Thermomix is a kitchen appliance that comes with many different functions – including heating, blending, and weighing your food.
Read our Thermomix review to learn more.
What is Thermomix?
Thermomix is a kitchen appliance created by Germany’s Vorwerk. The appliance was originally launched in 1961. Over the years, it has gone through 9 different variations. Today, the modern Thermomix model (available since 2014) is known as the Thermomix TM 5.
The name “Thermomix” comes from a combination of two words, including “thermos” (for heating) and “mix” (for mixing). Today’s Thermomix has three core functions, including a heating element (for heating your food), a motor (to slowly or quickly blend or stir your food) and a scale (for weighing cooking pots and pans).
You can access all of these functions simultaneously, which means you can heat your food while also weighing it and stirring it.
Thermomix appliances are mostly manufactured at a factory in France, although some come from a factory in Germany.
Officially, Thermomix comes with 12 different functions, which we’ll talk about below. Today, the modern Thermomix TM5 comes with a touchscreen that lets you walk through recipes step-by-step while the machine does all of the cooking, heating, and mixing for you.
Thermomix Functions
Thermomix has three basic mechanisms: it stirs your food, heats your food, and weighs your food/cookware. The company officially advertises the appliance as having 12 different functions. However, some of these 12 functions vary only by the speed of the motor:
- Steaming
- Emulsifying
- Weighing
- Blending
- Precise Heating
- Mixing
- Milling
- Whipping
- Kneading
- Chopping
- Grinding
- Stirring
As the manufacturer explains, Thermomix eliminates the need to have a number of different appliances in your home.
You no longer need a mincer, grater, dough maker, juicer, whisker, mill, mortar/pestle, mixer, ice crusher, food processor, and coffee/spice grinder, to name a few. Yes, the appliance costs a lot of money, but salespeople argue that you avoid spending a lot of money on unnecessary appliances.
How to Use your Thermomix
The latest version of the Thermomix, the TM5, makes cooking easier than ever before. You access “Recipe Chips” via the touchscreen display, then let Thermomix do most of the hard work for you.
Thermomix will display step-by-step recipes on the screen while also automatically activating Thermomix functions when necessary.
With that in mind, using your Thermomix is as easy as scrolling through the touchscreen for recipes, then adding foods and ingredients to the Thermomix cookware as needed. The machine does the rest of the work as you progress through the steps. It’s like cooking with a robot.
Thermomix Models
Today, there are three main Thermomix models available. As mentioned above, the TM5 is the latest model. That model was officially introduced in 2014, although it wasn’t available outside of Europe until 2015.
It started selling in Canada in June 2015, for example, and it arrived in the United States in December 2015.
Prior to the TM5, Thermomix’s previous models included the TM21 and TM31.
The TM5 is a digital Thermomix that comes with Recipe Chips, a quieter motor, and new measuring cups, mixing bowls, and steamers. Meanwhile, the TM31 is a manual Thermomix machine with older, push-style buttons (it doesn’t have a touch screen). The TM31 doesn’t use the same recipe chip system as the TM5, although you can still make most of the recipes manually.
Thermomix Pricing
Thermomix sells its appliances through direct salespeople called Thermomix consultants. Typically, a Thermomix TM5 retails for between $1200 to $1500 USD (prices vary slightly around the world due to currency fluctuations).
Buying Thermomix isn’t as easy as walking into a Walmart. You’ll need to schedule a Thermomix demonstration. Then, a distributor will show you how to use the device and explain its benefits.
As the official Thermomix website explains, “we believe that the best place to demonstrate what it can do is in its natural setting – your home – choosing the day and time that works best for you.”
You can request a Thermomix demonstration through this page.
Is Thermomix Safe?
In addition to the high price tag, the other controversy involving Thermomix is its safety. There have been dozens of separate instances where customers have been burned by the device. There have also been several recorded instances of Thermomix units exploding.
In 2014, for example, Australia issued a recall for the Thermomix TM31, after safety officials in the company identified a point of failure that could harm users. The sealing ring inside the unit was seen as a point of failure.
If the unit was operated at high temperatures and then switched to the lid open position, it could create a dangerous situation.
Typically, most burns caused by Thermomix involve hot liquids or foods splashing out of the mixing bowl. Remember: the Thermomix spins and rotates food/liquids while heating them up, so there’s a potential for a dangerous situation.
In any case, at least 87 burning cases involving the Thermomix have officially been recorded, with 18 of those cases requiring several weeks of treatment in hospital burns units.
About Vorwerk and Thermomix
Vorwerk is a German company originally founded in 1883. Today, the company maintains its headquarters in Wuppertal, Germany, while manufacturing 75% of its Thermomix units in France.
Vorwerk launched its Thermomix food processor in 1961 and eventually released 9 different models of the appliance, including the VM2000 (1971) and the TM31 (2004).
Vorwerk is a group of companies that sells a wide range of household appliances (including vacuum cleaners) as well as fitted kitchens and cosmetics.
Thermomix Reviews: What Do Customers Have to Say About It?
Thermomix units are generally well-reviewed online, with most customers agreeing that the appliance is a gadget that does its job well. The TM5 in particular has received strong reviews across the internet, with prominent media outlets like CNET giving it a rating of 4 stars out of 5, and Wired giving it a rating of 9/10 saying “there’s not much it can’t do well”.
Some reviews argued that it was a luxury appliance worth the high price tag (some US consumers paid as much as $2000 for their TM 5 with multiple accessories), while others argue that it’s priced outside the range of the average household user.
The thing is, the Thermomix lineup was never really designed for budget households: it’s a luxury item. Some people are willing to pay for the luxury of being walked step-by-step through recipes, and some people find Thermomix’s pricing is competitive because you can eliminate so many other appliances from your kitchen.
Thermomix Review Summary
Thermomix’s latest unit, the TM5, has been available throughout Europe, Australia, and other countries since 2014. However, it wasn’t until 2016 that Thermomix’s TM5 really started to appear in the North American marketplace.
Buying a Thermomix isn’t easy or cheap: you need to schedule an appointment with a Thermomix distributor, who arrives at your house to show you how the appliance works and what you can do with it. Then, you’ll need to pay between $1300 and $2000 for the unit and its accessories.
With that in mind, the Thermomix TM5 is clearly a luxury item designed for certain households. It’s not a budget appliance, but some people enjoy using it as a way to reduce the number of appliances in your kitchen.
You can use it as a juicer, food processor, and coffee grinder, for example, which means you don’t have to waste countertop space for those appliances any more.
Ultimately, the best way to determine if Thermomix is for you is to schedule an appointment with a Thermomix distributor, then see the machine in action. Yes, it’s expensive – but it also helps eliminate a lot of unnecessary appliances in your kitchen and it does your cooking for you.
