Wondering if a food processor can help you in the kitchen? Here’s why and how this small kitchen appliance can help you out.
Whether you’re making a Press In Pie Crust pastry, Peach Yogurt Popsicles, or a rustic Basil Sauce, the food processor can make quick work of your kitchen tasks.
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I am not a person to care about boats or cars. I drive a ’12 minivan or sometimes a ’02 SUV. Apparently, big ticket items don’t thrill me.
Small kitchen appliances? Well, I get absolutely giddy about tools that will make my time in the kitchen easier and save me money.
Today I’d like to make the case for the food processor.
My first was a hand-me-down Cuisinart, probably one of the first to come down the assembly line. That baby was a workhorse. It shredded cheese, chopped vegetables, mixed salsa, and made pie crust like nobody’s business.
I found it to be particularly helpful with big freezer cooking sessions when there was lots to chop, slice, and shred.
That early model was amazing. Its motor worked like a champ. Unfortunately, the bowl did not.
Eventually, the bowl became cracked in numerous places, lost its handle, and eventually lost the safety mechanism that kept the bowl closed during use.
A food processor is a must-have in my kitchen, getting use at least on the weekly, often more frequent than that. Sure, a good knife or a box grater can fill the bill. But I don’t want to spend an hour shredding cheese when the machine can do it in minutes.
FAQs
A food processor is akin to a blender, though it does so much more. Most food processors have a blending blade as well as slicing and shredding blades, so they can mix, puree, slice, chop, shred, and cut butter into pastry incredibly well.
Recently, blenders have become more sophisticated and you can find units that are multipurpose with both blender and processor components. Ultimately, a food processor does more than your standard blender. Since most blenders are narrow in circumference, they tend to blend and whip in a slightly different manner than a food processor which has a wider bowl and more room for the elements to shift around.
A food processor can be a worthwhile investment if you cook often, including shredded cheese yourself, making homemade pastries and sauces, and shredding or slicing vegetables.
Accessories
I don’t know that you really need any extras to make good use of a food processor. Provided you have all the pieces that came with your machine.
For the most versatile use, be sure that yours comes with the following accessories:
- metal blade
- slicing blade
- shredding blade
Some models come with a very hard plastic spatula which has proven to be very handy to scrape the bowl. Rubber spatulas tend to get caught in the blade, so a harder, sturdier plastic one is very nice to have.
Uses
As I’ve mentioned, a food processor does a lot to quicken your kitchen prep work. I use it for a number of things including
- shredding or chopping vegetables
- mixing salsas and sauces, such as Basil Sauce
- making pie crust or biscuit dough
- mixing cookie or scone dough
- chopping nuts
- slicing potatoes
- shredding cheese
- chopping, slicing, or shredding vegetables
- make homemade mayonnaise
- blend dressings
Anything that needs to be chopped or mixed can be done in a food processor, even pizza dough under the right techniquges.
Care and storage
Care of the machine is pretty easy. Rinse the parts after use and then run through the dishwasher.
For ease of use: store the motorized base and bowl parts in the same cupboard or drawer. Turn the lid upside down inside the bowl attachment to conserve space. Keep the disks near the machine in the cupboard, but store the blade in such a way as to minimize the risk of someone getting cut. Some models come with a storage case for the attachments.
Purchasing Tips
I’ve had three food processors in last last almost thirty years. The motors have always outlasted the bowls.
How big is it? I have only purchased Cuisinarts so I can’t speak to other brands. I’d get the biggest bowl size you can afford and easily store. Make sure it comes with a metal blade as well as slicing and shredding disks.
How easy is it to clean? If you can go to a kitchen store to see the gasket to close the lid, choose a model that looks easy to clean.
Try before you buy. Consider borrowing one before you buy. Or troll your local thrift stores and garage sales. Chances are somebody bought a fancy machine and it just stayed in the box.
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Tell us what you think.
What’s your experience with a food processor? Love it or hate it? Do tell.
Saam
I grew up with a Breville Kitchen Wizz in mum’s kitchen, and it was a workhorse. When I got married, that was the first thing listed on my gift registry! I use it for pastry, biscuits, batch shredding cheese/veg, and making quick breadcrumbs.
When I had my first child, my mother in law gave me a Braun stab mixer with different attachments, including a small processor bowl. I reach for this more often as it’s light, compact and easy to get out of the cupboard in the middle of cooking dinner. This gets used for quickly chopping veg for soups, making salsas, chopping nuts and herbs.
Jessica Fisher
Sounds like you have a fantastic system!
Danielle L Zecher
I don’t use my food processor as often as I probably could/should, but it’s a lifesaver for making tabbouli. Do you know if it’s possible to buy the parts separately, specifically a larger bowl? I made your pumpkin scones last night (awesome by the way!) and all of the flour and butter fit in the bowl of the food processor, but there wasn’t enough room for it move to mix. Those scenes are definitely going on the menu again!
Jessica Fisher
I don’t think you can upsize a bowl without upsizing the machine. That said, if it doesn’t fit, you can blitz the ingredients in batches. Just do half flour and butter, transfer to bowl, and then the rest.
Danielle Zecher
Thanks! That’s a great idea.
Brighid
Thanks for your review and everyone’s comments. Hubby recently broke the white plastic disk which holds my shredding or slicing blades on my 25 year old Moulinex. A review of ebay yields a similar result to Jessica’s: a replacement piece will be very expensive. But *thank you* for the reminder about tag sales and resale shops! I’ll be heading out to look around this week.
gina
You should try the magimix 5200xl made in France by robot coupe . 20 yr guarantee amazing 3 nesting bowls and just look it up, robot coupe is restaurant chefs choice . With your kitchen aid and that you are unstoppable !
Sarah D
I got a Cuisinart for Christmas from my hubby! LOVE it! As my cooking has got more serious as a stay at home mom over the last few years, I realize how much I need it. Baby food, hummus, black bean spread, grated cheese, pie crust, lemon cheesecake squares, cookie dough, banana bread…all things I’ve made in the last month. The BEST for bulk freezer cooking for a young family.
Lisa
Reading this, it occurred to me that maybe my issues with plastic parts, as well, is that they aren’t meant for dishwashers, which run hot (especially our Bosch). My main thing, though, is that the blades do get dull, no matter how careful I am, especially the grating blade, for some reason. But you’ve inspired me to use my kitchen appliances more often, especially with that pie crust recipe, which I’m going to try with whole wheat flour blend. Thanks!
Samantha
Last summer the handle on my Kitchen-aid food processor’s bowl broke, and I couldn’t find a replacement (I since have..I wish I had waited a little longer) That particular model had the “safety” clip thingy built into the handle. No handle. No operating processor. So I “upgraded” to the 13 cup (with the adjustable blade). It does have some nice features, but just doesn’t seem to have the same power chopping or maybe it is just that it is a little slower since the capacity is greater. The shredding/slicing is GREAT! Regardless, I don’t think I could be without a food processor for very long. There are just certain jobs for which a food processor is quicker/easier/better! I also realized the reason my last bowl cracked/handle broke was because of the high temperatures in my dishwasher. I had hand-washed it until about 6 months before it broke. I had told myself that since it was “dishwasher safe” that it was really a waste of my time to hand-wash it. Hindsight! Therefore I was determined that the new one would never go into the dishwasher. My resolve was short-lived..the new one has a gasket that the old one did not, making it VERY difficult to clean by hand. Then I had a DUH-moment. I do use the dishwasher to clean it, BUT only on the China cycle…less heat, less likely to crack!
Randi
I love my food processor, it’s 12 cup Cuisinart that was a gift from my parents for my wedding. It probably spends more time dirty than clean! I use it for everything from grating cheese, to slicing veggies to blending up fruit for sorbet! Fortunately the kitchen in our rental is colossal so I don’t have to put it away, it stays out on the counter. I can’t wait to see how long this beast lasts.
NIA
Oooh Jessica,
speaking of food processors and your newfound enjoyment of cashews, have you tried making your own cashew butter? I think I remember reading about your use of almond butter. Cashew butter is our favorite. Preferred to peanut butter actually. So delicious. And all we do is blend the cashews until they reach the consistency of a chunky peanut butter. If you want it a bit smoother you can add a bit of water while blending, doesn’t hurt the flavor or anything. But if you made a large batch and had leftovers it should be stored in the fridge. I learned this the hard way after opening up molded a jar of homemade peanut butter that wasn’t stored in the fridge.
Kelly
My first experience with a food processor was the early 80’s when the Cuisinart was popular. My parents had it and it seemed like such a pain to haul out, put together, take apart, clean, put away, that it hardly ever got used. I never thought about it again until about 3 or 4 years ago when so many recipes were calling for one. I found one at a yard sale for $4 and figured I’d try it. Worked great and lasted a year before the drive adapter stripped and rendered the whole thing useless. Not long after I got an unexpected check and hubby said I could use it any way I wanted. I wanted an awesome food processor, so I did the research and chose the Kitchen Aid 13 cup model. It had a few low ratings in reviews, but so did all the Cuisinart models I looked at and since I like my KA stand mixer that’s the brand I ordered. BIG mistake! It was horrible! Cheap plastic adapters that broke too easily. I just recently managed to get KA to buy it back and was reading other brand’s reviews and am seeing the same problem. Very frustrating that this is what production has come to.
I wish I could find the old model Cuisinart. Not sure what to get to replace this one, maybe just keep my eyes open for another one at yard sales!
Diana
Jessica, I’m curious how the food processor compares to a blender. I use my blender a lot for salsa, smoothies, chopping oats, cracker/bread crumbs, etc. Do you think a food processor would work for smoothies? I don’t know if I want both (little storage space) and we would miss our smoothies! Or maybe an immersion blender (smaller than a regular blender) would work for smoothies?
Jessica
I have made BIG batches of smoothies in the food processor and it works great. However, if you already have something that works for you, you don’t need a food processor. 🙂
Morgan G
I got my first one used from my mom. It was a Royal she never used. It was a work horse, I could shred frozen mozz cheese in it. I had it about 10 years. It was well worn I had replaced the bowl 2 time, due to breakage. It finally wore out, I tried to have it fixed but it would have cost more then a new one. Oh how I loved that machine. My next one was a Cuisinart. I was not impressed, but it was also a free, brand new in a box. I wore it out in less then a year and broke the handle off the bowl. Here come another free be in a box, needless to say another Cuisinart. I thought oh good bigger and stronger from the last. I still hated it. I continued to use it for a few years, until i wore it out.. I decied I wanted the big Kitchen aide. It got delivered on a day I was making 6 batches of lasagna for the freezer. I broke it on the first mozzarella ball. Back it went for a replacement. I used the repacement for 3 months then the motor stopped called kitchen aide and asked them to buy it back. I was done with food processors. I have been hand grating for 3 years now. I am now waiting for a Magimix by Robot-Coupe Food Processor, 16-Cup. I love the warranty, but hate the price. My hubby about died when he saw the price. But over the last 23 years of food processors, I have decided I have earned it. I cook for 4 boys who eat me out of house and home. I like having a well stocked freezer and they like to eat. My middle child Kaidin told my hubby, Mom needs it.
jo
I’m so thankful to discover that I’m not the only one who has super-glued my bowl back together to get some extra life out of it!