Thermomix

[RichTea432]

I’m looking into a TM6 - I like the idea of being able to make more complicated dishes, having less washing up and general time saving feeding a family. I also like the fact it does so much. I need a stand mixer, food processor and slow cooker, so have decided I can justify the spend IF it is as amazing as it sounds. So please nothing cost related. Just honest reviews from experience :).

Questions for anyone who has one: is it worth it? I’m a bit concerned you can only use it if following a Cookidoo recipe... is this true or can you still do your own thing? Can you fry adequately in it? Finally, does it SHRED the meat? The online demo I had, the meat at the end looked a little shredded for my taste, I prefer chunks.

A lot of the general reviews I can see are directed at the older ones and worried the tm6 isn’t as good due to the restrictions of Cookidoo.

Thanks in advance.

You’ll still be able to manually cook with the TM6 (not using guided cooking on Cookidoo), so you can make your own curries etc. You’ll be able to sauté your onions etc but won’t be able to cook them on such a high temperature that you’re browning them, if that makes sense? I’ve never been in a position where I’ve wished that I had that function to be honest! I just haven’t needed it.

In my experience, the demo helped me make the decision to buy one. I was living in Australia and literally everybody had a Thermomix! I thought they were absolutely insane to spend that much on an appliance haha! A friend of mine was thinking of getting one so I went along to the demo and made the decision right then and there. I’ve had it nearly 3 years and have used it almost daily since, so no regrets. I would suggest trying to arrange a demo when it’s safe to do so xx

Great, thank you!!

I have a TM31 and a TM6 and I love them both! There is now a blade cover for the TM6 so you can slow cook without shredding the meat and it makes delicious curries.

It is a different way of cooking and takes time to get used to. For example, previously I would just fry some onions on the hobb until they looked brown but with the thermomix you need to set a temperature and time.

I have a lot of old recipe books from the TM31 so I’m not stuck with Cookidoo but actually I find it very useful, particularly the shopping list function.

In terms of frying, you can use the browning function. If there is a lot of meat, you might have to brown it in 2 batches. There are recipes on cookidoo just for browning meat and caramelising onions so you can use that function and then switch to your own recipe.

I think we saved the cost in about a year. Basically we never buy takeaways or ready meals because the food I can make tastes so much better. I try to batch cook enough for 3 meals.

I make lots of bread, pizza, tomato sauces, cake mix. Made bearnaise sauce recently which was perfect.

I like that I can’t burn anything and it doesn’t boil over. I can just let it do the cooking and do other things. It beeps once it’s ready. It also works as a 3 tier steamer so you can make a complete meal

Doing double/triple layer cooking is one of my favourites too. I like cooking rice in coconut milk and steaming vegetables above the rice in the tray. Or steaming meat while making a sauce, like the chicken veloute recipe.

This all sounds brilliant!

@ejecoms in terms of getting used to using it and finding the right temperatures/ times to set it to, do you basically do that from using Cookidoo for a few recipes to find what works and then applying it to your own recipes?

I think I’m going to order one today, everything you’ve all said makes it sound so appealing!!

I love mine. It enables me to make things I'm bad at myself, such as mayo and hollandaise.

Also brilliant for bread, and cakes and I've made pasta dough really successfully. And steamed oriental dumplings, kedgeree, and salads are great. And it's really good for smoothies, sorbets and ice cream.

I don't use it so much for meat things as I don't think that's its strength. But I never regret getting mine (TM6).

@RichTea432 Ooh exciting! You’ll have to let us know how it goes! Join a few of the Thermo Facebook groups for any advice - people are always helpful on those. And you must try Skinnymixers Butter Chicken (free recipe on their website)!
You should get a Basic Cookbook with your TM6 (can anyone confirm? I got one with my TM5) which will guide you through the basics of time, temp and speeds so you can adapt your own recipes. You’ll find after cooking a few recipes that you sort of know what time/speed works for different things. You’ll never buy caster or icing sugar again haha!

Ooh brilliant! I will do! Pretty excited to have a go at making my own ice cream 😋.

Do any of you know if TM do anything on top of the advertised price? No extras or discounts, the price is just the price right?

When I bought mine it was a set price, but I think there was a promotion on that meant I got a free carry case.

YES to SkinnyMixers butter chicken. I also make naan bread dough in mine so I can make DD's favourite cheese naan to go with it.

If you want to go hard with the curries you can grind and roast your own spices too.

Congratulations on your impending purchase, you'll have to come back and tell us what you are cooking.

So I’ve got it! I made a ridiculously tasty chicken satay that I wouldn’t have been able to make on the hob to the same standard. I’m not sure it will save me time in the kitchen at the moment but we’ll see. Seems to be more something for more impressive meals that I’ll use for entertaining at the moment. It’s quite hard to get to grips with but I probably just need to practice!

A question to anyone who knows - if a recipe refers to “reverse blade” is this just the picture of the spoon on the tm6? I’m referring specifically to this butter chicken with rave reviews!

@RichTea432 That was quick!
Reverse blade is the arrow going around in a circle - it'll stop meat etc from chopping (depending on speed). The spoon is just the stir function.

Did you not have a consultant to talk you through? I'm guessing maybe not because of Covid? To be honest I don't think I would have stuck with it if I hadn't have had the consultant show me the ropes haha!
Good luck with the butter chicken - it's worth the effort, I promise! The first time always takes forever, but seems to be much quicker the more you make it. Pictures when you've made it please :)
I would recommend doing some homemade stocks too - I've made both the veggie and chicken Skinnymixers stocks, but the Thermomix ones are good too. They'll take your dishes to the next level! And you can keep them in the freezer for whenever you need some. Have fun! xx

@Darcy2 amazing, thank you! I had a FaceTime demo, but as you can imagine, it’s really not the same as someone explaining or showing you in the flesh. I’ve come to the conclusion the only way I’ll get to grips with it is by following Cookidoo or thermomix recipes for now, then in time maybe I’ll be able to go solo! Practice makes perfect and all that.

I know, I didn’t hang around and their delivery is brilliant!

Will defo do the stock! Any other recipes you can recommend would be fab

Congratulations! Don't be nervous of the controls, it becomes second nature very quickly.

In terms of things to make, definitely the stock. I love having the stock concentrate in the fridge and just taking out spoonfuls when I need to.

If you want to be a domestic goddess, make some butter www.thermomixdivarecipes.com/how-to-make-butter-in-the-thermomix/ and then use the buttermilk to make buttermilk dinner rolls. Then serve with homemade butter. Perhaps with a soup made in the Thermomix too?

Here are some soups:

bakeplaysmile.com/thermomix-recipes/thermomix-soups/

I make a lot of chicken and sweetcorn (steam the chicken in the varoma, natch) and cauliflower soup. Way less sodium than the tinned versions.

Or a risotto? That's a good way to take the hassle out of all of the stirring. Use a decent block parmesan and grate it with the Thermomix instead of getting pre-grated.

I love the 5 seed bread, it's in the recipe book (if you can't find it let me know and I'll post the recipe on here).

I'm in Australia so thinking along more wintery lines but if it's hot there and you have DC try the fruity dream, also in the recipe book.

If you're going to make a curry, you could also make naan bread. This is the recipe I use with great success (I omit the spinach for DD): skinnymixers.com.au/guest-recipe-lailahs-garlic-cheese-spinach-naan/

It cooks rice well too - I use this recipe for Butter Chicken and Rice a lot: www.mrsdplus3.com/thermomix-recipes/the-best-thermomix-butter-chicken/but the SkinnyMixers one is excellent too.

Oooh and banana bread www.mrsdplus3.com/thermomix-recipes/donna-hays-banana-bread-converted-thermomix/. Donna Hay is a famous foodie in Australia.

Let me know what your family likes to eat and I'll give you some more ideas. I LOVE talking Thermomix.

@pinotgrigio thank you for the links I’ll give them a go, my kids are obsessed with banana bread! I love the look of the butter chicken. I made the skinnymixers one, which I thought was AMAZING but this one looks like one my hubby might prefer. I couldn’t find the 5 seed - would you mind posting the recipe please? I don’t have a proper cookbook, more a book with favourite Cookidoo ideas for me to go & look up.

In terms of stuff we like; chicken based dishes mainly, curries, lamb & pork we like too. We like to try the odd veggie meals too, so interested in any recommendations for casserole style dishes really. Or just things generally tasty to impress dinner guests... when that happens again!

Also, I made “one pot chicken pasta with sweet bbq sauce” on Cookidoo. It said to add the pasta (I followed instructions properly) and my pasta got shredded... anyone else had this?! I’m wondering what went wrong, I thought it was quite ambitious to leave whole pasta with blades but the picture had the pasta whole so it must be possible!

I have had mine for a few years and I go through fazes of using it. I use it mostly for stuffing, flavoured salts, custard and sauces. Although I am now inspired to get it out again.

Does anyone have a discount code for cookidoo, apparently I had a free trial in 2017 so u can't get another one.

Here you go. You'll probably find that you have the UK filter on your searches, so if you turn that off all of the other countries recipes will show up.

Ingredients
500 g water
2 tsp dried instant yeast or 20 g fresh yeast, crumbled
30 g extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
500 g baker's flour
1 tsp salt
50 g rolled oats
30 g sesame seeds, plus extra for sprinkling
30 g linseeds (flaxseeds), plus extra for sprinkling
30 g sunflower seeds, plus extra for sprinkling
30 g pepitas, plus extra for sprinkling
30 g poppy seeds, plus extra for sprinkling
30 g honey

Preparation

Place water and yeast into mixing bowl and heat 2 min 30 sec/37°C/speed 2. Meanwhile, grease a deep-sided loaf tin and set aside.

Add baker's flour, salt, rolled oats, sesame seeds, linseeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, poppy seeds, honey and extra virgin olive oil into mixing bowl and knead 2 min 30 sec/. Dough will have a wet and sticky consistency.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Transfer dough into prepared loaf tin and sprinkle with extra sesame seeds, linseeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas and poppy seeds. Leave to prove in a warm place until doubled in size (approx. 45-60 minutes).

Bake for 40-45 minutes (200°C). Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes then transfer onto a wire rack. Serve warm or allow to cool completely before transferring into a sealable container until ready to use.

With the chicken pasta recipe, did you definitely turn reverse mode on in the final step? The graphic doesn't show here in posts but it's the bit after the 100'C and is a circular arrow.

Add pasta, place simmering basket instead of measuring cup on mixing bowl lid to help prevent splashing and cook time indicated on packet/100°C//speed 1. Serve hot, sprinkled with reserved grated Parmesan cheese.