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Food Processors . . . Every Kitchen Should Have One

Food processors are essential for anybody who loves to cook, but doesn’t love spending hours and hours in the kitchen preparing their ingredients.  If you love home cooked food but simply don’t have the time to prepare everything by hand then you definitely need a food processor. If you aren’t well acquainted with a food processor then you might just be amazed at the versatility they offer.  Food processors make kitchen life so much easier for you, even if you want to prepare large batches of food to freeze for another day.

Food Processors – What They Do

Their main tasks are things like chopping, slicing, mixing and grating. They not only get the job done in seconds but also everything will be more uniform and professional looking. They make coleslaw in a flash, grate carrots in seconds (and save your knuckles) and chop and slice just about anything you care to think of . . . except fingers.  They’re also good at mixing cakes, whipping and whisking in a fraction of the time it would take you by hand.

Food Processors – Who Needs ‘Em

Well, given that you’re reading this page I should think that you’re a pretty likely candidate. If you do like to make home made food then these time saving gadgets are essential, especially if you chop, grate or slice large quantities of veggies on a regular basis. Food processors are a great piece of kit for keen gardeners too . . . not for doing anything in the garden you understand, just for preparing the large batches of vegetables which always seem to be ready for harvesting at the same time, and there is a limit to how many cabbages you can actually eat in a week. Chop ‘em, blanch ‘em and freeze ‘em for another day, perfect.

Food Processor Attachments

Food Processors are generally supplied with a large variety of attachments, and you can even buy more if you feel the need. If you want your food processor for a specific purpose then you’d better make sure that it has the right tools for the job:

• Knife blade – use it for chopping, mixing, mashing, mincing, pureeing (no wonder it’s otherwise known as the multi purpose blade).
• Potato rasp – is great for grating!  Potatoes, veggies, coconut, hard parmesan cheese and nutmeg can all be grated with a good potato rasp.
• Dough blade or hook – is just the job to knead your yeast recipes. A dough blade is usually included with your food processor.
• Shredding or slicing blade – is usually used for shredding or slicing. These are often available in a variety of sizes – fine, medium, coarse and thick, some of them are even suitable for chipping potatoes to make home made chunky chips or fries.
• Whisk – not all whisks look the same but they generally do the same job . . . whisking! Some look like paddles, some are beaters, some are emulsifying discs, some food processors have twin beaters which are extra effective.
• Citrus juicer or press – these are generally only suitable for juicing oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes. If you want to juice other, harder fruit and veg for smoothies, for example, then you should probably buy a juicer as well.
• Spatula – is the only bit you’ll have to do by hand . . . to make sure that you get every last scrap of stuff from the side of the bowl (and great for licking later).