For the Tech Geeks - Thermomix TM6 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2021, 08:23:03 am
content: While the whole universe behind Thermomix is very "Multi level marketing" minded - it is actually an ok cooking help.For those who do not know Thermomix - it is basically a very efficient blender - with a built in heating element in the "bowl" - with scales as well. The blender knives can turn both ways - and in "reverse" the blades are acting like a stirring mechanism. The Thermomix can be used for sous vide cooking as well.It can follow multistep recipes using theSubscription only cookiedoo (£40/year) but lots of recipes are available.I managed to pick up a broken Thermomix TM6 - but the system board was cracked badly from a "big drop" - so I had it serviced and for once paid for a repair. But still ended up with a machine for 1/2 price of new. The UK repair company was ok - but very very very slow.But the reason we looked at the Thermomix was we have worked our way through 2 high end blenders over 6 years. All reasonable high end and all with motor failure just a year or so post warranty expiration. Apart from that we have had 4 "spice" grinders kill themselves and melt down over the same 6 years. So 2 warranty replacements = 4 spice grinders dead and now out of warranty.So we looked at high quality blenders / kitchen gear and could not find any where reviews did not show "Motor failure" after a relative short time.We had previously discounted Thermomix as one of our friends have one - and they are the "we buy a lot of ready made meals" type - so it kind of took down the "reputation" from our viewpoint.But now we have had the Thermomix since the 22nd of December. And it is a monster of of a machine. It is very well made. The blender is really good - and we have used it to make spice grinds - and chocolate sprinkles - and the machine did it to A++ - better than most high end spice grinders we have owned.For Christmas I did the traditional Scandinavian "Rice Porridge" (Porridge Rice boiled with milk - served with cinnamon sugar and butter) - and that is a cooking nightmare as you have to stir constantly for about 45-50 min while boiling to keep the milk from burning. So the rice pudding often turns slightly "muddy" in colour from the slightest milk burn. But this year we had the whitest rice porridge everand I hardly did any work at all.It was so easy we made a 2nd portion from scratch the next day for "Risalamande" (Danish version of Riz à l'amande / Rice Pudding with almonds served with Cherry sauce) (a recipe :https://nordicfoodliving.com/risalamande-danish-rice-dessert/)So the Thermomix so far have shown potential. You can make your own recipes now - so yesterday we made our own recipe "Leak and Potato soup" in less than 30 minutes total. The TM6 did 90% of the work either my wife or I do - so as long as things was put in the TM6 in manageable sizes - the TM6 would do the rest of the chopping without turning everything to a pulp. The first try on soup was not 100% but 95% perfect - but a few twists to the recipe and I think it will be as good as " hand made "The TM6 can do many other things but we have only just started figuring out what it can do.And while I really detest the "Multilevel marketing" part and subscriptions - I think the TM6 will save both my wife and I hours in cooking time - and taking some of the load of feeding our growing children. We might be a bit " unusual " this day and age as we do 95+% home cooked meals.But the TM6 will help lower the workload quite a bit.So if your Kitchen blender is on the fritz - the TM6 could be a "helping hand"I'm not affiliated with the TM6 sales network - bought my unit broken because I'm a cheapskate and did not want to risk the £1150 price without "evidence" - but the £600 I paid incl. repair and shipping - it has so far been worth it. And there are rarely reports of broken motors where Kenwood and other high end machine brands - seem to have issues with even the most expensive machines they make.

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 27, 2021, 09:08:25 am
content: Quote from: sleemanj on December 27, 2021, 08:56:21 amNothing like good humour in the morningthanks!

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2021, 02:05:43 pm
content: But will it blend?

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2021, 07:32:37 pm
content: Ohh yes it blends - but so far not itself...Did Parmesan yesterday - better than any of our "gourmet" (<- read as "expensive") (now broken) grinders have done ever. Just plunk in cubes of 2x2 cm and out comes the finest grain Parmesan as we like in our own version of spaghetti carbonara or Brazilian cheese bread.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2021, 07:40:08 pm
content: Sounds fab, but I'd never slide it past my comptroller.

author: DrG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2021, 07:13:30 pm
content: Everybody finds their own way, but I will be getting one of those right after I dye my nuthairs orange.

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 11:44:05 am
content: Quote from: DrG on December 29, 2021, 07:13:30 pmso soon? Congratulations on the purchase then.

author: Ranayna
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 01:21:28 pm
content: Quote from: dunkemhigh on December 28, 2021, 07:40:08 pmYou know the funny thing? In every family that i know that owns one of these, it is the women who insisted getting it.And considering how bloody expensive a thermomix is, i don't think i would ever buy one.But apparently these things do have quite a good build quality. I have read that Vorwerk actually was in some financial trouble, because those that already own a Thermomix don't have a reason to buy a new one since it lasts a long time.

author: DrG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 01:54:38 pm
content: Quote from: sleemanj on December 27, 2021, 08:56:21 amThe best thing about the thread. I did watch this one, and several others - they are pretty good and I had never seen them before.

author: DrG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 02:10:06 pm
content: Quote from: kaz911 on December 30, 2021, 11:44:05 amNo, sorry, you must have misunderstood, see I was giving you an example of some ridiculously unlikely event that would happen BEFORE I would ever buy anything remotely similar to thegarbageproduct that you aresellingtoutingtelling us about in a most sincere manner.But, you just couldn't resist such a snappy comeback. The good news is that I can help you! For only $100 a week, I will send you a newsletter to explain how garbage marketing can make you happy in life!Disclaimer :I do not work for any multi-level marketing scam and do not sell a newsletter.No, but seriously, I am waiting untilyouthey come out with an NFT version.<-- notice that I included that so this is all in good fun ha ha ha it's great to start the day off with a good laugh - happy happy happy.Hint: Instead of another snappy comeback, consider posting some pictures of the great food that you have made and be sure not to violate any copyrights on any subscription recipes.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 02:22:46 pm
content: QuoteA bit different here. Teabags have only recently become acceptable substitutes for a strainer.

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 02:43:52 pm
content: Yes - humour at any time is most welcome.anyway - for us it was a choice between Magimix for £250-450 + spice grinder('s .. 1 a year... ) or try the TM6 - so we tried the TM6 "on the cheap" - and from an engineering perspective - it is well made. It probably have issues here and there. But from a lot of the products we have bought the last couple of years - the TM6 and our Miele Washer/Dryers just works really well.So many other products have been disappointing quality.So I like well made tools that work as they should and last for a long time.On the not very good (not quite suitable to purpose as advertised) are Leica BLK3D, Ember Heated Mug 2, Panasonic HIT Solar panel, Oura Ring 3 and quite a few others.Usually it is software issues that never really gets fixed before a new version arrives and developers "forget" about fixing the old things.Anyway - back to cooking....We made pancake dough yesterday - both crepe and American pancake dough - and both came out great from the TM6 - in about the same time it would have taken to make 1 of the doughs by hand. So our daughter likes crepes and our son likes American pancakes. So they got both.. It was the first try - and the crepes was not 100% but 95% compared to our old handmade recipe - but the American Pancakes was better than what we have made before. With a twist or two - I guess both will be "as good as" our handmade dough.

author: DrG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 03:01:07 pm
content: Quote from: kaz911 on December 30, 2021, 02:43:52 pmYou are most welcome and thanks so much for all those great pictures of the delicious food that you made with that wonderful product.Here is another one that might interest you. Now, I don't sell these myself, but I know where you can get them.It is called the MagiForkBS-495 and it goes for US$495.99, I know, it sounds expensive - right? I was suspicious too, I mean that's a heck of a lot for *any* kitchen appliance. But, I gotta say, this thing is absolutely AMAZING!!You can do all sorts of really incredible things with this "little miracle" as me and the missus call it....and get this....somehow, it found its way into the disposal - UGH!!!!! what a terrible sound when we turned it on.....but IT STILL WORKS!!

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 03:28:21 pm
content: AFAIK their latest model follows the Apple way of repairability. Another alternative is Monsieur Cuisine (no subscription, spare parts available).BTW, Vorwerk is well known for selling totally overpriced vacuum cleaners.

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 06:34:59 pm
content: Quote from: madires on December 30, 2021, 03:28:21 pmThe Monsieur Cuisine looks fab - but it is from SilverCrest - a brand I have not had much success with (It is Lidl's brand) - I have return rates of about 40% from especially Silvercrest. I do most of my food shopping in Lidl.And the Lidl staff here is so used to returns they do not even open the packets and look. They just call up your receipt and credit you without questions.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 06:56:00 pm
content: My sister has a Monsieur Cuisine for several years now and is quite happy with it. Her only complaint is that the pot doesn't have a nice handle like the Thermomix.

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2021, 09:08:07 pm
content: Quote from: madires on December 30, 2021, 06:56:00 pmI think if Lidl here sold it - I would buy one just to compare- we cook A LOT.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2022, 06:17:27 pm
content: Quote from: madires on December 30, 2021, 03:28:21 pmIn all fairness, most of their vacuums performreallywell in tests. So while one can certainly find an inexpensive vacuum that cleans well, people who are willing to spend more can get something that cleans a bit better still.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2022, 06:19:17 pm
content: Quote from: sleemanj on December 27, 2021, 08:56:21 amI discovered that series (like most people, via that exact episode) some years ago and love every minute of them! I wish they had far, far more episodes!