically a blender?



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  • #61
    squonk
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 11,489 Mod ✭✭✭✭squonk


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123139906#Comment_123139906

    Not really. It’s a very decent blender but also heats to precise temperatures and can heat up to 160°C so you also can cook and it manages temperature so food doesn’t burn abd cooks evenly as It also can keep food moving using the blades in reverse which are blunt on the reverse side which acts as a stirring action.



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