Kitchen Appliance with 2 month wait list

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tomturbomatic

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From 8/5/15 WSJ page D1:
"Europeans are clamoring for a blender that also cooks--and weighs, grinds, steams, chops, stirs, whips and kneads. It also has a color computer screen to walk cooks through digitized recipes.

The Thermomix, a $1200.00 German kitchen appliance, now has a two month wait list.

Producer Vorwerk & Co. know in in Germany for its durable vacuum cleaners, says a surge in orders for it's latest model, launched in September, is forcing staff to work round the clock every day. Runaway success in Europe has Vorhaut, I mean Vorwerk cooking up plans for a U.S. relaunch late next year.

The Thermomix automates food preparation, going beyond existing soup-making blenders from Cuisinart and others that also heat their contents.

The latest model's screen displays step-by-step cooking instructions using coin-shaped memory chips which hold digital recipe collections. Cooking time and temperature are preset for each increment so users just add specified ingredients. The machine weighs them and indicates the proper mixing speed.

The company sells the Thermomix through private gatherings like Tupperware parties.

Other home appliance makers have in recent years launched sophisticated machines that can blend and cook, including SEB SA's Krups brand, DeLonghi SPA's Kenwood unit and Whirlpool Corp.'s KitchenAid brand.

Vorwerk launched its first heating food processor in the early 70s in France, and expanded to other markets including the US. It decided to stop selling Thermomix in the US in 2004. Nowadays, some US cooks order it from Canada despite different electrical wiring."

Funny how the Ronson Cook and Stir Blender keeps getting improved and reintroduced.
 
Well...if one plans to chop, puree, stir, grind, whip, steam and knead with it, the price tag might be worth it.

Frankly, I'll make gravy in a saucepan with a whisk; knead bread dough, chop and grind with the food processor; steam on the range; make whipped cream, cookie dough and cake batter with the stand mixer.

I use a blender to make smoothies, crepe batter, and salsa verde, so my KitchenAid will suffice.

Sounds like a very high-tech appliance, though, I'll give it that!
 
I wasn't aware that these didn't sell n the US.

I'm wondering what could be the wiring differences between the Canadian and US models. I'm not aware of any differences in small appliances sold here or in the USA other than temperature or weight display maybe...

My sister bought one of the previous Thermomix models for her husband in a store in Montreal a few years ago. I went there with her. I couldn't believe they would spend that kind of money for a blender that heats so I bought a Ronson Cook n Stir for cheap to demonstrate her how she could have saved by buying a used Ronson. Of course this one doesn't weight the ingredients but I didn't think an integrated scale could justify such a price difference!

But...

When I got my Ronson and noticed how noisy it was, I didn't bother to tell her about it and make a demonstration!
 
Wonder how Vita-Mix and Blendtech will fare out when the Thermomix machine is reintroduced in the US.Would suggest they try to get more distributers-since they are trying to sell these machine kinda like DTD vacuum cleaners.And for US folks since their machine doesn't run from 220-240V as machines in other countries can-this complicates having the heat and blend cycles running at the same time.
 
We've Got One

And yes, it takes a lot of work out of cooking.

 

But some of the recipes in their cookbook could definitely do with some "sprucing up." Some very bland-tasting stuff in there. My other two complaints is the cakes and scones it makes just don't match up to carefully making the time to DIY by hand and of course, the noise. 

 

Is it worth it? 

 

Maybe. It depends on whether you'll use it effectively and to its full potential. Turns out one of the holding dishes included with ours had steel within the plastic material; resulting in a minor meltdown when inadvertently placed on an induction cooktop. 

It does make the preparation of vegetables far easier; although I'm not the one who uses it. My cooking is mostly DIY by hand. Personally, I am not a fan of a "one-touch-does-it-all" approach to cooking, both in terms of final appearance and taste. 

 

These machines are supposed to be durable, and one would hope, given the price. It will be interesting to see how these machines age, older models from years ago still command nearly full RRP on sites like "Gumtree" and eBay, but that, of course, isn't an adequate representation of whether they really are worth that much in a "ridden hard, put away wet" kind of state. 
 
If you want one--you could luck out on someone who bought one--didn't like it and shoved it to the rear of the pantry-now the person wants to sell it for the downpayment on his hot tub!Figure that scenerio could be possible.Agree on the cooking remember the Thermomix or any other kitchen appliance is just a tool-what comes out of it depends on the SKILL of the user!!
 
Kitchen appliance

According to Thermomix it is more than that. With the chip in place the machine can you guide through a recipe. But from what I've seen on Youtube of the recipes they made with the Thermomix are rather bland. But that judgement is only based on what I've seen on Youtube.

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Phil !!

The major difference between the wiring of Canadian and  US small electrics is that in Canada the electrons flow left to right and down here its right to left. So the wiring has to be adjusted each time you cross the border !

 

Part of the cooking process of the Cook'n'Stir was the noise generated ( loud as a 747 taking off !) would scare the food and make it behave & add flavor , something it appears from comments is lacking in the silent Thermomix! That's why you get "bland food" !
 
Yes, the machine will work without the recipe disc, but then ofcourse you will miss out on the most advanced feature of the machine. ;-)

Talk about noise. The machine may be not so noisy, but the motor makes an awkward noise and the tune it plays when it's done it's task is very annoying. Start at 8:30 into the video.

 
Thanks Louis for attaching that video. 

 

The "alarm" tone that is played at the end of a cooking/mixing (etc) sequence should be selectable to a more pedestrian "Beep Beep!," much like a conventional oven. 
 
not much of a cook anymore

I have 2 blenders that cook, the vintage "was that the bomb that just exploded in nearby Los Angeles" Ronson" and an unused, marked-down to nothing Cusinart. I have never prepared anything in either of them. I'm not quite ready for strained foods yet. I have a non-heating Jennair that I occasionally use to make margaritas. I keep it on the counter since it's pretty.
 
...would scare the food and make it behave & add flavor...

LOL! I can see that happening. Imagine you're trying to cook lobster in a Ronson! That must be a terrifying death! 
 
The Thermomix # 5-the noises can be indeed annoying-and another potential annoyance is the scrolling thru the machine menu to chage speed and such.Prefer buttons,switches,and knobs.And the automatic cover lock-what if this becomes jammed-can you open it manually somehow?The Thermomix is sort of an interesting machine-but think it is for the mix it,heat it,and eat it type cook.
 
Another possible problem with the Thermomix--THE PIN--we have ENOUGH stuff in our lives needing PIN#'s to work--not my Mixer-blender too???Like my present machines--just plug in,start,away we go!!DONE!!Often "computer type" interfaces from the machine to the user CAN be annoying.The the OLDER Thermomix machine would be easier and better!
 

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