arafalov

Thank you all for the nearly overwhelming amount of advice. It seems about a third of post follows my line of thinking (e.g. EnriqueB's point on eliminating uncertainty), a third imply that I am a dreamer (not entirely untrue) and another third is about the best knives (point well taken). The interesting question and comparison came from Norm Matthews on cooking paralleling photography. It is a good one, because I am an amateur photographer as well. Also, starting from zero. I had an entry-level (still expensive) DSLR with a 18-200 lense. To me, that combination is equivalent to Thermomix - it allowed me to take good picture in a green (point-and-shoot) mode and then, setting by setting, learn more complex scenario (Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, hopefully manual mode in the future). Once I was comfortable doing that, I knew what I wanted and started to understand the limitations of universal tools (e.g. too high maximum aperture at the 200 zoom range) and could evaluate whether I want to spend my money on better single-purpose tools (e.g. prime lenses, flashes, filters, etc). So, I am looking for a DSLR in the kitchen. As I already said, I feel that ThermoMix is one part of that equation. I do not need to be convinced towards/away from it. And I did not mean to imply I was looking for single universal gadget. I was more looking for the other items/techniques/approaches complimenting ThermoMix and with the same philosophy. I am happy to spend good time in the kitchen eventually. I just want to start from getting fast healthy results ("good pictures") early on to minimize "cook, taste, throw away, order takeout, get frustrated" cycle, typical of unsupervised beginner cooks. And yes, I'll probably take some beginner cooking classes/knife skills as well. Finally, I just wanted to really thank the community again. This was my first post and the firestorm of advice, counter-advice and (mostly) gentle humor is trully appreciated. Hopefully, once I start my journey, I'll have something productive to contribute back as well.

Thank you everybody for lots of very interesting comments. Let me try answer a couple: 1) The points on the knives, cutting boards, etc are very well taken and I did not mention those as they were on the "absolutely essential" list for me. Still, the specific tips about weight/fit were great. 2) VitaMix was mentioned, but it cost around a third of ThermoMix and does not do a bunch of things the later does. I know it does some other things better (higher speed blade?), but I am looking for highest overall value for money. 3) ThermoMix has scale (so yes on "weight, not volume") and it has blending combined with temperature control. I had a look at a bunch of recipes and a lot of the issues seem to be around "don't let it get too hot", "keep mixing while it is hot to avoid sticking", etc. ThermoMix seem to have a good answer to that. 4) For the other gadgets, the temperature control also seem to be a deciding factor in why people like it. Halogen Ovens have that control, as do combined pressure/slow cooker model I found. 5) As a counter point, I looked at all-in-one microwave with convection AND steam and I can't seem to find any conclusive positive review for it on the internet; so that seems like a gadget gone wrong to me. In the completely other direction, sous-vide does not interest me at this stage at all. 6) I am also not in the "learn over time school" for the basic skills. I want to get away from eating out but don't have that much time to dedicate to true cooking skills. Hence, the shortcuts to easy but good foods. As to the original combination question, I saw, for example, that ThermoMix community raves about how it makes bread dough very easy. But the next part still requires understanding of rising and baking and all those little tricks. But at the same time I saw hallogen oven community raving about how it makes bread proofing and baking much easier (due to sealed, temperature-controlled environment), but the dough has to be made with a traditional method. So, it seems to me that - between those two gadgets/tools - things like bread suddenly become accessible to a newbie because now all the steps in the process are covered. So, this is the way I am thinking about it. And the combo slow/pressure cooker seems to do browning and slow cooking (and less interesting pressure cooking as a bonus). Granted, to some degree it is a mental theoretical exercise and the reality may turn out to be different. But I know that the other way (pots and pans and slow incrememental learning) did not work for me. So, I am exploring the shortcuts and gadgets as a crutch for the initial tradeoff.

Thank you very much for the quick advice. I am afraid "buy as you need" is exactly opposite to what I am trying to achieve. I am trying to shortcut the process of buying 5 different gadgets and then discovering that there is a one super-gadget that does all those jobs and cheaper than those individual gadgets combined. I am ready to pay premium for something that does multiple functions well. That way, I hope, I will be constantly using the same set of tools for various purposes rather than having a bunch of unused single-purpose items taking up space. I guess you could say I am looking for that "minority of gadgets" that get used over and over again in different scenarios. As to "think through the next six month of cooking", I wish I could. It's a catch-22 situation as I don't know what I can do yet and therefore don't know what I will need. I know I want to do winter dishes (soups, etc), but also just try to do all sorts of stuff if - with the right combo-gadget - it is easy.

Hello, I am a newly single (male), absolutely useless in a kitchen and hoping to change that. I am moving to Montreal (Canada) and setting my new kitchen from scratch. I am looking to figure out what combination of kitchen gadgets will allow me to cook widest variety (of hopefully healthy) foods. I am happy to invest in higher-price gadgets if they really do make things easier. I am hoping to start by cooking easy newbie foods, then graduating to learning to cook complex foods. Since I am single, I am also interesting in the bulk cooking/cooking for the freezer approach. Currently, the primary gadget/tool I identified is Thermomix (at the higher end of my price sensitivity). So, now I am looking for something to compliment its abilities. I guess it would be something that does high-temperature, something that does slow-cooking. I found a combination slow/pressure/rice/saute cooker (InstantPot brand), not sure if that's the right second gadget. Maybe a Halogen Oven too. Do I still need a microwave? Any advice would be appreciated. Again, I am a newbie, so don't need gadgets that allow a skilled cook to make master dishes. I need something that will allow making good dishes for a person still clueless in the kitchen. Regards, Alex.