How to Choose a Food Processor

Back in the day, sorting, cutting and chopping vegetables while basking in the winter sun used to be the favourite pastime of our mothers and grandmothers. Soon technology took over what used to be the simple joys of life in the name of offering greater convenience.

Chopping boards substituted knives and today, one doesn’t even need to chop! Just throw raw vegetables in one of the modern food processors and outcomes the product in whichever way you want it – diced, sliced, chopped, pulped, or pureed.

However joyous sorting, sieving, and cutting fruits and vegetables may seem, the fact is modern schedules have literally no room for them. This is where a food processor comes into play.

Now the most crucial question – do you need a food processor? or you want it just because everyone else around you is buying it? More importantly, how to go about buying a Food Processor when you’re flooded with choices amass? To make things easier for you, we’ve tried to provide you with all the information you need before making the purchase.

Food Processor Purpose

Before you even think on the lines of “should I buy a food processor” or not, let’s just clarify why you need one and how it can help.

A food processor is a modern kitchen appliance that is versatile in usability and application. It can very easily and rapidly perform some basic functions involved in meal preparation. Most of these functions are absolutely essential to the cooking process but, at the same time, fairly time-consuming as well.

These include chopping, slicing, shredding, grinding, and pureeing. Besides that, some models of food processors are also capable of preparing citrus and vegetable juice, beating eggs and cake batter, kneading the dough, and grinding vegetables and meat.

Choosing a Food Processor

Now that we understand why and how food processors can be used to make daily regular tasks simpler and time-efficient, let’s attempt to answer another common question – what to look for in a food processor?

So here are some of the most popular food processor features that should be kept in mind while going shopping for one:

1. Size

What size food processor should I get is the first thing that crosses the mind. You may select the best size food processor for your specific kitchen need from two available sizes: mini and full-sized.

What size food processor would be the most ideal for you would depend on your available kitchen space and individual cooking requirement.

Mini processors generally come have smaller bowls and limited functions and would be the ideal size for a couple-only household. Meanwhile, a full-sized processor performs all the same functions but has the advantage of running for a longer time and also has a bigger bowl which allows working on large amounts of food at a time.

Now, how big of a food processor do you need is entirely at your discretion based on your family size, cooking needs, and affordability.

2. Features

The food processor features also play a big role in its purchase. A good food processor comes with a pulse button as well, besides the regular on and off controls. The pulse button helps control the chopping speed easily.

Always go for a simple basic design that gets work done quickly and hassle-free. Look for the bowl capacity and the types of blades needed for chopping, shredding, mincing and blending food.

Similarly, the feed tube on the top is also an essential element of the appliance. It facilitates inserting food items into the bowl while the blades are in motion. Also, it protects the food from spilling during mixing.

3. Motor capacity

The motor depends on the size of the food processor. Small and medium-sized processors function on 400-700 watts of power, while bigger ones are more powerful using up to 1200 power watts. But they can also run for longer durations without the risk of the motor getting heated up.

4. Function

A food processor can perform multiple functions at a time and this is why it is well-equipped with various blades and accessories. The S-shaped blade is used for chopping, churning, slicing, and pureeing. Then there are a number of disc-shaped accessories, each meant for specific tasks like grating or shredding.

The plastic dough blade is perfect for kneading and mixing the dough. The egg whip is ideal for whipping up cream and all sorts of desserts rather fast – meringues, mousses, and soufflés.

The juicer function allows juicing up both citrus and hard fruits. For the former, a simple press at the top with the pusher is sufficient to squeeze out fresh juice but for the latter, a jug blender is provided. A Food Processor also comes with a spatula that neatly pours out food into cooking dishes without making your hands messy.

Follow these few simple tips for buying a food processor and make cooking easier and enjoyable.