Look what Target has ....

[Frozzie]

No need to justify stacee.. Would be interested to hear what u think?? Or ds lol

[Yvette]

Yes I would be interested to hear more Staceelee

[mcmich]

Me too stacelee.

[obbie]

No need to be sorry Staceelee, I love machines, and I have a few on my bench. I have heard good reports on Jamie Oliver machine..

[*suzanne*]

They were advertised in the Hardly Normal catalogue a few weeks ago

[obbie]

I try not to look at any cattle dogs at the moment.

[Frozzie]

You lost me there robyn.

[obbie]

catalogues

 Frozzie

[stacelee]

Okay...here goes.  I like the concept of the cutting tower.....I've never been all that enthusiastic about the way that the TM chops vegetables, sometimes it is nicer to have sliced vegetables in stir fries etc.  It is raised up high enough to automatically put the vegetables into the cooking pot, although when I did onions I managed to put as many on the bench as in the pot....but that may have been because I didn't have it lined up very well.  It seems fairly well made and comes with five different blade inserts (from memory) and is dishwasher safe.

The cooking pot comes with a rice/pasta basket that sits into it and a steaming basket and tray that sits on top.  The cooking pot has a "stirrer" that sits on a central column that rotates on the heating base.  The pot doesn't rotate, just the column.  I'm not sure if it heats by induction.  The stirrer works well to move the food around without mushing it.  This is one of the things I prefer to the Thermomix.  I find that even backwards, the blades tend to break food up....and the thermochef doesn't have a reverse option at all.  It is also very good for browning...the temperature goes from 40 to 250C so you can get onion golden and meat browned.  I also like the fact that you can cook with the glass lid off which enables sauces etc to reduce easily.  The stirrer can also be turned off.  I was able to cook mushrooms and chorizo slices with the stirrer function on...meaning I could just ignore it...and then I turned the stirrer off and added eggs to the pan to fry them.

The pan scrubs up well and can go in the dishwasher...the pasta basket and steamer basket also go in the dishwasher.  It all stacks on top of one another and doesn't take up a lot of bench space.  The footprint on the benchtop is probably a little more than a large saucepan, ignoring the cutting tower.

I don't think that you would buy one instead of a thermomix if you were interested in doing more than making main dishes. As an addition to a thermomix it is great.  I made Beef Korma for dinner in the homecooker last night while I was using the TM to make a butter cake and then to cook rice to go with the Korma.  For a 17 year old with basic cooking skills, it will be ideal.  Being able to set a timer and temperature will make it relatively easy to use and he can dump the lot in the dishwasher.  It also will stop pots from being boiled dry on my gas cooktop when he forgets that he is cooking something and I will feel more comfortable that there is less potential of fire.

[obbie]

Great Idea. My Daughter wants a thermomix and she is 8.

I have started to teach her how to use it already.
perfect for a extra machine, and for a 17 year old to start with.

[mcmich]

Sounds interesting stacelee.

[Frozzie]

Sounds good as à second machine .. Oops sorry .. Will go sit in the naughty chair

[judydawn]

Have a look at the rules (Rule 5) girls - don't think MM wants prices of competitors discussed here.

5.3 It is forbidden to mention prices of competitor products and accessories in this forum. If people want to know prices of such articles, then please use private messages to each other. We reserve the right to amend this rule at any time, without giving notice. You may however quote prices on food/drink, recipes, and other general domestic products (kitchenware, household goods etc), that do not directly affect Thermomix and it's accessories.

5.4 Links and posts concerning direct competitor (non Thermomix) product sites, courses, recipes, meet ups etc are not allowed and will be removed.

5.5 You MAY chat about other competitor products, to give opinons and experiences. Posts on this subject will be closely monitored. Any that are deemed to be of commercial nature or biased against Thermomix, shall be removed. You may mention good points or bad points of competitor products, but please do not compare to Thermomix

[Frozzie]

Was being lazy.. Will go Check online..

[Yvette]

Thanks for letting us know Staceelee