Sometimes it's great to get back to basics and this month I want to get back to the basics of washing the thermomix bowl.
So let's start:
“Self Clean”: third fill the bowl with water and a couple drops of dish liquid and turbo blast a few times. Gets the bowl, blade and under the lid clean.
Vinegar Wash: 1 litre vinegar and ¼ teaspoon of dishwashing detergent and cook 10 mins / 50°C / speed 1. Leave to act at least one hour then rinse well with cold water.
Lemon Cleaning: (my favourite method)
If your bowl looks like this photo it is residue left from oil.
The lemon clean will remove this.
ThermoFun – Techie Tuesday – Tips on cleaning your bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lemon, cut in half (skin left on)
- 350g water
Instructions
- Place lemon into TM bowl and chop 5 sec / speed 10.
- Add water and cook 10 mins / Varoma / speed 2.
- Once cooking time has completed rinse out and any remaining marks will come off with the aid of a cloth.
The high levels of citric acid in the lemons will remove any burnt/stuck on food. I really love this method as it makes the house smell so refreshing and works a treat after cooking a curry in the Thermomix.
Other cleaners that work well:
Gumption
Enjo marble paste
Chux Magic Eraser
Green cleaning brush from Thermomix Australia
Bicarb and vinegar paste – rub it on any marks and leave it to sit for a while then wipe with a soft sponge.
Dishwasher:
Yes the Thermomix parts are all dishwasher proof.
Egg Shells:
This is a great way to clean the blades - cover the blades with water throw in a few egg shells and turbo numerous times. The shell water is great for the plants in your garden too. What an awesome excuse to make a cake that asks for a lot of eggs! :)
What NOT to use - Dishwasher Tablet
The Thermomix Australia Service Department strongly advises against this as a dishwasher tablet is designed for an entire load of dishes, diluted with lots of water. It is too strong in such a small amount of water and may damage your bowl. Make up a paste with bicarb and water, leave it on for an hour then use a green scourer to remove.
Other tips:
- Ensure that the contact pins at the bottom of the mixing bowl are clean and dry before placing on the actual unit (this can cause an "error 52" to appear in your display if pins are wet.
- To improve ventilation when your bowl is not in use, do not close the mixing bowl with the measuring cup.
- There is a rubber ring (looks like a washer) on your blade on the black knob – I do not advise to take this off, as it can be easily lost. The blade can still be cleaned thoroughly with the rubber sealing ring left on.
- Some food eg tomato base or turmeric can cause staining – these stains will fade after a few washes.
- To clean the gap in the TM unit where the lid fits in, use the edge of a cloth and move the damp cloth back and forth between the gap.
- Use the MC opening face up (TM31) – less surface area to dirty, making it much easier to keep clean!
- Check behind your Thermomix – is the back a bit dirty? What about underneath? Give them both a wipe down! Paying particular attention to the scales which are in the feet of the machine.
- A baby’s teat brush or toothbrush is the best way to clean in between and under the blades when necessary.
- The perfect time to make a soup is after making your veggie stock concentrate – don’t bother cleaning the bowl!
- A pulse or two of the turbo button cleans the blades when making bread, spinning any leftovers bit of dough to the sides of the bowl where you can dab them up with a bigger piece of dough. This also works well for dips, cake batters, custard etc to get every last bit off the blades!
Cleaning Thermomix bowl after melting chocolate: :)
Pour a glass of milk in TM bowl and mix 5 sec / speed 8.
Heat milk 5 mins / 80°C / speed 4.
Enjoy warm chocolate milk. No wasted chocolate! :)
Varoma Cleaning:
- Line with baking paper where practical for cooking eg raw chicken. This just makes for easier cleaning. Just ensure not to cover the air vents on the sides of the varoma tray.
- Rinse in hot water as soon as its finished cooking, before anything can set in the holes.
- Hot soapy water with the Thermomix brush to clean all the holes works well.
- Dishwasher proof – yes.
- For more Varoma hints and tips Click Here.
If you have other successful ways of cleaning your thermomix, we would love you to share with us in the comments below.
For more ThermoFun hints and tips Click Here.
For more “Techie Tuesday” blog posts Click Here.
For more great tips and recipes on using your thermomix join our free monthly newsletter here: ThermoFun Newsletter Subscription.
Click Here for more great recipes in a number of e-cookbooks – containing recipes to suit everyone.
If you have enjoyed this recipe then please consider leaving a comment. It’s always refreshing to see comments from people that have tried a recipe and found it a success or tweaked it to suit.
Louise Francis says
With the lemon clean I always have bottles of lemon juice for cooking, this works as well as fresh lemons for a fraction of the price.
thermofun says
Thanks for sharing Louise.
Tara says
Use the vinegar wash every time before i make yogurt and have never had a fail yet!
Thanks again Leonie.
thermofun says
My pleasure Tara. Seriously I have never done the vinegar wash before yoghurt and we make it at least once a fortnight. Try it next time and see how you go. Just trying to save you a job! :)
Helena says
When cooking something messy like curry, to reduce staining on the grooves where the lid locks in (TM31) I wipe the lid and seal before locking the lid back on between steps.
Ironvicki says
OMG Leonie I think I love you right now!! LOL just cooked the Curry and after I cooked up some cauliflower rice with no oil Yummy!! But it left a brown burn on the bottom I worried as I previously just scrubbed it away but no I looked here and did the vinegar wash!! wow just used my brush and it came away right away!
thermofun says
That's great to hear! :)
Janis says
Hubby is still the best cleaner around, and outs also the only time he touches Timmy! lol
Jannette says
For the lemon clean I use the leftover squeezed lemon skins. Put them in the freezer if not using straight away
Robyn says
Great tip re lemons as they are expensive if you aren't lucky enough to own a tree!
Personally I have only ever done the vinegar wash as never felt it needed more than this - comes up sparkling every time - just leave to sit for 5 minutes after cooking, drain and wipe with damp cloth. Any burnt on residual some of easily.
ThermomixBlogger Helene says
Great tips for new Thermomix owners and good reminders for some of us old-timers! (As soon as I'm done typing this I'm going to place a link to this page on my blog, thanks.)
And... I really hope someone comments here about how well the Super Scrubbies work to clean the bowl. (I'm surely not the only person who relies on these world-famous pot scrubbers in my Thermie kitchen!) They are 'rustic' little scritchy cloths that I discovered many years ago while visiting my grandmother in Germany... After first getting Thermomix I found that I couldn't survive without them, they are that good! That's why I started selling them in my shop. I don't think it's allowed to post links here, so I won't -- but anyone who wants to know more can search on Google for "Super Kitchen Kits" ;-)
thermofun says
oh yes Helene you are so right as I have these scrubbies myself. They are fantastic! I have just added it to the blog post with a link. My apologies for not thinking to include them on the post. :)
ThermomixBlogger Helene says
WOW - Thank you! :)))
Naz says
Hi Helene,
yes I discovered the scrubbies from a Canadian website along with some fantastic silicone all-in-one spatulas. Have since found the scrubbies in Perth in a kitchen shop. So pleased as they are fantastic!!!
Rebecca says
I thought everything was dishwasher safe except obviously the white base. I have out the base of the bowl in the dishwasher before...
thermofun says
Rebecca I have just had confirmation from the service department that it is ok after all, to put the base to the bowl in the dishwasher. Apologies for any confusion. I have now deleted that from the blog post.
amanda stevens says
Was just reading this and I was told the base could go in the dish washer????
thermofun says
Amanda I have just had confirmation from the service department that it is ok after all, to put the base to the bowl in the dishwasher. Apologies for any confusion. I have now deleted that from the blog post.