I consider myself to be a good cook, but I tend to make the same things over and over again, and I’m trying to branch out a bit. I’ve probably been watching too much Food Network in the process. I’ve been thinking about buying a food processor, but I have some questions.
Why do I need one if I have a blender? How often do you use yours? What do you use it for? I don't make huge ammounts of anything, do I really need one that holds a lot or will one of those little 2 or 3 cup ones do?
I would probably use it to make sauces and soups, but I have a feeling that if I start to get used to it, I will use it for a lot more stuff.
My Cuisinart does a lot more than a blender can. I have a slicing disk and the all-powerful and most worshipful grating disk. I regularly cook for 4-8 people every day so it saves me a lot of time. There’s a blade for kneading dough as well, although I haven’t used this as my oven is bust at the moment and I haven’t branched out to breadmaking anyways.
I use it at least once a week, sometimes more. I use it for everything under the sun, but most often for grating lots of cheese for enchiladas or similar, or homemade mac and cheese. It also makes great hashbrowns, just make sure to use lemon juice to keep the potatoes from turning.
I advise you to get a large (I think mine is a 13 cup) one. Everyone I know with a smaller processor (even those who only cook for 2 on a regular basis) usually wishes they had a larger one. YMMV.
I have one, and I cook a lot, but I use my processor only rarely. It’s kind of a bitch to clean and fills up the dishwasher with its many parts. I’d say I pull it out less than once a month. If I regularly grated cheese for 8 people like The Sausage Creature does, I’d probably use it more often, but its just me, so I don’t find the need for it all that much. My everyday grating and grinding needs are met by a hand grater and a morter/pestle.
That said, for a few things it is absolutely the bomb, yo. Grated carrots for carrot cake. Pureed potatoes for potato pancakes (turns a few hours of work into a 15 minute job!). I don’t own a blender but I’m sure it couldn’t do the grating and “set phasers on puree” tasks that I largely use the processor for.
I never use it for bread or pie crust. Bread I do by hand and pie crust… well, I buy it, unless its a shortbread or graham cracker thing.
I have a blender/processor from Cuisinart, and it does everything I need it to. That said, I only cook for myself and my husband (usually). It certainly would not be big enough for a family (The Sausage Creature has my old one).
Direct drive models have more power and are more reilable than belt-driven models. They are also more expensive, but IMO, worth it.
Ooh, I was thinking about starting a thread like this. So, if I can add a related question, I’m looking to get both a food processor and a mixer. I think the mixer would be more useful than the processor as I am more likely to blend stuff together (see my recipe for green chile bacon cheeseburger meatloaf) than I am to need to chop or grate it, but is it possible to use a food processor as a small mixer?
Before I bought my Kitchen Aid Chef’s Chopper I tried to make ham salad in my blender - it was a dismal failure. The ham remained chunky; it was not what I wanted. Since I am basically cooking for one person the small 3 cup Chef’s Chopper suits me fine. I have a very small kitchen and chose a smaller appliance because of that.
I bought it primarily for making ham salad, but I also use it to mash up cauliflower and broccoli (I have a weird aversion to those two veggies in their normal form, but can eat them it they are cooked, mashed, and mixed with cheese and/or butter).
For sauces and blended soups, a blender is better than a food processor. Most people don’t realize that food processors don’t puree well; a blender is much better for anything like that.
Food processors are particularly good for:
grating cheese or carrots or anything you need grated
making pastey-things, like hummus or pesto
That’s about it.
I have every kitchen appliance imaginable, and the one I could live without the easiset is the food processor. Of course, I have a KitchenAid stand mixer and an attachment that grates, a kick-ass high-end blender, and I don’t make a lot of pastey-type things. Breads and dough can be made in the food processor, but the KitchenAid does it better.
They’re also not particularly liquid-friendly; if you’re not careful you can find yourself with broth or cream or whatever all over the counter. In general, there’s a fair degree of overlap between the two appliances, but there are some things each does well that the other doesn’t.
As I recall from the Good Eats episode Alton Brown did, a food processor should have a large chamber (14 cups) and a motor on the bottom, not on the side. I’m trying to see if I can find anything else on the Food Network website about it.
You can also make pastry, blend cake mike, and make bread dough in a food processor. I use mine mostly for hummus, cake batter, and bread dough. And for grating cheese.