Not sure if my TM is hot enough/heating properly ?

[MelissaTM]

I've had my thermomix for nearly a week, and am loving it .  Mostly so far I have been using it for doughs to make bread because we've been out for dinner a lot lately and I haven't needed to cook.  The 2 meals that I have cooked in it though have not been cooked in the time the recipe says.  I made minestrone soup which needed an extra 4 minutes because the pasta wasn't cooked.  And last night I made Apricot chicken risotto, and after the 17 minutes when I was supposed to be putting it in the server to rest, the chicken was raw and the sauce had not even started bubbling.  When I say raw I don't mean undercooked in the middle, but cubes of completely raw chicken. I put it back on for 6 minutes, the sauce finally started bubbling within the first minute.  I checked the chicken after the 6 minutes but it was still a bit undercooked so I set the timer for another 5 minutes.  After that additional 11 minutes cooking time plus 5 minutes in the server it was finally cooked.

I followed the recipes exactly as in the book, making sure I weighed all the ingredients and double checking all the settings as I went.  Are they just dodgy recipes or is there something wrong with my machine?

[judydawn]

An extra 4 minutes is neither here nor there so I wouldn't worry about that Melissa but with the risotto, was your temperature button lighting up to the one you set?  When you saute off the onion etc in the first step and came to the second step, did you make sure you reset the temperature button - I made that mistake a lot when I first started using the thermomix. After each step has been done and the TMX sings, you need to reset the temp for the next step.

[fundj&e]

do a little test put 1/2 water in the  *:i see how long it take to boil.


i tried it. it took 4.50 mins to boil with the MC on 

[Cuilidh]

As Judy says, always check the temperature is correctly set as you start each new step - this is something I still get caught on regularly, even after 18 months of use.  Hopefully this will sort out your problem.

Whatever you do, don't be discouraged by this, try cooking something else and see what happens.  It's simply part of the learning curve of this wonderful machine.  However, if something is truly wrong, contact your consultant immediately.

[MelissaTM]

When you saute off the onion etc in the first step and came to the second step, did you make sure you reset the temperature button - I made that mistake a lot when I first started using the thermomix. After each step has been done and the TMX sings, you need to reset the temp for the next step.

I can't be certain, but I think I dipped my finger into the sauce after the 17 minutes and it was hot, just not boiling hot.  I'm guessing if I forgot to reset the temperature it wouldn't have heated it at all and the sauce would be cold?  Like I said I'm not positive... I have terrible baby brain - I lose 1/4 of my brain with every baby I've had, and I have 4 kids  .

I will try boiling water, how much do I put in and how long should it take to boil?

[MelissaTM]

do a little test put 1/2 water in the  *:i see how long it take to boil.


i tried it. it took 4.50 mins to boil with the MC on 

Is that 1/2 a litre of water, or 1/2 a cup, or 1/2 filled?  Sorry!

[fundj&e]

OPS  sorry 1/2 liter of water 

[MelissaTM]

Thanks, I will try that now

[cookie1]

I hope it's ok.

[judydawn]

What was the result Melissa?

[MelissaTM]

Sorry!  Been so busy I haven't been near the computer.  I did the 1/2 litre water, I don't know exactly when it started boiling cause I had to walk away and break up a fight between my kids, but when I came back and checked at 4.5 mins it was boiling . 

I cooked mashed potato last night and it was cooked just before the 20 minute mark, which is great, but after I mashed the spuds and put them in the server and put water in the TM bowl to steam some vegies on top, the water didn't really seem to boil, even though the TM lights indicated it was hot.  I definately set the temp to Varoma and all the lights lit up, but there wasn't much steam happening at all  .  Maybe I didn't put enough water in, or too much.  I didn't really pay much attention to that  .

[judydawn]

Melissa, if you are steaming vegies, I add about a litre of boiling water to the bowl and use speed 3 (some people use speed 4) - you should see steam that way.

[MelissaTM]

Thank you, I will try that next time