ThermoChef Natura:
- Spanish design, Japanese motor
- 2 year warranty – for peace of mind
- Belt and gear driven – quiet operation
- Butterfly clip allows for cooking with form; you can cook a stew with chunks of meat in it without them getting chopped up by the blade as the butterfly clip goes over the blade and allows for gentle stirring.
- Blade is completely detachable and parts are replaceable if you lose a piece.
- Scale is on the side separate to the jug. Up to 3kg in 5gm
- Blade and lid can go in dishwasher but not the jug as it has electronic rods on it which attach it to the motor.
- All plastic parts are BPA free
- Heats at 1000 watts, motor run at 550 watts with inbuilt over heating cut out
- Speed – depending on the setting can go up to 8700rpm.
- 2ltr jug
- $795
The ThermoChef is one of a new range of mixer/blenders appearing on the market. They are aimed at both commercial and home use and tend to operate at higher speeds than regular machines. Consequently they can be quite noisy compared with something like a KitchenAid regular blender
Before stocking the ThermoChef we looked at similar machines available in Australia and their features to see what would be the best value for money.
We have listed below the most salient points we could gather along with what we would consider to be a fair observation. If you have any further comments to add please contact us and we can amend
ThermoMix
- German design.
- Assembled in France with imported parts
- 2 year warranty
- Reverse action which allows for stirring action without chopping.
- In built scale: you can weigh straight into jug
- Higher rpm: makes a lot of noise.
- 2ltr jug
- Reluctance motor high power low cost but noisy
- ThermoMix is made by a vacuum cleaner company which explains the in- house demonstrations (you can’t buy in a store – only from their team of salespeople) and also the type of motor used
- $1900+
Observations; great machine and one of the first to use variable/ high speed to achieve good results. Good back up and after sales, the Australian network obviously go to great lengths to keep their customers on-side. Lots of sharing recipes.
Nearly all recipes can be utilised by the ThermoChef user
Mycook
- Assembled in Spain
- 1 year warranty
- Heating 1kw Motor 1.8kw
- 2 ltr jug plus 1 spare
- RPM not listed but has 10 speed settings
- $1900 – not always available, indent orders
Mainly sold into commercial areas but unable to get much feedback from existing users. Comparison charts in USA show Mycook outperforming the ThermoMix. Lack of distributors make it a less attractive option especially if anything goes wrong
Vitamix 5200
- Assembled in USA
- 2ltr jug
- No heating. Motor 1.3kw
- Var but max 70 000rpm
- 7 year warranty
- $850-980 depending where you shop
This is basically a very high speed blender which generates enough heat to be able to claim it ‘cooks soup’. All the feedback forums note it’s very high noise – ‘like a jet taking off’ and it’s heaviness. If you need a solid blender capable of blending anything you might have in the kitchen and you make smoothies daily then this seems to do the job otherwise you would probably be better off with a less expensive model that is also a lot quieter.
In reviewing all the current machines and judging by the feedback from satisfied and unhappy customers we have come to the conclusion that you will probably be happy with most of the machines featured as long as you are the type of person who needs to continually blend and chop food. The more recipes and ‘assistance’ the manufacturer supplies the more likely you will explore the capabilities and your enjoyment of the machine. The claim for ‘making ice cream’ is a bit silly as all you are doing is blending frozen fruit and you can achieve this with any blender.
In conclusion
Determine what you really want from the appliance and then seek out a demonstration and request they perform the task
We have the ThermoChef model in store and we are happy to demonstrate its capabilities – you might have to bring your own ingredients though! See website for demo dates or call for a 1:1 demonstration
