Last August I bought myself a Thermomix TM31 which is an amazing product if you are wanting to "cook from scratch" and get back to basics. Their motto is "cooking like grandma using today's technology" (that may not be the exact words but you get the drift). The product is very expensive and at first before I knew anything about it I thought who on earth would pay that sort of money for one kitchen item. Well five minutes into the demo when I saw raw sugar turn into fresh icing sugar in a few seconds I was hooked. It does soups, breads, dices, sautes and so much more. The product itself looks very fancy and when you see the demonstrator cook something you think how on earth am I going to learn how to use that thing. It is very simple and there are only 3 things you do (i) Temperature, Time and Speed. The recipe book highlights those 3 things on the page and makes it really easy to read. Over the next year I want to make more recipes with it and am working towards that.
Over the weekend I made "butter" from pure cream by whizzing the cream until the cream and the buttermilk separates and then I strained it further by putting it into a clean cloth (like a chux) squeezed the rest of the liquid out and let it sit for a few minutes. I then added water to the butter and mixed it up and then added a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to make it spreadable. The butter lasts a couple of weeks in the fridge and knowing that there are no chemicals in this verses the margarine we normally use it makes me feel good. The kids love the butter and I think anything without chemicals in moderation is so much better for you. I kept a nice looking margarine container and placed the butter in that and popped it in the fridge.
With the leftover buttermilk it only seemed right to match a batch of scones for afternoon tea. The dough is a sticky wet dough however this makes the scones so light and fluffy and so yummy. I will definitely get into the habit of making butter vs the chemical laden margarine.
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We don't use margarines here for the reasons you have outlined ... though I still can't justify the cost of the Thermomix - really? Is it THAT good?
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, I bet your kids love their homemade butter and yummy scones after school!
Amy I too was shocked at the cost of this item, trust me.... however if you want to do lots of home make cooking without chemicals this is your gadget. Get onto ebay and sell items in your home to declutter and put that money towards one. Organize a demo with your friends. One good thing (my experience is) that it's not like a tupperware party where you go along and feel obliged to buy an item because you are there. This is an expensive item and the product sells itself once you see it. You can make ice cream, soups, mashed potato, all sorts of pastries, chops in seconds, boil eggs it has a steamer as well to steam veggies on top but I haven't had that demo yet so need to look into that. Makes jams, sorbets, lots of things. BUT I too thought who on earth would spend that sort of money on a kitchen item. I think they now do 12 month payment plans as well.
ReplyDeleteI just made some butter on the weekend after being inspired by your post. I have also managed to pick up some reduced cream. Only 75c a carton. 3 of these are now in the freezer waiting for us to run out of butter.
ReplyDeleteThe buttermilk from the weekends batch is in the loaf that is rising as I type.
Cheers