Read them once now and come back whenever you need them. None of them takes special skill, only a little attention. At the end you'll find a few habits for the Thermomix® TM7™ that keep you safe and help every recipe turn out the way it should. After a few weeks, all of this will feel like second nature.
Before you start
- Read the whole recipe, start to finish, before you shop or cook. That's how you find out that the meat marinates overnight or that the butter needs an hour to soften.
- Set out and weigh everything before you start. Cooks call it mise en place, everything in its place: onions chopped, spices measured, pans ready. Then cooking feels calm instead of rushed.
- Start with a clear counter and an empty sink, so you have room to work and a place for dirty tools.
- Preheat the oven as soon as you start the recipe. Most ovens need 15 to 20 minutes to heat all the way through, and a cake that goes into a cold oven won't rise or brown the way it should.
- For baking, take butter, eggs and milk out of the fridge about 1 hour ahead when the recipe asks for room temperature.
Seasoning and fixing mistakes
- Taste as you cook and season little by little. You can always add more salt, but you can't take it out.
- Too salty? Add more of everything else: more liquid without salt, more vegetables, a can of rinsed beans or a little cooked rice in a soup, then balance it with a squeeze of lime or a splash of vinegar. A raw potato helps much less than people think.
- Sauce too thin? Simmer it uncovered so it reduces; in the TM7, place the simmering basket on the lid instead of the measuring cup so the steam escapes. Or mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp cold water, stir it into the simmering sauce and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, until it thickens.
- Sauce too thick? Add a splash of broth, milk or water, a little at a time.
- Tastes flat? Before adding more salt, try a little acid, like lime juice or vinegar. It wakes up the flavors.
- Too spicy? Add something creamy or a little sweet, like coconut milk, sour cream or a pinch of sugar, and serve it with rice.
- Scorched the bottom of a pot? Don't stir or scrape. Pour the top part into a clean pot right away and taste it. If it doesn't taste burned, keep going.
Knives and cutting boards
- Keep your knives sharp. A sharp knife needs less force, so it slips less and is safer. Hone it every week or two and have it sharpened when it stops cutting cleanly.
- Keep the cutting board steady with a damp kitchen towel or paper towel underneath, so it doesn't slide.
- Curl the fingertips of the hand holding the food under, like a claw, and let the side of the blade rest against your knuckles.
- On round foods like onions, potatoes and plantains, cut a flat side first and set them on it, so they don't roll.
- Never leave a knife in a sink full of soapy water, where someone can reach in and get cut. Wash it by hand, dry it and put it away.
- Use one board for raw meat, poultry and fish and another for vegetables, bread and anything you won't cook.
Hot oil, the oven and resting meat
- Is the oil hot enough? A thermometer is the surest way: most frying happens at 175°C to 180°C (350°F to 360°F). Without one, dip the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil; when small bubbles form around it steadily, it's ready. If the oil smokes, it's too hot, so turn the heat down.
- Pat food dry before frying and lower it in gently, away from you: water makes hot oil splatter. Fry in small batches so the oil stays hot and the food turns out crisp, not greasy.
- If the oil catches fire, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Never throw water on it.
- Bake on the middle rack unless the recipe says otherwise, and open the oven door as little as you can, because the oven loses heat every time.
- Let meat rest before you cut it: about 3 minutes for steaks and chops, 10 to 20 minutes for a roast or a whole chicken, loosely covered with foil. The juices settle back into the meat instead of running onto the board.
- A thermometer in the thickest part, not touching the bone, tells you when it's done: 74°C (165°F) for chicken and turkey, 71°C (160°F) for ground meat and 63°C (145°F) for steaks, chops and fish.
Safe cooking temperatures and resting times from the USDA.
Cleaning as you go
- Fill the sink or a bowl with hot, soapy water before you start, and drop tools in as you finish with them.
- Keep a bowl on the counter for peels and scraps, so you're not walking to the trash with every onion skin.
- Wipe up spills right away, before they dry or burn on.
- Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot, soapy water after handling raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs.
- While something simmers or bakes, wash what you've used. By the time you sit down to eat, the kitchen is almost clean.
Leftovers, the fridge and the freezer
These numbers come from the USDA and are the same for everyone, so they're worth learning by heart.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour when it's above 32°C (90°F), like at a summer cookout in Florida.
- Bacteria multiply fastest between 4°C and 60°C (40°F and 140°F). Keep your fridge at 4°C (40°F) or colder and your freezer at -18°C (0°F).
- Divide big batches into small, shallow containers so they cool quickly. Hot food can go straight into the fridge.
- Eat refrigerated leftovers within 3 to 4 days. When in doubt, throw it out.
- Reheat leftovers until they're steaming hot, 74°C (165°F) in the center.
- Freeze in portions: one meal per container or freezer bag, pressed flat and labeled with the name and the date. Flat bags freeze fast, stack neatly and thaw quickly.
- Frozen food stays safe, but for the best flavor, eat frozen leftovers within 3 to 4 months.
- Thaw in the fridge, in cold water or in the microwave, never on the counter.
- Freeze sofrito in small jars or ice cube trays and take out only what you need.
Good habits with the TM7
- Scrape down the sides with the spatula after chopping, so every piece gets chopped and cooked evenly. The recipes tell you when.
- Keep the measuring cup in place when you blend hot food, and start at a low speed and increase it slowly: blend 1 min/speed 5-10, increasing speed gradually. Hot liquid can splash out of the lid opening.
- The butterfly whisk never goes above speed 4. Remove it before any step at a higher speed.
- Keep the total contents under 2 L. The mixing bowl holds 2.2 L, and food needs room to bubble as it cooks.
- Use reverse and speed soft for stews and rice, so the pieces stay whole.
- When steam needs to escape, as when you reduce a sauce, place the simmering basket on the lid instead of the measuring cup. It lets the steam out and keeps splashes in.
- Weigh straight into the mixing bowl, one ingredient at a time, and watch the grams on the screen.
- Rinse the mixing bowl and blade soon after cooking, before food dries on them.
The words in these recipes, explained: Cooking terms for beginners.