What Is a Thermomix®? What the TM7 Actually Does

Never heard of Thermomix? Learn what the Thermomix® TM7 actually does, how Guided Cooking works, what you can make, and why it is different from a blender or multicooker.

If you grew up in Europe, you may already know Thermomix. If you're in the United States, there's a good chance you've never heard of it.

I'm originally from Germany, where Thermomix has been part of kitchens for decades. When I talk about it here in the U.S., one of the questions I hear most often is simply:

“But what actually IS a Thermomix?”

The easiest answer is that the Thermomix® TM7 is an all-in-one cooking device that can prepare ingredients and cook them. With access to more than 100,000 recipes through Cookidoo®, it can also feel like having a personal-chef-style kitchen companion, tailored to the way you like to cook and eat.

But that still doesn't really explain why I've had one in my kitchen for more than 10 years.

What does a Thermomix actually do?

Imagine you're making soup.

Normally, you might use a cutting board and knife to chop the vegetables, a scale or measuring cups for the ingredients, a pot to cook everything, and then a blender if you want the soup smooth.

With Thermomix, many of those steps happen in the same bowl. It has an integrated scale, so you can weigh ingredients directly into the bowl. That means less dishes and less time. It can chop your onion and vegetables. It can heat and cook them. It can stir while they're cooking. And if you're making a creamy soup, it can blend it when it's finished. That combination is what makes Thermomix easier to understand when you see it cooking an actual meal.

Cookidoo® Is Becoming Much More Than a Recipe Library

One of the biggest parts of the Thermomix® experience is Cookidoo®, the recipe platform that connects directly with the TM7. And Cookidoo is becoming increasingly interactive.

The new Cookidoo® Assistant lets you ask questions in a much more natural way. Instead of knowing exactly what recipe you want to search for, you can ask things like:

• What can I make with carrots, potatoes and ground beef?
  
• I need a quick vegan dinner.
  
• What could I cook for a guest who cannot eat gluten?
  
• I want something Italian that my family will like.

The Assistant can help you explore ideas and find matching Cookidoo recipes. It can also help with everyday planning, such as adding recipes to your shopping list or planning a recipe for a particular day.

Cookidoo has also introduced Recipe Translation. Supported recipes from other countries can now be translated in the app while keeping the Guided Cooking experience.That opens up recipes that previously may have been difficult to use simply because they were published in another language.

And the TM7 itself continues to become more international. Arabic is now available as a language on the TM7, making the experience more accessible to Arabic-speaking cooks.

For someone like me, who grew up in Germany and now lives in the United States and loves exploring food from different cultures, this is one of the developments I find particularly exciting. Thermomix has always made it easier for me to explore cuisines from around the world. Now Cookidoo is making those borders even smaller.

Does Thermomix cook the food for you?

Yes, but perhaps not in the way you're imagining.

You still choose what you're eating and put the ingredients in. The difference is that Thermomix can take over many of the repetitive steps.

This is also where Guided Cooking becomes so useful. Choose a recipe on the screen, and Thermomix guides you through it step by step.

Add an ingredient and the integrated scale weighs it. Move to the next step and the recipe can set the appropriate time, temperature and speed. Instead of constantly moving between the recipe, cutting board, scale, pan and stove, much of the process happens in one place.

You can also cook manually when you don't want to follow a Guided Cooking recipe.

What can you make in a Thermomix?

This might be easier to answer with examples because the range is huge. You can explore international cuisines, make doughs and breads, steam, stir-fry, purée, emulsify, reduce sauces and use culinary techniques such as sous-vide cooking and tempering chocolate.

Or you can make mac and cheese.

You can make salads and their dressings, lemonade, desserts and cakes. You can ferment yogurt, prepare dough for sourdough bread, make one-pot dinners, cook across multiple levels, or recreate a childhood dish from another country.

Thermomix works alongside some other kitchen appliances rather than replacing every one of them. For example, I still use an air fryer when I want something crispy, and the TM7 mixing bowl has a maximum capacity of 2.2 L (about 74 fl oz).

I don't wake up thinking: “Today I'd like to use my chopping function.” I think: “What are we eating?”

For me, Thermomix might mean making bread dough, hummus, soup, curry, risotto, a sauce, nut butter, a smoothie, salad dressing or dinner. Another day it might simply chop vegetables or make something from scratch that I otherwise would have bought prepared.

That's why I think the better question isn't: “How many functions does it have?” It's: “Which parts of cooking would this make easier for me?”

And maybe:

“What will I do while dinner is cooking without me standing there stirring it?”

Is Thermomix basically an Instant Pot, blender or food processor?

Not exactly.

There is overlap with several kitchen appliances because Thermomix can perform jobs that you might otherwise use separate devices for. But I wouldn't tell you it replaces everything in your kitchen. I still use my oven. I still use a pan when that's the best tool for what I'm making.

I also think Thermomix and an air fryer make a great combination: Thermomix can handle the prep, sauces, and sides, while the air fryer handles the things I want crispy.

Thermomix isn't valuable to me because I can throw every other kitchen tool away. It's valuable because so many everyday cooking steps can happen in one place, and I don't have to stand beside it for every step.

Is Thermomix only for people who don't know how to cook?

Definitely not.

It can help someone learn to cook, but it can also open the door to more advanced cooking techniques. Thermomix is used in professional cooking, and Cookidoo even features recipe collections developed with professional and Michelin-starred chefs, bringing some of those techniques into the home kitchen. 

I'm now an experienced cook, and I use mine all the time. In fact, I don't think I'd want to be without one anymore. Someone learning to cook may love Guided Cooking because it removes a lot of uncertainty.

An experienced cook may appreciate the precision, consistency, and ability to let the Thermomix stir, emulsify, or cook something while they do something else. And sometimes I know perfectly well how to cook something.

I simply don't want to spend my evening doing every step myself or cleaning more than I really have to.

Why isn't Thermomix better known in the United States?

Thermomix has a much longer history and greater familiarity in parts of Europe and other international markets than it does in the United States.

That's one reason I enjoy introducing people to it here.

I'm a German native living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I've cooked with Thermomix for more than 10 years, starting with my TM5 in 2014, then the TM6 and now the TM7. After moving to the United States, I eventually decided to become an Independent Thermomix® Consultant, and I absolutely love helping other people discover what it can do for them.

So when I show someone Thermomix, I'm not interested in demonstrating twenty impressive functions they may never use. I want to know how you actually eat and what currently makes cooking difficult for you.

Then we can see whether Thermomix solves something that actually matters in the way you cook and live.

The easiest way to understand Thermomix is to cook with one

I can write another 2,000 words explaining Thermomix and it still won't communicate what happens as clearly as cooking and tasting one meal with it.

That's why I love Cooking Experiences.

If you're in Milwaukee or Southeastern Wisconsin, you can cook with me in person. I also offer online Cooking Experiences anywhere in the USA.

Book a Thermomix® Cooking Experience with Rebecca from anywhere in the US on Zoom or in-person in Milwaukee area. 

If you've already discovered Thermomix and you're now researching price, purchase options or what is currently included, I deliberately keep those changing details on one continuously updated page:

Current Thermomix® USA Offers & Promotions

So, what is a Thermomix?

It's an all-in-one cooking system that can prepare ingredients, cook them and guide you through recipes in the same workflow.

But what matters isn't everything it can do. What matters is how it can make the way you want to cook and live easier.