Thermomix Fails! Share Yours!

[AliRo]

So, I've tried to convert a few of my already existing non-thermomix recipes so I could make them in the thermomix.  Some did not go so well!

I've also had some failures with some thermomix recipes which I've decided to tweak a little bit.  And yeah, not an ideal result!

So I thought it might be fun to share what some of our worst thermomix cooking fails have been!


My absolute worst was when I tried to convert a banana bread recipe that I had.  Normally I would hand mash up a couple of bananas and grate 1 apple.  I decided to chuck both of these in last, just cut up in chunks, and whiz it in.  However the apple didn't seem to want to break up enough, so I kept whizzing and whizzing until it did.  When it was time to take it out of the oven it just did a big sink in the middle and was so dense and undercooked.  I think I must have basically ended up pureeing the banana and apple in which is what made it so dense!  It was actually quite inedible.  Epil fail!

So, share your epic fails!  (And help me feel better about some of mine  )

[fundj&e]

i am not really into reading or following a recipe but some times i do

last year i was following a recipes but half way something happened to that  page and followed the method of a different one, which had the same ingredients

[achookwoman]

Had a few disasters in the early days,  but not now.  Spend most of my time with TMX converting recipes.  Love the challenge.

[cecilia]

I was trying to convert a Persimmon Cake recipe, but did not predict the volume of the ingredients.  Epic fail cos it wouldn't fit into the bowl.  I cooked it but will have to start again with the conversion, if indeed I haven't been totally put off that recipe.  Problems are always opportunities for learning though.  I'll be halving the recipe, then checking my maths before piling things into the bowl next time.

[Amy :-)]

My most epic fail would probably be a couple of years ago when I tried to convert a recipe for Almond Triangles. The recipe called for 250g butter, so I started chopping chunks off a 500g block and weighing them into TM... but it wouldn't reach 250g. I don't know where my brain had gone that day, but I just kept throwing chunks of butter in. Eventually I'd added the whole block of butter. TM scales were still saying it was under 250g, but I looked at how much butter was in the bowl and thought it was probably enough...

When the triangles came out of the oven, the excess butter had melted, bubbled and overflowed over the sides of the cake pan and into the bottom of the oven. When I tried to tip the triangles out, they sort of flopped onto the rack in a big sloppy mess.

Its fair to say they were a fail

BTW: I checked TM after (because I FINALLY realised what I'd done) and the cord was hooked around one of the feet. This may serve as a warning to some newbies, but I don't think anyone could be as dumb as I was that day

[dede]

Failure would definitely be my coleslaw soup. Don't over chop on high speeds

[judydawn]

Gosh, I can hardly remember back to the early days of Oct 2008 but I'd say over chopping (because that's what the recipe said to do ) - I soon learnt to cut chopping times down quite a lot and add more time if needed.  Lesson No. 1 and a very important one if things are going to turn out.

I messed up by not reading the recipe correctly, read it once then read it again to make sure it is clear in your head - Lesson No. 2, some of the recipes have the stages out of order and you can get caught out. Things have definitely improved in this area these days though.

I don't recall throwing too many in the bin, I caught on fairly quickly once I got the hang of the machine. There were recipes I tried in the early days that I didn't like but that's just my personal taste and I should have gone with my instincts and not even done them in the first place (pasta e fagioli from the EDC). You either love or hate this recipe - I hate it with a passion 

I always remember Bron saying - turn failed sweet dishes into ice-cream and savoury recipes into soup. Another bit of advice I remember from her and use constantly was to not do a recipe because you don't have all the ingredients, just substitute for those ingredients you don't have.

I hope things are improving for you in the converting stakes, the more you try the better at it you will become and there are plenty of recipes on here which will probably be similar to those you are converting so use them as a guide and you will have far more successes than failures.

[obbie]

I don't like that pasta e fagioli either.

[Amy :-)]

I don't like that pasta e fagioli either.

Really Judy and Robyn?? We used to make it all the time! Not much anymore, but we stilll like it

Leftovers were good pressed firmly into a loaf tin, sprinkled with cheese and heated up in the oven. Sliced and served with salad. Yum

[knittercook]

My first attempt at porridge, I follwed the EDC recipe and it was disastrous, a watery cold mess    I now follow ILB's recipe from here and it is perfect every time 

[Joon]

I have to go with coleslaw soup, too!

[AliRo]

Failure would definitely be my coleslaw soup. Don't over chop on high speeds

Yeah, I don't bother trying coleslaw anymore.  I don't know what I do, but it either turns out mush or some of the ingredients are just right but the carrot is still too chunky.

So, what's the secret to getting vegetables to the finely cut stage?  Mine are always mush or too chunky.

I've also over whizzed when making the shortcrust pastry.  That was a very rookie mistake.  Who would have thought an extra 4 seconds can kill a recipe!?

[Amy :-)]

Who would have thought an extra 4 seconds can kill a recipe!?

LOL welcome to the world of thermomix

[Lexi]

the gnocchi...................... a wet, gluey blurgh of a mess lol

[dede]

A second or two can make a huge difference when making whipped cream too , I may of had this experience before. Not much fun when you don't have any cream left to start again lol.