Thermochef...

[jkmt]

Thanks for that review, Nola. I'm so glad this forum is friendly and welcoming to all. Enjoy your new kitchen slave!

[Bedlam]

Thanks for the review.  I must confess it would be a tempting second best.  I love my Thermomix and feel blessed to be able to afford one. It is such a useful tool everyone deserves that help in the kitchen. And for those with a young family, for when it would be most useful,it is often unaffordable. The Thermochef sounds like a great option.

[CreamPuff63]

I went and had a look at them on Saturday, and the girl was saying that you would need to adjust the temperature down on most TM recipes as the TC is a little hotter. Am going to go to an instore demo which is coming up mid November, but so far it looks promising.

[tarasis]

Gee that whirlpool thread was ... Um ... fun. Surprised at how rabid some people are and how dismissive they are of the device simply based on cost. Or like Devon claiming they are unknown in Germany.

[Cldy]

Thanks for sharing, especially people who have the Thermochef.

I whole-heartedly support competition and hence believe that the TC can give the thermomix a good run for its money. It will at least make service better - if not competitive prices.

I have to confess that I saw the TC being sold at a kitcheware store and while it wasn't a demo, I was happily left to my own devices and was able to inspect every part of the TC from head to toe. I was going to post the differences which I thought I noticed however don't think there's much point to that as a lot of people will probably go and inspect the TC themselves.

My conclusion is that the TC is certainly more affordable and offers a great value at its price, compared to the Thermomix but I did feel that the quality even of just simple things like the spatula and the cover, the metal basket and varoma, were not of as good a quality. So you do get what you pay for. That being said, I am not sure if I would have chosen a thermomix instead of a TC if I haven't bought one just cos I am a stingy poker and will find ways to save money if I can!

[jkmt]

Just wondering if one of the ThermoChef owners can comment on how well it mills things like sugar, rice, wheat, seeds, etc? I was just looking at their website and it doesn't actually promote milling as one of the features, although further down in the description it does mention 'grind'.
Thanks.

[nola276]

Yep it mills beautifully.

[cookie1]

It's great that you can give us this information Nola. Can you make all sorts of things in it?

[nola276]

I seem to be getting a good result from everything that I have tried.  Most of the recipes I have made have been of this forum, which I love.  The only failure I have had was today when I tried to make butter.  I got a sort of "whipped buttery cream".  It was probably my own fault because I have been automatically taking everything out of the fridge to bring to room temp before cooking, and I neglected to see that the cream should be chilled.  Oops.  Will have to wait until I can get to the shop to buy more cream, before I know if I can make butter, although the demonstrator did say she makes butter without a problem.  Don't possess any white sugar any more as raw sugar is the answer to all my cooking needs, and so much healthier for you. (if sugar can be healthy).  It performs the same sort of tasks that your lovely Thermie does, but probably is not quite as strong.  It is a good alternative though.

My daughter, who has the Thermomix has a lot to answer for, as it was seeing hers that gave me the bug, but now I wouldn't be without it, and as the Thermomix was out of my league price wise, the "Chef" just fitted in nicely.

[CreamPuff63]

I make sure my water is really cold nola. apparently the older the cream the better the result.

[nola276]

Didn't even get to the water stage Creampuff.  Separated slightly after 1.5 mins, but then stayed the same, just whipped creamy butter, no buttermilk.  I think it was probably because it was room temp, or possibly because it was thickened cream.  I read on Quirky Cooking (I think) that thickened cream doesn't work sometimes.

[judydawn]

Nola, I made 2 lots of butter last night with thickened cream that was 1 day out of date.  It separated in 1.5 minutes like yours did - I was watching through the hole and you could see little bits of buttermilk then the sound changed so, remembering that you can beat it back in if you go too much longer, I stopped it, tipped it into the steaming basket over a bowl and was very surprised just how much buttermilk I squeezed out.   I ended up with 500mls from 2 x 600ml containers of cream - I did them one at a time. So, maybe you were there and didn't realise it.

[nola276]

Thanks Judy Dawn.  I really don't think so because the sound never changed.  I really think it was because it was room temp and thickened cream.  I have just bought some whipping cream, and will give it a go tomorrow.  I made a lovely batch of cookies with the cream/butter that I made, so it didn't go to waste.

[judydawn]

Mine was thickened cream too Nola - have always had success with it.  Let us know how you get on tomorrow with your new lot of cream.

[nola276]

Yay (dancing around the kitchen and looking like a lunatic) it worked. Magical butter, which i mixed with rice bran oil and water to make it spreadable.  Totally awesome .