Tips for Thermomix beginners (and helpful links!)
updated September 2012
Dear Thermomix beginner;
We’ve all been there… We are excited to have Thermomix in the kitchen… But what to do first? Many of us get help from the consultant who introduced us to Thermomix. But as Thermomix becomes more popular, more people are ordering sight-unseen, without a demo. If your Thermomix arrives in the mail, with no consultant to help you unpack and plug it in for the first time, what do you do? Here are some tip-filled links for having your first fun with Thermomix.
After ordering, and before Thermomix arrives:
- Unboxing Vorwerk Bimby if you haven’t seen this yet, here is a little video to get you in the mood for receiving your new Thermomix/Bimby
- Get a head start – Read the TM31 instruction manual online!
- read the blog Thermomix Meals to see how much help Thermomix can provide on a daily basis
- Is your kitchen ready for Thermomix? Preparation makes for an easier transition to Thermo-cookery. Check out these highly-recommended and oh-so helpful Thermomix-friendly kitchen kits!
1) It’s here! Now what do I do???
- read my Letter to a Friend My friend Sue bought Thermomix without ever having seen one or tried it (!). This personal letter includes tips on what to do first when Thermomix arrives in your kitchen.
- Tips and Tricks for New Owners gobs of advice from the mother of all Thermomix sites, at forumthermomix.com
- Plan ahead, see more helpful pages for Thermomix beginners
2) Don’t be shy! First recipes to try.
- What to do when you get your Thermomix Concise first-timer recipe ideas from Kate, a consultant in Auckland, New Zealand. Kate offers a few simple ideas, depending on your priorities… do you want to laugh, be organized, or impress?
- Quirky Cooking: Converting Recipes for the Thermomix Jo’s blog post about converting recipes includes some valuable tips for first cooking with Bimby until ready to move gradually toward adapting your own recipes. Says Jo, ” Some good ones to start with are the vegetable stock concentrate, custard, sorbet, bread, mashed potato, fried rice, risotto, stir fry veges, chicken & cashews with rice, pumpkin soup – just everyday recipes that are easy and quick.”
- Read blog posts from other Thermomix beginners: Feisty Tapas’ First Day with Thermomix
- From our recipe index, try these easy recipes for beginners: Isi’s Portuguese Bread, Odette’s Onions, Pizza Dough, Pizza Risotto, CADA Breakfast, and Tomato-Rosemary Surprise Soup (and more!)
3) Are we having fun yet? Time to share!
- Contact your favourite Thermomix consultant to book a demo at your house. Do it right now! Why not? A demo will introduce your friends to this super kitchen machine. It will show them first hand why you are so excited about cooking more healthy foods, more efficiently, with so much more fun than you ever thought possible. Not only will this serve to inform friends and family, but it will provide you with more tips, recipe ideas, and confidence.
- Get on the forum, register… and start chatting The Thermomix forum is a HUGE source of FRIENDLY support for all Thermomix users, but especially helpful to those who are just starting out. No question is too big or too small. Use the ‘search‘ function to see if someone has already talked about the subject you need, and don’t be shy to start your own topic.
- Leave a comment at the bottom of this page! This site is visited by sooo many curious people who don’t yet own a Thermomix. (In fact, there are hundreds like you reading this page every day!) These blog readers would love to hear that new users think…
Fantastic write up – I’m going to share with everyone!
Great — now that’s what we like to hear!
Thanks,
H.
Yes, great tips! I’ll add this link to my ‘converting recipes’ post! :D
Cool Jo, thanks! What a tidy little circle of information we have going on here ;-)
Just what we need Helene – don’t know why someone hasn’t contacted you and PAID you for this, yet!!!
Oh Valerie how thoughtful of you to suggest such a thing… but being the popular food blogger that you are, I’m sure you’ll agree that the rewards of blogging (especially about Thermomix) are more than monetary!
Loved this post.
Thanks Mara, so glad you liked it (and took the time to say so)!
Thanks! Just got my thermomix this week! I m loving it!!! Already my whole family is amazed at what I can cook now. Thanks for your post, it’s all a bit much and it’s good to know there are a lot of people out there who can help. :)
Great to hear from you Lydia! Thanks for taking time out of all your Thermomixing fun to drop us a note. You are not alone. Just about everyone who gets a Thermomix finds that it helps them to cook things they never would have done otherwise. So many of us now make things regularly, that were ‘beyond our reach’ before Thermomix — things like Hollandaise, Sabayon, and mayonnaise are now home-made staples in many Thermomix households. Hang on cuz the ‘fun curve’ with this machine rises exponentially!
I am a new owner of a TM31 and am loving it. Have spend hours looking through all the blogs. The tips and recipes are fantastic….I look forward toad some recipes of my own in time to come. Thank you to all the great TM owners who take the time to help “newbies” like me!!!! :)
Oh my gosh, I should have checked the spelling in the previous post….apologies for the poor spelling. Hopefully my cooking will not be as bad!!!! :)
No problem Nicola… we understand. You are excited, the adrenaline is rushing, and you can barely type as you jump around wondering what to try next! So glad you took the time to visit and comment :-)
Been considering buying a Thermomix… actually I know I’m buying one however wondering if I should purchase here in Australia or while I”m overseas in the USA next month… any tips on where its the cheapest??
Great Shayela – sounds like you know yourself well enough to trust in this machine. I get asked similar questions all the time and my answer is always as seen here: follow links on the manufacturer’s website to contact the consultant closest to you. That way you will get the best, fastest service possible and support after (if you need it). Also, Thermomix is NOT SOLD IN THE USA. So the decision has already been made for you, really. Best wishes for happy Thermomixing!
Hi Shayela – A brilliant idea to buy a Thermomix, I concur with you absolutely.
Although the AUD is more or less at parity with the USD just now, should you purchase your Thermomix whilst you are in the USA (even assuming it was available there) you would have the problems of getting a delicate bit of machinery back home to Australia safely and you wouldn’t have the direct backup of your local consultant – plus, just to make things worse, you would probably be hit by GST when you got back to Australia – that means you can add another 10% to the purchase price.
Good luck and happy cooking (when you get your TMX).
Good points Cuilidh, thanks for taking time to share this with Shayela!
Been to a demo, looks great. Just got to convince hubby. Do people who buy a thermomix normally give away there scales, food processor etc as there is space issue for me. But then it would be used everyday so no need to put away.
Hi Margie: Glad to hear you like what you’ve seen so far. I think most people who buy a Thermomix do end up ‘retiring’ some other appliances. In my case, I was reluctant to truly let go of certain items, so I moved them from the kitchen to the garage… just in case I might need them again. After one year of zero use, I sold off the following: Cuisinart food processor, blender, and rice cooker — plus all the bulky steaming baskets I had accumulated over the years. I have semi-retired the coffee grinder, but I still use it about half time.
I think there is probably 100% agreement from Thermomix owners that we never, EVER put Thermomix out of sight and under the counter/bench. We just use it much too often. One of the nice aspects of Thermomix is its small footprint for such a high degree of functionality. Because it is not as tall as a Vitamix or blender, it easily fits on the counter, tucked under the upper cupboards if needed. Because it’s always at the ready we tend to use it several times per day.
Cheers Margie — I look forward to hearing more from you after you become a Thermomix owner one day… soon ;-)
Just bought my first thermomix, and checking out all the online resources for it – this is a great article for me! Thank you .. Looking forward to testing out some of the recipes here and on other sites – good motivation for me to learn how to cook new things :) Cheers!
Yay AmyUSA – congrats to you! I hope that this “first Thermomix” is also your last, as the super kitchen machine is really built to last and probably will never need replacing. The only way some people ever part with them is by passing them on to their grown children, so that they may get a new model. (That said, they don’t update models very often at all.) I’m so glad you found this info useful, and hope that you will return here to continue your culinary experiments as you continue to explore your Thermomix. Cheers,
H.
I have had my new Thermomix for just a week and WOW, just LOVE it. Better watch my weight!!! as I have tried the Butter chicken,mmmmmmm, the bief stroganoff, moremmmmm’s, chicken curry, made some beautiful muffins and tonight I am going to make, Chicken Ravioli in Veroma steamer, will let you all know how it went….
Hooray for you Theresa — in just one week you’ve become a “wowing”, “loving”, “Varoma-ing” and “Mmmming” Thermomix fan! Oh yes, you are also a “commenting” fan — and you are super welcome to do as much wowing, and wooing as you like around here ;-)
Hi, Just got my thermomix 2 wks ago. Tried out the Kaya custard. it was superb. Will be browsing this forum to look for recipes. I only attended the demo 2x.
Thanks for posting all the tips on line.
So I saw my first demonstration last weekend, and ordered my thermomix the following Monday- I was so impressed!! We have our first baby on the way and I am keen for any help I can get!! It arrives tonight (the thermomix, not the baby!!) and I have been madly searching forums and watching videos for ideas and recipes – am so excited. I have been making the same old meals for years, and am in desperate need of a “menu makeover,” a “dinner spinner, ” a “food facelift!” So here goes :-)
Aww Elissa, so great to hear from you today! You are going to have so much fun exploring Thermomix while waiting for baby to arrive. And guess what? Each time the Thermomix beeps, between now and birthing day your baby will get to know that sound too! After he/she is born, that Thermomix ‘chime’ will be a comforting, familiar sound. Just think, if baby is fussy (of course your baby won’t be, but just saying…) you’ll be able to soothe that little one just by doing more cooking ;-)
Good luck in the Dinner Spinner giveaway — the next pop-up (surprise) draw will be very soon….
Hi, I have just purchased my thermie last week and have been unable to locate a list of ingredients that a beginner should stock the pantry/fridge with to ensure that you can cook with the thermie everyday. Do you have one???
Thanks Nicole
Hi everyone! I’ve been trying to buy the bimby for years now but they keep saying it is not sold in the united states. Anyone can help me and guide me in what to do? I’m thinking about buying it in Italy, ship it and use a transformer to use it? Any suggestion?
Hi everyone. Well my thermie (called Nigella) arrived on Wednesday and was used for a demo at my daughter’s house. Food as good as the first demo I attended, when I decided to buy a TMix. Special lunch this Sunday when “Nigella” will be put to good use. Will use these forums for sure to hunt for new recipes and also to convert existing favourites courtesy of Jo at Quirky Cooking.
What a fantastic post! I am really flattered that you have included my blog but also kicking myself that I didn’t find your post before I got my machine the other week. Here in the UK the machine is delivered by a courier with no consultant attached. Thank you.
hi people, just got thermomix last saturday. consultant came and gave myself and husband demo. husband sceptical but willing to give it a go. i just spent the afternoon, in amongst washing etc, making breadcrumbs from gluten free bread, husband wheat intolerant, and pumpkin soup, and steamed veges. i need to lose 20 kilo and have been told thermomix will help, so here goes, started today. 27/02/2013, have read all the books i w as given back to frony and wish i could make all recipes straight away. waiting for new kitchen at the moment,so cannot store all jars for storage yet, they are piled up on bookcase in other room. look frowar to seeing more recipes on line. quirky cooking was introduced to us by our consultant and it will now be on favourites.
bye for now
Hi Helen! Great to hear your story. As we say here, “You have hit the ground running!” Lovely to see all the healthy recipes made in your first days! Quirky Cooking is definitely a favourite around here too ;-) It sounds like you are getting organized and well on your way to success with that new Thermomix. Hope you are ready for all the FUN!