Thermomix in the US

[faffa_70]

I cannot believe that someone in the US hasn't started selling them?  I am thinking that it is a business venture just waiting to happen ??

Vorwerk are the ones stopping it. I can't remember why, will go back through my info and note and see if I can find it

Julie, I would be using the recipes on the forum at the moment with your hands so full, and if you can start looking for your choices etc earlier in the day, that way if you have questions you have time to get them answered before you start cooking your meal and we can help you get going with successes until you have more time 

[fundj&e]

Welcome to the forum, Julie.

[salval]

Hi Julie, welcome to the forum.

A toddler and 8 months pregnant!! Remember that well & it was tiring, so you have my sympathies  .. But such an exciting time too - with not only 1 but 2 special deliveries 

You'll get lots of hints & advice here. Everyone is very, very helpful and really friendly. I love this forum.

All the best with preparations for your new baby!! And happy cooking,
Karen

[trudy]

Welcome to the forum Julie.

[JulieLK]

Thanks andiesenji -  Thanks, it's great to know that the people on this forum have helped you so much.  They certainly seem very nice.  I am sorry to hear about your arthritis, but it's great that the Thermomix has helped you to get back to making food that you love.  I understand how risotto could be a challenge for you - it's a challenge for me, without a physical challenge like yours  

  

  

[JulieLK]

Frozzie - Thank you for the suggestions!  I will look at those recipes and see what we can make this week.  I am looking forward to some of the dips and cooling recipes for the summer.  It's going to be hot this week so I might go for some of those to cool off! 

And yes, pregnant with a toddler at your feet while cooking on the stove is a challenging and dangerous pursuit.  I can't open my oven without hearing little feet behind me.  I've been worried about my daughter get burned or me tripping over her with something hot in my hands.  This is another reason I thought the Thermomix would be a good idea. 

[Frozzie]

hi julie

some nice dips are (some of my favourites) - 

French Onion Dip
Gherkin Dip
Smoked Salmon

For the gherkin dip i chop them first in the thermomix before i start..

you can do a search though on the main page there are several and many i havent got around to trying yet..just check out the comments they will guide you in your choices

as for salads, there is a new salad section and there are a few in the different cookbooks...if you dont have any then just check out the book review section or list of contents of books and any recipes that interest you just ask and someone will send you a pm generally..

happy cooking 

[JulieLK]

Knittercook, I have no idea, really.  The economy is down right now, so I'm not sure this would be the best time for it here anyway.  Also, the US mentality has been a bit overrun by Walmart and "always lower prices."  It's really a shame, but I don't know if Americans as a whole are as worried about value and quality anymore as they are about price.  

That being said, I think that the Thermomix would do well in certain areas.  It would probably do well as a wedding registry gift, if people started hearing about it and seeing what it could do.  I also think that, based on the success of other MLM or direct selling businesses in the US, I can't believe that Vorverk doesn't think that they can build a direct sales force here.  There are tons of companies like that, from Mary Kay to Pampered Chef, and they do very well.    

[andiesenji]

I think one reason is because there have been so many multi-level-marketing schemes that inundated certain areas, (particularly here in southern California) a couple of decades back, that it became a sort of joke.  I worked for an ortho. surgeon, we had a huge office with ten employees in the '80s and we were constantly getting invites from other office employees in our building, the four other medical buildings in our "campus" and from hospital employees. 
There was everything from Avon and Mary Kay,  to Tupperware to Princess Crystal, Pampered Chef and other cookware, Amway, Luxury Linens, lingerie and clothing of various types as well as health stuff, vitamins and etc., and so on.  I'm not even mentioning the parties for children's stuff.

People got burned out on the seemingly out of control proliferation of these and while there are still a very few around, they don't have the cachet they once had. 
Also, people out here tend to move a lot and are not all that chummy with their neighbors as it was back in the '60s and '70s when I lived in the Valley and knew everyone on my street. 

I forgot to mention in my first post that if you have not already checked out Helene's web site , you should do so.  Here she is "ThermomixBlogger"  and is the kind lady who put me in touch with the vendor from whom I bought my TM31.
She also graciously converted an old and somewhat complicated recipe of mine to the Thermomix, for which I am eternally grateful. 
Her site includes some wonderful videos - and there are a lot of videos on YouTube, some by some well known chefs, that are extremely helpful in demonstrating just what the machine can do.

[JulieLK]

Thanks, Judy, I'll look for those posts.  I think that Frozzie may be right, that I used the wrong potatoes and then did a number of things that gave me the gluey mess, possibly including overmixing at the end.  It was a number of mistakes, ending in wall paste 

[JulieLK]

Andiesenji, you may be right.  I generally think that some MLM's are seen a bit differently now, at least in the East.  I think well of Mary Kay, Avon and Pampered Chef.  We also have a new trend with direct selling of jewelry (Silpada) some of which is actually nice.  Apparently there was a distributor selling the Thermomix in the US sometime in the past 10 years, but now that's done I guess.   

Funny you mention Helene.  I bought the Thermomix partially based off of her website, and reading here on the forum.  Her website is great, and she was very nice when I asked her a few questions about the unit.  I will look on YouTube for the videos, thanks!!

[Master Moderator]

I also heard that there are 2 issues with the Termomixnot being sold in USA.

1. Metric measurements in recipes and scales

2. 110 v in USA, hence adapter needed.

Is this true?

Thanks

[andiesenji]

I also heard that there are 2 issues with the Termomixnot being sold in USA.

1. Metric measurements in recipes and scales

2. 110 v in USA, hence adapter needed.

Is this true?

Thanks

It works just fine on 110 - no adapter required for those units that are sold in Canada,  and metric has long been an alternative in the U.S. and all digital scales have both modes - every volumetric measuring cup I have purchased since the 1970s have metric as well as ounces, cups, etc. 

It is simply that Vorwerk has not developed a marketing plan for the U.S.   They did sell  earlier versions here but it was not very successful. 

[JulieLK]

I think that 110 is used all over North America, including Mexico, right?  So any units sold in Canada or Mexico have 110 volts, so they work just fine i the US...mine works great sold from Canada! 

The metric thing could be confusing, if the recipes weren't done by weight and instead by measuring.  Recipes in the US are done my measurements, mostly, so cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, etc.  Using the Thermomix with Metric recipes is just as easy, if not easier, because of the integrated scale.  I don't see the problem with just using regular English measure recipes in the Thermomix, if you have no problem with measuring like you do normally.  Takes away one advantage of the machine, but still has all the other advantages.

[andiesenji]

I just had a long phone chat with my friend who lives on her boat in a marina and got a TM31 a year ago (after listening to my raves).
She has kept somewhat casual records, noting how much she used to spend on eating out three or four times a week, occasionally more.
She actually set up a savings account and has been depositing the savings every month - the difference between what she would have spent in restaurants and the amount she spent on groceries.
To date she has $943.65 in the savings account.  She says it really adds up fast when one is not spending $50.00 + each week in restaurants (in addition to grocery stuff). 
She figures that in just a few more months she will have more than paid for the TMX and is thrilled that she has lost weight, is feeling great and her doctor told her that she no longer has to take medication for high blood pressure. 
She has convinced a couple of other people to get one and one is a friend of hers who works on a cruise ship and is going to get one when the ship is on the way to Alaska in July. 
Quite an endorsement!