Thermomix

[adey73]

I want Santa to dislodge a few roof tiles with a Thermomix this Christmas.

However I am not prepared to pay the price-prohibitive full cost from the UK site.

Even the new ones from Germany on Ebay at £550 are too steep.

Has anyone managed to get a European voltage one new for less?

(was thinking Poland or Portugal might be a cheaper place to source a unit)

Any ideas anyone?

Edited October 23, 2007 by adey73 (log)

[Matthew Grant]

I've seen the one previous to this version cheaper on Ebay - around £250 I think. I was at a thermomix demonstration a few weeks back and I would advise people to have a look before they buy one. Its a fantastic piece of machinery but I utimately came away thinking that it was mainly a convenience piece, a "one pot stop" for cooking, great for emulsion sauces, custards and the like but aside from that or unless you really want to chop large a amounts very quickly then I would think you may find its use a little limited. Having said that they didn't demonstrate too many modern things with it, everything they did demonstrate could have been done with a chopping board a bow and a saucepan, sure I would have had a little more washing up to do but I enjoy chopping!

It's chopping ability is pretty amazing, expecially if you want to get things very small/powdered. it manages to do this without bruising leaves or turning things to mush - If that is the sort of thing you would want it for then i think the older version may suffice. From what I can tell the older version is a little larger and diesn't have the ability to reverse the one-sided blades (in the newer one you can switch it to reverse and stir while you cook wihtout continuing to cut things up, though I think if you had the blades slwo enough they wouldn't do too much damage to your food), it also has a temperature dial rather than the preset buttons on the new one.

Overall I just couldn't justify the expense, if they could bring it down below £500 I'm sure it would sell better. Interestingly there were 5 other people at the demonstration and they were all European. Strange how it is so popular abroad but not in the UK.

[adey73]

Just spoken to Thermomix UK, they're wanting £430 for an older, reconditioned unit!

Edited October 24, 2007 by adey73 (log)

[britcook]

Wherever you buy it it's going to be an expensive piece of kit and I would worry about guarantees and after-sales service with a non-UK sourced piece of kit. However low the price if it breaks and you can't get an economical repair what you're left with is an expensive piece of appliance-shaped junk.

[adey73]

they all come with a standard European wide 2year guarentee.

Buying from abroad just means I'd miss the UK cookbook, no biggee.

Are there reliability problems with the Thermomix?

Anyone heard of/use this machine http://www.barbel.net/gourmet.htm

Edited October 26, 2007 by adey73 (log)

[kerriar]

.

Are there reliability with the Thermomix problems?

The general perception here on the mainland, backed up by a few Thermomix users around me, is that these things last forever and never go wrong - for this reason, they are generally considered a good second hand buy and the usual advice from users to anyone considering buying is to look on eBay.

[Baggy]

Having been given a Thermomix (a present 18 months ago; the newer model), I find it really useful for chopping (strong & efficient, so I don’t worry about breaking the blades when reducing croquant to a powder) and use the heat/mix capability for sauces (Hollandaise, crème anglaise etc).

I never use the steaming basket or weighing scales, and only occasionally use the reverse mixer (but never for making doughs).

It’s a neat machine, and is great when making up small quantities of sauces etc., where the speed and heating function really come into their own.

What I don’t like are the scales – too sensitive; accidentally touch the top of the flask and the scales zero themselves. Also for the quantities I typically use, the scales are only +/- 10g and this is not precise enough for me.

I also don’t appreciate that temperature control is push-button to the nearest pre-set 10C – means I can’t accurately take a crème anglaise to 82C.

I looked at the Barbel at the Restaurant Show a couple of weeks ago and it seems as solidly built as the Thermomix. It doesn’t have the weighing scales, but does have an insulated flask (which could be good for some uses).

I do like the variable temperature control on the Barbel, although without testing the machine I can’t say how easy it is to set the temperature precisely – neither the Thermomix nor the Barbel have a digital temperature readout.

To clean the blades the Barbel has a wing nut on the base, whereas the Thermomix has a quick twist of the base and it comes apart. I don’t know which would be best in the long run. I find the most boring thing is having to clean the machine so many times when making up a menu – I guess this would only be solved by getting another machine!

I believe the price of the Barbel is in the same range as the Thermomix – although I saw it in Pages in Shaftesbury Avenue chained up like a mad dog for £990 excl VAT. The price may not be absolutely correct, but this is a heavy additional markup.

I would recommend either Thermomix or Barbel is you do a lot of sauces or patisserie – otherwise save your money and get a water bath (which I find much more useful).

You might try Italy for Thermomix – I think read somewhere that they are very popular.

[Matthew Grant]

they all come with a standard European wide 2year guarentee.

Buying from abroad just means I'd miss the UK cookbook, no biggee.

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If I remember correctly at the demonstration they said that yo udon't don't have t opay postage if it goes wrong.

What I don’t like are the scales – too sensitive; accidentally touch the top of the flask and the scales zero themselves.  Also for the quantities I typically use, the scales are only +/- 10g and this is not precise enough for me.

I also don’t appreciate that temperature control is push-button to the nearest pre-set 10C – means I can’t accurately take a crème anglaise to 82C.

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The scales were very sensitive at the demo as well, just the merest touch on the equipment threw them out (think tea towel brushing aginst the side). I agree about the preset buttons for the temperature as well, not sure why they changed that, I'd much rather have a more precisely controlled mechanism.

[Pizza Napoletana]

You might try Italy for Thermomix – I think read somewhere that they are very popular.

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Indeed!!!

My unti had one for years and cook/prepare evrything with it.

The company behind the Thermomix has produced for years one of the most popular vacum cleaner in Italy, only available by door-to-door sales.