Thinking of buying a Thermomix

[mel81q]

Hi,

Just joined this forum as I am thinking of buying a Thermomix - and looking for a place with honest feedback and also to find out what people cook in these. IE am i going to get my moneys worth out of this thing? I am about to book a demonstration to see it in action.

If anyone can share their thoughts on the machine that would be great.

Mel

[Thermomixer]

There are lots of threads - check these two to begin with http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=1412.0  and http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?topic=1283.0 - spanner not only bought the machine but became a consultant selling them almost immediately.

Good luck ( BTW - most of the info on here is heavily biased towards the machine    )

[Meagan]

Hi Mel and welcome  Yes pretty much everyone here is going to say GET ONE GET ONE GET ONE  happy reading and let us know when you decide to order your TMX

[Sim]

Hi Mel,

I've only had my TM for 2 weeks and I don't even think of the cost now (and I'm not rolling in the cash either). If you enjoy making a lot of food from scratch with out it being exhausting, then the TM is the perfect machine. It's also great for people whose aren't confident cooks but want to be able to make nice food easily. It enables you to eat better and frees up time to do other things in life... instead of stirring a risotto for half an hour you could let the TM do it and go and do something else.

Even my friends who still attend uni, never cook and live of cheap pizza nights could see themselves using one (and they're all very jealous! lol).

They are great quality and last many years, unlike many things on the market these days...

 I say... just do it! If you don't use it (which I greatly doubt), sell it! 

[Sundari]

Yes to give you an idea of how much people love them - you will never see a current model for sale on ebay etc And if you were to sell it you would probably get your money back.

The only people who may not appreciate them are those who were never properly shown their full functionality - eg someone I know was given one as a gift but wasn't given a demo and enough info so she didn't understand it until later she saw other people discussing it and realised what a wonderful gift it had been and started using it.

This machine has revolutionised our cooking and eating. I loooooove it. I've only had it 5-6 weeks. It's worth double for it now I know how good it is and how it has changed my life. I was not a confident cook before- although I've always loved eating - now I am confident and can have people over for dinner, make nice meals for ourselves, and make food I would never have made before.  Also the potential to save money is huge. I didn't buy much packaged food before but now I buy almost nothing packaged. and one of the reasons I bought it was to inspire me to eat healthier and I am definately buying and using more vegetables - less meat, making so much from scratch. Bread, butter, sauces, icing sugar, rice flour etc It's so easy to whip up a dip to take to a meeting or some biscuits, cakes. I made scones for the first time in my life last night and it took 2 min to prepare and 15 min to cook.

The only negatives you will find - it can be noisy doing certain tasks, the price (although once people use them that goes), and maybe the juicing as it doesn't remove the fibre which is ok for some juices and things but is not always what people are after with jucing.

[Thermomixer]

Just thinking - it may pay for you to share a bit more about - what stage of life/family/nutritional/health needs you may have so that we can focus on what it will do best for you.

[mel81q]

Thanks everyone for the replies - Thermomixer - its myself and my husband at home - just the two of us for the time being. The reason I am thinking of getting this is because i am extremely time poor - i work full time, also have my own wedding cake business and ontop of all the house stuff etc i have to do the admin for my husbands business. So cooking has become a chore, despite the fact that i really do love to cook.

I am assuming that it will be a hell of a lot easier and healthier to cook using the thermomix - just wanting to try and claw back some of my time when i get home. I am sure everyone can relate to that.

I am really glad to hear that people that have had it for such a short time are loving it and incorporating it into their daily lives - but is it really a daily use appliance??? I couldnt tell you the last time i used my food processer.

The price - yes ouch, but as with food at a restaurant, you can remember how good it is but often forget the price.

[Sundari]

Yes- 3-8 times a day for me! It is multi use and so much easier than doing most foods any other way.
It even peels the garlic!

You might find you want to start using it for helping with the wedding cakes too!

[Thermomixer]

It certainly can be an everyday machine and for time poor people then you can choose recipes that you can set & forget while getting the washing on or catching up with correspondence, the BAS etc.

I love recipes that allow you to make a sauce in the base, while steaming chicken or fish and veg in the Varoma.  Making soups and casseroles - it stirs constantly so you don''t have to hang around and make sure it's not sticking/boiling over.

Check out some of the recipes that have lots of replies in the soups/mains/desserts

http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?board=29.0;sort=replies;desc

http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?board=4.0;sort=replies;desc

http://www.forumthermomix.com/index.php?board=13.0;sort=replies;desc

Have a good look around - it was 4 years between me seeing one and my wife buying one for me - but there were no forums in English and nobody had one....

[Sim]

The TM is not really comparable to a food processor. They are annoying to clean and only really do one or two functions. The TM is very easy and quick to clean. It can grind ice into powder... it is extremely powerful, but it is also very gentle, it stirs without crushing food.

The TM saves a lot of time. It can give you a rest and you can start to enjoy everyday life again... and hopefully cooking.

[Wonder]

I was the author of one the threads Thermomixer included a link to and have now had our Thermomixer for about 5 weeks.  I love the machine and use if everyday, and some days numerous times.  I love to cook but am time poor due to long work hours and DH nows has to do most of the nightly cooking.  While DH thinks the TMX is great he's a pretty basic cook and just sticks to what he knows or the explicit directions I leave, so while we are using it every day, if I was preparing all the meals and had more time I would probably double the usage and make more meals, breads and snacks.  

To give you an idea of the regular uses in our family:
- I make a fruit juice every morning for my (hubbie and kids don't like it) breakfast - 2 oranges, skin removed and cut into quarters, 1 carrot chopped roughly, 1 spoon of each golden linseeds, sunflower seeds and flaked almonds. Processed on 8 for 3 minutes with 4 ice cubes and 1/4 glass of water.  This produces a thick juice, not to everyones liking but I find it perfect and healthy.
- Rice cooking
- Vegetable steaming
- Mashed potato - this is the one thing DH has experimented with and won't cook it any other way now
- Cheese and bacon type pull apart for breakfast toast
- Stir fry vegetables
- Pancakes and pikelets - unfortunatly these have now become a breakfast regular
- Chocolate mud cake
- Chocolate ganache - i've made three birthday cakes over the last few weeks and both white and dark chocolate ganache have turned out perfect each time
- Hollandaise sauce - again a favourite that used to be very timing consuming but can (unfortunately for the diet) be made fuss free with perfect results each time
- numerous dips
- mars bar slice - the kids have actually become sick of it now so will need to find another unhealthy snack for them!

Overall 5 weeks in and while I would love to use it more both DH and I feel it was worth the money.  Just to add I haven't used my food processor in about 6 months and even then it was only to grate cheese and slice a large quantity of potatos.

Good luck with your decision.

[Thermomixer]

Good work Wonder  - now I really wish that I had NOT waited for 4 years !!!!

[cookie1]

With only the 2 of you at home you will possibly find that you are able to freeze some of the food you make and then will have it for that very busy evening.
I've had my machine for coming on 12 months and now find I am using it for even more things. I have become comfortable with it and can think 'that will take about so many seconds and speed on the Thermomix" and consequently used much more. The varoma is brilliant for so much, once you begin to use it you will find that you never stop.
The only hint I can give you is if you do purchase one (and I really suggest you do) is persist for a couple of weeks with it as at first we all have mistakes and it could be easy to give up. Usually you think of the price at this time and do persist.

[JaneeZee]

Mel, I was one of those unconfident cooks Sim referred to.  I wanted to eat well but couldn't be bothered.  There is only my husband & I at home & we often have the same meal food 2 nights running because I know that once something goes into the freezer it often doesn't come out!!

I will declare my hand as a consultant so I am biased.  What does the person who referred you to the Thermomix think of it? What sort of service are they getting?  What do you want it to do? As you go through the demonstrations constantly ask yourself if you can see yourself doing this/how would it work for you...... Check out all the recipes here & see if you think they would be something you could see yourself preparing & eating.  I use mine pretty much daily.  Some days are heavily used & others less so.  I was very tired one day last week & we ended up ordering indian take away.  I still made the rice in the TM (you won't want it any other way eventually) but was horrified at the price of the meal & it wasn't really any quicker than making something - I was cross with myself for not cooking!!!  Just have the demo & then decide..............good luck.

[mel81q]

Thanks everyone for sharing their opinions - I appreciate hearing how everyone uses their machine and also what people have been cooking. Thermomixer - I only found out about these machines when i saw an article on taste - wondering what the hell it was i had a read and seem to have become hooked.

But the part holding me back is really the price. I have rung about a demo and hope to have one next week. So will try adn get the hubby hooked then 

Thanks again for everyones help, thread links etc. I cant wait for the demo now.