Thermochef...

[marie2mil]

Thanks Dede,
Yes of course you are right.
And I'm looking forward to "playing" with the TC

I'm forming a cunning plan, that when I'm all over my expenses, perhaps i'll "gift" the TC
to one of the kids and get myself a TM..

Course if i have more successes with the TC who knows? :-)

[dede]

Lol. I like the way you work Marie. Lol. At least you have the TC to keep you happy until then.

[jkmt]

Thanks for that review Marie. Hope you are feeling better and you and your TC have many good adventures!

[marie2mil]

Thanks,
I've been enjoying trailing through this great site.
What a wealth of great recipes, ideas and chat.

[Sim]

I got a chance to play with the TC last night. I'm a TM owner and my friend has always thought the TM was a great appliance but didn't want to spend the big bucks on it, so a few ago she bought a TC. We made Beef Rendang from the TM book but using the TC to cook it.

It's obvious with the price difference that there is going to be a few differences between the two. I think the TC is still a good purchase and a handy kitchen appliance. If you had never used a TM you would think its a super-duper appliance. It was hard for me because I kept using it like a TM, so I was slow and clunky.

Coming from the perspective of a TM owner, there were a few of things I noticed when comparing it to the TM

• The slowest speed is considerably faster – not as gentle.
• It took a little longer to make the paste from the first stage of the TM Beef Randang recipe, didn't to seem to chop as well.
• Unless I was doing it wrong, one thing that really bugged me was if you stop it to check the cooking progress before the timer finishes it resets the time, temperature and speed and you have to re-enter it all again.
• Motor sounded very different and was louder – more like a standard blender
• You can't immerse the jug in water so it's harder to wash
• Lid was harder to lock in and I didn't enjoy using it very much. I really like the TM's lid system.

But overall I think it's a decent purchase. I think she'll get alot of use out of it. These differences are relatively minor when you're saving so much money.

I'm still happy I have a TM though, but I'm not so good at budgets hehe

[thermoheaven]

If that's the case, I would be hankering after the tm. I stil haven't got my KA and know if I got anything less, I'd still want the KA, so I couldn't settle for the tc. I'm like that with so many things; everyone is different,  but for me, I know it will cost me more if I got the tc because I'd still be wanting the tm in the long run.

[shanmac]

Thanks for the detailed report Sim - good to know from someone who has a TM & used the TC for an insight into the value.

Makes it easier for people like me that hasn't had a demo & saw the TC advertised and thought .......

[Emma H]

I went to a thermochef demo yesterday (already ordered my TMX)
I didn't like the lid, have to push it doen and locks in front and back, she struggled a few times, also the bowl won't come out unless you press the button to release it.
It was louder, and I even smelt that hot appliance smell when she was just whipping cream.
Didn't like how many buttons to press to set temp/blade speed abs time, and that beeping everytime u push those buttons. And like someone else said if you stop it to check something you need to re put in temp speed and time

I didn't stay for the whole think as my parking was up (thought it went for 2 not 3 hours)
Seamed to so everything okay, but she did admit there are things it doesn't compare to the TMX, but on budget it does a lot of it.

[Sim]

The buttons annoy me too!

Another thing – if it's over 60ēC it doesn't go over speed 5. It means that if you're making soup, you have to wait for it too cool down to blend it really smooth. It's a safety thing, which is strange because the blades don't have to been spinning for the bowl to heat up which seams 'unsafe' to me because you can burn things easily!

[ladyaimee]

Thanks for all the information, I understand there re so many TX lovers who wouldnt dream of recommending the TC but nice to here some more unbiased reviews for those who may only be able to afford the TC!

Just curious to anyone who has a TC, if the TX recipes are transferrable?

Thanks

[ladyaimee]

oops forgot my second question, for anyone who has one!

I heard the lowest cooking temperature isnt as low with the TM, so just curious as to whether its still good to use as a slowcooker (ie, leave a dish on for 8 hours and it wont ever boil)

thanks!

[Sim]

oops forgot my second question, for anyone who has one!

I heard the lowest cooking temperature isnt as low with the TM, so just curious as to whether its still good to use as a slowcooker (ie, leave a dish on for 8 hours and it wont ever boil)

thanks!

Hey Aimee – it has the same temperature increments as the TM – so that's 37, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100. I think it has a separate steaming one too like the TM which is hotter.

And yeah, I'm totally bias! haha. My main frustrations with the machine are because I try and use it as though it is a TM when it's not, and when it doesn't work the same way and the buttons are in different places, I get frustrated. A bit like when you use a different microwave etc.

[marie2mil]

I've been trying some of the recipes here on my TC and they have been fine.
Of course i'm a bit stumped with recipes that call for Reverse, as the TC doesn't have Reverse however if only part of the recipe requires reverse i just use the slowest speed 1.
I imagine recipes that totally rely on reverse would not work well or perhaps not at all!

I'm not bothered with the buttons, they seem quite easy and logical to use.
My husband has tried it and also thinks its easy to use.
My girls 18 + 22 have had a quick play and think its pretty "cool"
The 22 yo showed it to her fiance and said "this the machine that does everything but wipe your bu*t "

The lid is OK to use if you use both your hands - i've seen the Thermomix demo and You Tube demos and the TM does look easier to use.
But the price difference is huge, so these are small compromises, i think in view of that.

[achookwoman]

Marie2mil,  there is nothing wrong with the break in the kneading process,  provided the machine can cope with the dough.  Infact Dan Lepard,  (my bread hero) recommends it. 

[marie2mil]

Thanks achookwoman for your re-assurances.
The first time i tried the 5 seed loaf i don't think i measured it properly - too eager by half.
The next time i tried it, the process was much smoother, although after the second 2 min knead, the mixture became a bit heavy and landed mostly to one side of the bowl so i got an error message, but that was OK because it really had finished the process and it was ready to prove.