Food and cooking with a food processor: How to choose the best option?

Kitchen machines/food processors can save you time and money and they do most of the work of shredding, crushing, cutting and mixing for you. A large food processor makes your salads, mixes your salsa and other fresh sauces, quickly prepares vegetables for soup, slices, cubes, and even chops your potatoes. My post today is about them.

Let us start with the size. There are small food processors, like for one cup (1 cup – 237 ml), and large, like for sixteen cups, which will be enough to chop and mix as many salads to feed the whole family. Big food processors can handle large vegetables with minimal preparation, while heavy-duty food processors are designed for large amounts of food.

Food processors are different in application also. Special food processors such as juicers and dough mixers are suitable for individuals, while large 3-in-1 types better serve for troublesome families because they include a variety of discs and accessories for working on each cutting and mixing task you may need.

Here is a list of 11 points that you need to know before buying a food processor:

1. Motor Size

The majority of food processors come with a 500+ Wt motor. There are more powerful models, but the 500 Wt is more than enough for nearly any task. The advantage of having a more powerful motor is that it is capable of processing the food much faster and it will require shorter pulses to accomplish the job.

2. What is the Bowl Size?

Bowl sizes are mainly from 7 to 14 cups. Big families can need up to 14 cups, but 7 or 8 cups will be enough for the majority of people.

There are smaller bowls for some machines. They can be very useful as some processors experience problems with small amounts of food.

3. Which Discs and Blades are Included?

The blades and discs supplied with the processor define the tasks that the processor can cope with. Most models have chopping, cutting, emulsifying discs, chopping blades and dough blades. Some advanced models offer juice-making fixtures, thin slicing discs, etc., which affect the cost of the product. Check the accessories list that the model offers.

4. Feed Tray Size

One of the biggest advantages of a food processor compared to food shredders is the size of its reservoir. However, if the feeding tray is not wide enough, then this advantage somehow loses its value. Fortunately, most models on the market have large trays, into which you can put food without the need to chop it.

5. Does the Machine Knead the Dough Well?

Do you want to use a food processor to knead dough? Dough kneading requires slow rpm so that the dough does not heat up. If the processor does not have the ability to knead slowly, then the blades may get stuck in the dough, or the dough may inadvertently almost “cook” which may result in an unusable product.

6. Does the Processor Slice / Chop, Cut and Perform other Functions aswell?

In addition to kneading, the main utility of the machine will be the ability to cut, slice, chop, cube, mince, etc. It is extremely important to get more information about the quality of all these functions.

7. Do the Components Heat up?

This parameter can seriously affect the safety of the product. Some processors’ blades tend to heat up after a few minutes of use which is a potential danger. Users, intending to wash the blades, often burn their fingers taking them out because they forget that the blades can be hot. This does not mean that the device is poorly designed, such a risk can be eliminated if the blades are not prone to strong heating.

8. How Many Control Buttons?

What do you prefer, simplicity or sophistication?

Some people like variety, while others prefer simplicity. Similarly, some models offer basic controls (turn on, turn off and pulse), while others have touch panels that contain many different settings and options.

9. Does the Device Do a Good Job with Small Portions of Food?

The reason why people buy food grinders, even if they already have food processors, is that large-capacity processors do not cope well with small portions of food. Some models offer ways to get around this problem, for example, a smaller, inner bowl that allows you to chop small doses. Check how the model handles small portions.

10. Is the Food Fully Processed?

One of the greatest problems faced by food processors is that some food remains unprocessed. This may be due to the spacing between the blade and the edges of the bowl.

11. What are the Protective Functions of a Combine?

And the last important point. Different models will have different safety features, such as gasket seals, blade interlocking, etc. The more safety features, the better.

Buying the best food processor:

The internet offers models made by the most popular brands, including Kitchen Aid, Cuisine art, and Braun, which will help you find reliable systems with easily replaceable parts and accessories. A carefully selected food processor will become your favorite cooking tool and will give you fresh and healthy ideas on how to feed yourself and your family every day.

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