The Functions of Your Thermomix

The Recipes that make your Thermomix a Super Bowl.

There is a lot of research and years of development that went into creating that little appliance you have on your bench. And it’s never-ending. The people behind the Thermomix never stop thinking about ways to make the machine better—and we’ve seen that with the rapid transition from the TM31, through TM5 to the TM6. What will be next?

We too should never stop thinking about how to use the precise functions of the Thermomix to make the best food possible. The great beauty of those three buttons—speed, heat, time—is that once a recipe is perfected it will never fail.

Here are the top five functions that make your Thermomix the best thing since homemade (sliced) bread;

Milling or grinding;

There are some pretty crazy allergies out there which are often related to gluten or stabilisers found in finely ground commercial ingredients. Thermomix to the rescue. You can grind most dry goods to a reasonably fine level.

Grinding Tips:

• Always use a clean, dry mixing bowl.

• Place a piece of paper towel between the hole in the lid and the MC to prevent any dust wafting into your kitchen as you mill.

• Don’t mill more than you need. You will find that without the stabilisers found in commercial products, your milled product will clump. It is easier to mill on demand.

•Any amount smaller than 200g is going to struggle to get to a fine grind.

• To get a fine grind on spices, consider the recipe you are using and see if you can grind the spices you need with another ingredient. Flour or sugar can help to get the finest grind.

• When grinding smaller amounts, particularly spices, insert the simmering basket. This helps keep larger spices near the blades where the action is!

• Don’t over-process nuts, as they will release their oil and you will have nut butter instead of nut meal.

Blending;

When I got my first Thermomix, I thought that if speed 4 was good, then speed 8 had to be better. I pretty much ruined a lot of recipes and had buyer’s remorse for a few days. Then I started to follow the instructions. Amazing! Things turned out as the recipe described.

Blending is one of the most amazing things the Thermomix can do. I LOVE to make hollandaise with melted butter and watch a complete mess, turn into amazing velvety hollandaise that would rival that of any top chef.

Then there’s hummus. Take a tin of chickpeas, add garlic, roasted veggies of choice, herbs, extra virgin olive oil, seasoning, ice cubes, blend, and blend again. Top with anything you feel like that will add texture and colour. Dinner. Done. Under 5 minutes from go to whoa.

Don’t stop there. Think sorbets, mousses, pates, sauces, nut milks, soups and smoothies.

Cooking while stirring;

This might be my favourite function. No need to stand stove side, adding a little stock to your risotto as you stir it endlessly. The Thermomix does it for you. Get the right recipe and you are in comfort food heaven.

Polenta and semolina are also a bit hit and miss if cooked conventionally. You can end up with a gluey, lumpy, unappetising mess without a good strong whipping arm. OR you can use your Thermomix and have amazing creamy decadent standalone masterpieces.

The recipe that has sold a million Thermomix machines is set and deliver custard! Add loads of vanilla, chocolate, lemon zest, orange zest, chocolate and…whatever; you get my drift. Endless combinations of silky-smooth deliciousness.

Bechamel is France and Italy’s ‘mother’ sauce—a sauce to make other sauces. Again, no need to stir, put it all in, turn it on, and it’s done.

Kneading;

Bread-making is very therapeutic. If we learnt anything from COVID-19 and isolation, it was that cooking as therapy is a proven winner. Social media was suddenly full of home-cooked food particularly bread-making. I love the kneading function in my Thermomix. There are a lot of recipes out there in Thermomix land that only knead for 1 minute, and although that certainly works for my time goals, it may not yield the best results. The purpose of kneading is to activate the gluten, a crucial step in making bread that is light, airy and chewy, with good structure. So: you need to knead! Three minutes of kneading in a Thermomix is equivalent to 10 minutes by hand. So go with that.

Whipping;

Whipping cream for dessert with that amazing butterfly is reason enough to have a Thermomix in the kitchen.

I used to shy away from making meringue but in these Thermomix days I will do it without a second thought. Just make sure you are using a good recipe. Meringues, pavlovas, dacquoise, airy toppings are all at my disposal with the whipping function!