The perfect kitchen appliance for people who suck at cooking
LAS VEGAS -- Despite America's love for kitchen appliances and hardware, we've been seriously missing out on a popular piece of luxury food technology Europe and Australia have been enjoying for years.
At a glance, the Thermomix TM5 looks like an overly complicated blender, but it is so much more. Claiming to "take the fear out of cooking," the device is a essentially a sophisticated appliance that can deliver you recipes, chop, blend, grind, knead, and actually cook your food. It's like a smart one pot that does it all. While it may not be the best appliance for people who love to cook, it's perfect for people that have no idea how to cook, or just don't like it.
The whole contraption is actually somewhat complicated. A large bowl sits on an even larger base, and the inside has several accessories such as a steaming basket, a butterfly whisk attachment, a spatula and a blade and a measuring cup. It is by no means small, and those attachments will also take up some additional space.
A small touchscreen on the appliance allows you to select from a variety of different recipes, ranging from soups and pizza dough to margaritas. Once a recipe is selected, the screen shows step-by-step instructions, and also functions as a scale to help users measure out ingredients. Users can choose from a variety of different recipes from the cookbook included with the appliance and its digital key, but access to Thermomix's entire library is going to cost you, of course.
The company is rolling out a new dongle in 2017 called the Cook Key, which will allow users to access 20,000 different recipes via Wi-Fi. While we think the TM5 is a cool product, asking users to purchase a dongle for a blender and then pay a monthly fee is a bit ridiculous.
While $1,299 may seem a lot for the appliance, 20,000 recipes is an impressive number, and it will be attractive to some (rich) users. Sure there's an accompanying app that can help you pick out your groceries and a community where users can share recipes, we just don't think a kitchen appliance needs a dongle.
While it's useful, the Thermomix is definitely a luxury that takes up precious counter space. And getting a Thermomix still isn't easy. You still have to call and talk to a human in order to actually buy one, gross.
Topics CES
