Cooking in your Thermomix

[Robert Jueneman]

I've had my Thermomix for a couple of days now, and think I am going to really like it.

So far, I've made the vegetable stock on page 17 of the cookbook (WAY, WAY too salty!), beef stroganoff (great!), chicken liver pate (not as solid as I would like, and I don't know what to do about it), and tonight it will be the mushroom risotto.

The TMX recipe calls for 1100 g of water, but I think I will substitute store-bought chicken stock instead, and I probably won't use the vegetable stock -- or only a little. I may add some fresh tomatoes and basil, and perhaps some olives.

For the last four or five years, I've cooked nearly everything sous vide, just because I don't have time to waste stirring the pot. But with the Thermomix to do that for me, things may change for the better!

I really like the idea of drilling a whole in the spatula, so as to allow inserting an external thermometer for a more accurate temperature reading. Once you get used to demanding better than 0.5C accuracy for sous vide, it's a hard habit to break. The first step will be to calibrate the device to see how accurate it is, and then we'll see if any adjustments are possible.

Has anyone had any experience using the Thermomix at high altitude? I'm at 7000 ft. (2133 m), so there is no way that water will reach 100C. What effect that will have on the Verona, and whether recipes need to be adjusted accordingly, I haven't any idea.

Bob

[andiesenji]

I lent my TM31 to a friend who lives (and does catering) at Mammoth Mountain and her home is over 8000 ft. She had it for ten days.

She didn't report any problems with the various things she prepared in it, including risottos, steamed vegetables and fish in the varoma, curry dishes, etc.

I don't recall that she made any stock. She did use to to make several cakes and "slices" from recipes posted on forumthermomix, from mostly Australian members.

There is another member who also lives at a high altitude, I think in either Switzerland or Germany.

Some of the recipes in the EDC cookbook do contain more salt that I like so I cut way back on it and substitute herbs to get the flavor.

Edited July 9, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[lstrelau]

So far, I've made the vegetable stock on page 17 of the cookbook (WAY, WAY too salty!), beef stroganoff (great!), chicken liver pate (not as solid as I would like, and I don't know what to do about it), and tonight it will be the mushroom risotto.

WE have made the veggie stock mix as well, figured it would be too salty so we cut the salt way back and just froze it in roughly measured amounts and stored it in plastic bags in the freezer.

The TMX recipe calls for 1100 g of water, but I think I will substitute store-bought chicken stock instead, and I probably won't use the vegetable stock -- or only a little. I may add some fresh tomatoes and basil, and perhaps some olives.

I usually use home made stocks (chicken, beef or seafood depending on the type risotto) though I have used the TMX veggie stock as well. I love the risottos we have made.

Has anyone had any experience using the Thermomix at high altitude? I'm at 7000 ft. (2133 m), so there is no way that water will reach 100C. What effect that will have on the Verona, and whether recipes need to be adjusted accordingly, I haven't any idea.

I am only at 1050 metres but haven't noticed any issues with this altitude. But I should drill a hole in my spatula and put my probe in to check actual temperature of the TMX. I do sometimes have to add a bit more time to things than some recipes indicate though. Made custard for ice cream yesterday and it took a lot longer than it should have (another good reason to insert a temp. probe I guess). Zabaglione is one of me favourite things to make in the TMX - no muss or fuss, just put all the wine, sugar, eggs in the bowl, turn it on and 7 or 8 minutes later perfect Zab.

[Robert Jueneman]

I've had the Thermomix TM31 for a couple of weeks now, and love it. I had to order it from Canada, and the price was around $1550, including shipping and customers duties and the Australian cookbook, but I think it is worth it.

I don't do much in the way of pastry or baking, but so far, I've made the vegetable stock concentrate (very salty), mushroom risotto, beef stroganoff, hollandaise, and the meatloaf with mushroom sauce. The later was fantastic -- the meatloaf essentially steam cooked in the Varoma, with the mushroom sauce bubbling up underneath.

I probably won't sell my Cuisienart -- the TMX won't cut french fries or julienne vegetables. LIkewise, I'll still keep my KitchenAid, in part for some of the accessories like the meat grinder and pasta maker. And I'll still use my VitaMix, in part because I like to be able to see what is going on while it's blending.

But for making soups and other dishes that normally require constant stirring while heating, the Thermomix is certainly where it's at.

I calibrated the temperature setting as best I could, but here in Taos at 7000 ft. there is no way it is every going to hit 100C, at least with water.

I drilled a small hole in the disk of the TM31 spatula, so that I could insert a thermometer probe (A Sur le Table thermometer I had previous calibrated to within 0.1F with my reference grade thermometer.)

According to the instructions, when the indicator light stops flashing, the TMX is up to temperature. Not quite so!

What I found was that the light would turn solid at roughly 3C lower than called for, and then continue to climb until it was 3 to 4C higher than called for. Because I was fixing lunch at the time, I didn't always notice exactly when the light turned solid, hence some ambiguity at the lower end.

Indicated Range

37 -> 33.9

50 -> 47.0-53.1

60 -> 58.6-63.0

70 -> ??-74.3

80 -> 80.0-84.1

90 -> ??-92.4

100 -> 92.7-93.1 (holding spatula to prevent steam from escaping) (The boiling point of water at 7000ft is 92.9C)

I could repeat these measurements using oil for the higher temperatures, if anyone is sufficiently interested.

I"m used to doing sous vide cooking with 0.1F accuracy and stability, and so this kind of variability came as rather a shock to me. On the other hand, they are having to measure the temperature of the container, as opposed to having a probe within the liquid itself. Nonetheless, for the cost of the TMX, I would have thought that they could have used a PID controller that would be much more accurate, and could be tuned to eliminate the overshoot.

I guess my next task will be to calibrate the scale against several other scales I own, to see what kind of accuracy it has.

One interesting OZ v. US terminology problem was that the cookbook repeatedly refers to "capsicum". I assume those are ordinary red or green bell peppers. Can someone "down under" confirm this?

Bob

[ElsieD]

I am planning on buying a Thermomix and will be going to a demo on Saturday. I have been doing a lot of reading on the internet about these machines and it seems that those who have two mixing bowls are very happy that they have the second one. What is the opinion of eGullet posters? Also, is there anything else related to the Thermomix you wish you had two of? I figured I may as well get any extra parts when placing the original order.

Thanks!

[ElsieD]

One interesting OZ v. US terminology problem was that the cookbook repeatedly refers to "capsicum". I assume those are ordinary red or green bell peppers. Can someone "down under" confirm this?

Bob

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum

This may enlighten you.

[andiesenji]

I have an extra bowl and blades (actually a back-up in case something goes wrong so haven't used it) and I have two extra measuring cups/caps because they tend to become opaque with cooking some things.

I also bought two extra lid gaskets because I just know that I will do something stupid and mess it up and then the machine won't work. I have been told I am just a bit anal about having back-up extras of things, but then I am happy when something does happen and I don't have to wait to use the machine again...

That's just me. Possibly it is an OCD thing.

[Kerry Beal]

I am planning on buying a Thermomix and will be going to a demo on Saturday. I have been doing a lot of reading on the internet about these machines and it seems that those who have two mixing bowls are very happy that they have the second one. What is the opinion of eGullet posters? Also, is there anything else related to the Thermomix you wish you had two of? I figured I may as well get any extra parts when placing the original order.

Thanks!

I wish I had a second bowl. When someone comes over for a demo I get my SIL to bring her unit over and at least I have two TMX's to make use of. But a second bowl would be great.

As Andi suggests I'd get a second silicone lid seal just to keep around. Nothing worse than the contents of the bowl oozing over the side when you are mixing at high speeds.

[Anna N]

Being determined to try some produce that is new to me I picked up a head of siu choy. I googled recipes and came up with rice and shrimp stuffed rolls.

Here they are in the Varoma ready to steam:

And the steamed rolls:

A light, pleasant and speedy meal.

[ElsieD]

Andie, I'm guessing a second lid gasket does not come with the second bowl? Is this also the case for the lid in that it is a separate purchase as well?

This next question is directed to both Andie & Kerry and anyone else who wants to chime in. How often do you use the Thermomix? I've done a lot of browsing on the internet but can't really get a sense of how frequently people use it. As I get closer to demo day tomorrow, I'm wondering if it will end up being yet another "toy" that mostly gathers dust. It is not an inconsiderable sum of money to be spending on yet another kitchen appliance so I want to be sure that I will be making good use of it. Or maybe I should just let the demo convince me?

[andiesenji]

Andie, I'm guessing a second lid gasket does not come with the second bowl? Is this also the case for the lid in that it is a separate purchase as well?

This next question is directed to both Andie & Kerry and anyone else who wants to chime in. How often do you use the Thermomix? I've done a lot of browsing on the internet but can't really get a sense of how frequently people use it. As I get closer to demo day tomorrow, I'm wondering if it will end up being yet another "toy" that mostly gathers dust. It is not an inconsiderable sum of money to be spending on yet another kitchen appliance so I want to be sure that I will be making good use of it. Or maybe I should just let the demo convince me?

If you have not yet joined Forum Thermomix, do so at once.

Read through the Chit Chat topics and particularly What are you cooking today?

and What's for dinner tonight?

Then dip into the other specific topic sections about breads, main dishes, vegetarian, etc.

The members who post there every day (or several times a day) use theirs more than I use mine.

You might also find the topic: What appliances have you ditched since getting your Thermo interesting.

[lstrelau]

This next question is directed to both Andie & Kerry and anyone else who wants to chime in. How often do you use the Thermomix? I've done a lot of browsing on the internet but can't really get a sense of how frequently people use it. As I get closer to demo day tomorrow, I'm wondering if it will end up being yet another "toy" that mostly gathers dust. It is not an inconsiderable sum of money to be spending on yet another kitchen appliance so I want to be sure that I will be making good use of it. Or maybe I should just let the demo convince me?

We use our TM almost every day (unless we are not cooking at home). I don't use the Varoma that much - but not because it doesn't work but rather getting used to doing more steaming and the other things it does so well. The recipe above for the shrimp stuffed rolls looks great - need to focus on this more than we do.

Certainly got rid of our old food processor (hated it) and the blender that was an accessory for my old Kenwood Chef. I do still use the Kenwood with its food mill attachment for getting the seeds/skins out of our roasted tomato sauce/paste and roasted red pepper sauce although the TM would probably turn both into such a super fine puree that it may not be necessary to strain. On that thought I will try it on some of our next batch.

We make yogurt regularly, risotto all the time, soups (both cold and hot), bread (the brioche recipe that is in one of the cookbooks is easy and tasty)

Llyn

[Kerry Beal]

Andie, I'm guessing a second lid gasket does not come with the second bowl? Is this also the case for the lid in that it is a separate purchase as well?

This next question is directed to both Andie & Kerry and anyone else who wants to chime in. How often do you use the Thermomix? I've done a lot of browsing on the internet but can't really get a sense of how frequently people use it. As I get closer to demo day tomorrow, I'm wondering if it will end up being yet another "toy" that mostly gathers dust. It is not an inconsiderable sum of money to be spending on yet another kitchen appliance so I want to be sure that I will be making good use of it. Or maybe I should just let the demo convince me?

At least a couple of times a week - several times a day when I'm up north and baking a lot. The 'toys' now collecting dust are my cuisinarts and the Kitchen aid.

[andiesenji]

I forgot to answer that a gasket does come with the second bowl. However, I bought extras because my TM31 will not operate without the seal in place and in my eyes, it is the weak link in the thing.

I have in the past damaged seemingly tough gaskets in pressure cookers &etc., so decided to take no chances.

I don't use mine every day because I live alone and tend to cook sporadically. However, just using it for a few tasks that were previously very time consuming, makes it worth it to me.

[ElsieD]

So I bit the bullet and am now the proud owner of a Thermomix. I just made butter chicken and will also be doing rice and a vegetable medley in it to go with said butter chicken. It sure is easy to use - the onions, chilis, ginger, cilantro and garlic went in whole and a 10 second buzz later they were finely chopped. I think I'm REALLY going to like this thing!