I love all things European... MyCook Premium and Linux - a closer look

Linux vs Windows
This year I decided to see what life would be like if I went Microsoft free at home... and mostly I have not looked back. Blogging however; has been a different story. I used to write my blogs from Windows live writer and there does not yet appear to be a comparable Linux blog writer... so apologies for the long delay between blogs. I'm backstage of blogger atm trying the "blog-thing online". If you like to stay up-to-the-minute please feel free to join my facebook group here. I write micro-blogs at least weekly, which are much easier to do from a tablet or phone.

Honey is still plugging away on his Win 7 (now 10) that keeps crashing, and complaining on each month around "Patch Tuesday" when his computer gets hijacked and forced to restart. For TAFE purposes I used open Suse, that was ok... but since finishing my course I have played with Fedora and smelled the fresh breath of Linux Mint and have had no regrets. It annoys me the way MS seems to permeate the Queensland education system... offering cheap licences to get people "hooked" and biting them with huge fees later.

Since first writing this post I have found that I can quite easily blog from the blogger dashboard and adding pictures is actually easier this way; however tagging them and cropping is slightly harder. Hence it hasn't been done since I stopped blogging with Microsoft. I can access this from my tablet and have written some blogs in a comfy horizontal position, and made minor changes later with my computer.


I love my MyCook
Now for some news... we have a new addition to the Rutterbugs thermo-machine family... Introducing the MyCook Premium or as I like to call her Mykah.I bought y myCook Premium from contacting the Australian distributors here.

It started a few months back when I saw this. Then this article too.It made me mad, that once again we were being blindly guided towards just one particular machine without really being told of the other fantastic alternatives there are in the world. I wanted people to know that they had options, and the best way to learn about a machine is to play with it.

The MyCook Premium lid could not be that difficult to remove, I reasoned and that was the only look in that viewers received about the Spanish machine. It had great reviews on YouTube. One chef in particular saying that young staff members were using it with ease. So I wanted to see if I could find out for myself if the MyCook Premium was comparable to my other "kids".

I am very glad I took a closer look as she has been a wonderful addition to our home.

First thoughts:

I remember thinking to myself straight away that I did not now think that either the ThermoChef or the Thermoblend 1 were modelled on entirely the TM. The TB1 jug, blades and mixing paddle or aka "butterfly" were very similar in shape. The lids both have "waves" on the top that are fantastic for keeping "spitting" to a minimum. The plastic and stainless steal of the MyCook Premium having a feel of quality, heavier and sturdier. Like the TC she was dark grey with pretty lights and most importantly the steaming baskets were stainless steal.

Lid

I have not found it any more difficult to remove or put on than any of my other machines. My sister who is a lefty really liked how it was not "right-centric" as some of the cheaper machines of mine she had used were. As I said above the waves help keep splatter to a minimum and are easily cleaned with a brush.

Beaker

You may know it as (Measuring cup, MC)... cute, stable (once again clear and easy to "overlook" when trying to find it in a hurry *wonders* can we get it in pink for Breast Cancer month? Handy to know... TM31 and TB1 measuring cups fit too... In case you are thinking of upgrading from TB1 (or believe having 2/+ machines helps run an efficient kitchen).

Jar

(aka Jug, bowl). Actually the same capacity as TM31, Bellini, Mistral and TBs 1 and 2. The base is a little more narrow and taller, though it is seated about 10cm into the machine so size is deceptive. I love that it has a plastic clip on the base (unlike TB1) which means that I can pop it into the fridge to cool when making French Onion dip, and saves my fingers from accidentally touching the hot base. I hae even seen it popped straight into an ice bath to cool while making yoghurt.

The narrower base makes it great for cutting herbs as they stay mostly at the bottom of the jar.

Recipe books

The MyCook recipe book has a list of gourmet meals very popular in Europe. The recipes are well set out, easy to follow on glossy paper which wipes clean.  I have tried a few recipes such as Spaghetti bol and churros (also available here) which is the recipe book for the older model MyCook professional. So far from the new book
I have tried 2 lots of dough and I intend to try more recipes from the included book once our family favourites are tried and tested.

 
Speeds 

I was sceptical but found it to be true that the slow speed is so soft that a reverse function or blunt blade is not necessary. In fact the slow speed is so soft it makes perfect spaghetti bol sauce without needing to cook the mince in the steamer and add at the last part of the cooking.  

I recently made corn relish with the intention of making corn relish dip for a work function. I used a Recipe Community recipe and noticed in the comments that the other mixers had shredded the corn slightly however, the corn was perfectly intact with Mykah's efforts.


knead function apparently has a method of "working the gluten" by "tossing" it with each spin, as I don't eat gluten I didn't really need it to bother, but found the one touch button handy for making pie and pasta dough.

Dishwasher

I love that everything except the blades are dishwasher safe... there is no *good* place for the blades in the dishwasher anyway. I find that they are easily cleaned with some water a toothbrush and dish-washing liquid. I love that there seem to be no places for the dish-washer water to *remain* and spill on your dry goods when unpacking the way my cheaper jugs and even TM bowl does. I love that there are no electrical bits on the bottom needing to be carefully dried before replacing back into the machine.

Functions

The sauté function is a fantastic touch, I find that I often use it in conjunction with my multi-cooker. It chops and sautés at the same time and being able to reach a hotter temperature gets the onions tasting just a little nicer.

Induction heating means that food cooks slightly faster and more efficiently.

You can set the timer for longer than 1 hour. Very handy for "stewing" meats saving some money and getting a great tasting product. I used cheaper cut meat to make stroganoff and curries cooking it for longer with great results.

Drawbacks

There is always a few with anything. There is no "fast" way to get to a minute (like pressing the - button first as with the Mistral and TM), but holding the + button more firmly makes digits spin over faster.

Burn marks; if you are using a TM recipe and forget to back the cooking-time off a bit (as I did) there was a nasty burn mark. However, I covered the mark with water adding 3 tbs bicarb soda, 5 mins 120c sp 4 and it came of very easily.

The temperature is what the machine is set to not what the food is at. If cooking something like cheese or yoghurt, a kitchen thermometer is handy (I needed one for my TB1, so this was not a problem for me).

There is no quick way to *wake up* a sleeping MyCook, it must be switched off then on again. But I like that it saves me some power in sleep mode. 

The whole *difficult lid* controversy

All I can say about that, is that it has never been a problem for me or the other MyCook owners that I have met online. Click on and off while in the unlocked position and it works every time... steamer and lid. I have cooked with kids (my neice and nephew, 10 and 11) who worked the lid with ease and also mentioned that they found it less tricky to work than their Mum's TM (they are Pro's at cooking rice).

Overall

I have lent each and every one of my thermo-appliances except my MyCook. I did so because I believed at the time that could live without them... and I did not miss them while they were gone... The same cannot be said for the MyCook. I use it almost every day and often multiple times in a day. It has features that I use often like a knead button, sauté function and can go up to 120c and I love that I can pop it in the dishwasher, go do other jobs and be ready to cook again in 30 mins without having to dry the jar.