My favorite cooking gadget is getting a big upgrade

The Thermomix TM7 is the next generation of one the most versatile cooking appliances you can buy.

I've owned a Thermomix TM6 for about five years, and I use it multiple times a day for everything from making smoothies in the morning to steaming veggies for dinner, whipping up a sauce, or cooking some rice. It's the most versatile smart gadget in my kitchen. Now its successor, the Thermomix TM7, has arrived in the US, launching today for $1,699.

Yes, it's expensive - but this all-in-one machine is designed to replace a countertop's worth of gadgets, with functions like weighing, chopping, whisking, steaming, sauteing, slow cooking, and even fermenting. The standout upgrade is a larger 10-inch touchscreen powered by a faster multicore processor. However, Im wary of the missing physical dial, as the screen features all the device's controls, as well as access to 200 built-in guided cooking recipes (and many more with a Cookido subscription for $65 a year).

The rest of the TM7 has been redesigned as well, with a sleeker, all-black design, an open-lid cooking option, and a larger steaming basket. Vorwerk, which owns Thermomix, says its software platform has been rebuilt from the ground up to enable future bigger updates - including voice control.

The TM6, which launched in 2019, has been discontinued, but Vorwerk has committed to 10 years of support.