How to Choose a Food Processor: A food processor is an excellent assistant to a good housewife who often cooks and will not let him gather dust in the closet. It will make it possible to make the family diet even more prosperous and more varied. There are many models of this helpful kitchen appliance on the market. They are distinguished by modern design, low noise level, and thoughtful ergonomics.
How to Choose a Food Processor?
You can buy a food processor both in retail stores and by ordering appliances in an online store with home delivery at a convenient time. You do not even need to leave the house, which is very important in our difficult time. For such household appliances to bring maximum benefit to the owner, you need to responsibly approach the choice of model and not consider cost as a priority criterion.
How to Choose a Good Food Processor – What to Consider?
This efficient and useful time-saving home appliance will turn into a useless bulky toy that collects dust if serious mistakes are made in choosing it. What should be taken into account when buying such equipment in the first place so that a modern kitchen device does not annoy you but is actively used, facilitating the daily, to some extent, routine work of cooking for the whole family?
Before going to the store for the equipment of an old dream, decide on your expectations. Why are you buying this unit? Are you tired of chopping vegetables by hand on a cutting board? If this is the only thing, you can buy a smaller and much cheaper device that will do the job perfectly. If you genuinely love culinary arts, you can cook a variety of dishes perfectly,
Now go to the kitchen and see how many small kitchen appliances are there. Indeed, you have a blender, an electric meat grinder, a bread machine with a juicer, and a mixer, without which you can’t go anywhere. In this case, there is no need to choose an ultra-expensive multifunctional food processor model.
When choosing a similar kitchen unit, decide on the main criterion. The determining factor for you should be the device’s functionality but, in no case, the cost. It makes no sense to spend extra money to amuse your ego by buying a combination with dozens of attachments, half of which will not be used at all.
For example, if you fundamentally refuse to eat meat, you definitely won’t need a nozzle to make sausages. If your apartment has a tiny kitchen, then the size of the combine that you install in this cramped room and other things and interior items will become very relevant.
1. Possible Features
Modern kitchen machines can easily replace a whole set of household appliances. Having such a combine, you can do without an electric meat grinder, blender, mixer, shaker, coffee grinder, juicer, ice cream maker, and other devices, both functional and not very useful. But remember that in the event of a food processor breakdown (and sooner or later, it will happen because no one has invented perpetual motion machines yet), you will lose all these devices at once.
Persistent in the desire to buy a severe semi-professional machine with lots of attachments? At the same time, we advise you not to distribute to friends and relatives and not to sell small household appliances, which, in your opinion, will no longer be needed. Fold it in a secluded place, and this will be your insurance in case of a sudden breakdown of a new-fangled unit.
2. Nozzles: What nozzles can be included in the food processor?
When buying a unit, the kit usually includes:
- Circular knives for slicing – with their help, you will quickly and accurately cut vegetables and fruits into even cubes;
- Shredder – it will help you easily cut large volumes of cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables into thin strips;
- Berry-fruit press – it is intended for making mashed potatoes of any consistency;
- Impeller knife – an effective chopper for fish or meat, for making delicate pâtés;
- Whisk or steam – with their help, you can easily prepare sauces, whip cream, etc .;
- Hook nozzle (there may be one or two) – necessary for quick kneading of any dough;
- Mill – this nozzle makes it possible to grind sugar into powder, coffee beans into powder, cook peppers, and various types of flour;
- Shaker – indispensable for crushing ice and whipping cocktails;
- Juicer – will squeeze juice not only from soft fruits but also from hard root crops;
- Citrus press – it is convenient to squeeze juice from lemons, oranges and grapefruit with it;
- A slicer is a great helper in beautifully slicing food into thin slices;
- Blender – with its help, it is effortless to grind products, turning them into a puree-like slurry;
- Disc grater – suitable for rubbing cheese or vegetables;
- Electric meat grinder.
Several manufacturers take into account the interests of the user of these products and allow homemakers to choose the necessary options on their own. A food processor is bought in the basic configuration, after which the hostess herself decides which attachments to purchase additionally. Although individual nozzles are pretty expensive, some savings are achieved because only nozzles necessary and useful for a particular person or family are bought.
3. Power and speed – the most important technical characteristics
When choosing a food processor, you must be guided by such basic criteria as power and speed. If you need a high-quality multifunctional harvester that can cope with the processing of any products and even ice, then you need to choose a powerful model. The most common are household combines of modest power, 250-650 W, and it is enough if the combine is not operated too often and intensively.
But, if you plan to cook with it often and in large volumes for a family of several generations of guests, you need to choose models whose power is at least 1 kW.
Professional machines are distinguished by high power, which reaches 2 kW. It is unlikely that you will be able to provide him with the load he is designed for. And these combines are an order of magnitude higher than usual.
Serious attention should be paid to the number of revolutions of the kitchen unit. Inexpensive machines are usually designed for two or three speeds of rotation. Cool harvesters sometimes can work in 20 different speed modes. As for the number of revolutions per minute, the optimal figure for the home is 9-10 thousand per minute.
Experts say such revolutions are enough to grind even tough products. Don’t try to save money by buying a combine with a speed of 5 thousand per minute: the efficiency of such combines is very low.
4. Combine Bowl Material
The bowl of a food processor is an essential element of it. It must be made from quality materials to work flawlessly. Usually, various materials such as plastic, metal, and glass are used in multiple combinations.
Inexpensive models, the body of the device is usually metal. Inexpensive ones are made of plastic, while harvesters of the middle price segment most often combine plastic and metal. Moreover, static parts are made of polymers, and dynamic ones that are not subjected to heavy loads are made of metal. Which combine bowls are better? Consider the advantages and disadvantages of all possible options.
5. Plastic Bowl
Plastic is inexpensive and not very durable. Bowls from it are sensitive to both too low and too high temperatures and their difference. With use, plastic bowls darken and lose their presentable appearance.
But the worst thing is that not only the external gloss is lost, but also the functional properties. The bowl becomes brittle, often deformed, and may crack from inaccurate use. And replacing such a food processor accessory with a new one is not so easy, especially when it comes to a model that has been discontinued.
6. Glass Cup
This option is much better than plastic, although it costs much more. Glass is good because it has such a property as chemical inertness; that is, it does not react even when it comes into contact with chemically aggressive products and environments. Glass remains unchanged. Its performance properties do not change.
Food processors are equipped with bowls made of strong tempered glass, characterized by increased strength. It is difficult to break a bowl made of such glass, even if it falls to the floor. A significant advantage of glass bowls is that they can be placed in both the microwave and the freezer. You can wash the glass bowl using any detergent, including abrasive additives.
7. Metal Bowl
If the container is made of metal, this indicates the high quality of the food processor. Such a bowl is quite expensive, but it is very durable. It is impossible to break it. It will not crack or deform unless you try to spoil it. The only disadvantage of such a bowl is that you cannot put it in the microwave. Do not use abrasives when cleaning stainless steel bowls.
8. Combine Dimensions
This criterion is crucial, especially if your kitchen has a space and storage space shortage. The more multifunctional combination you look for yourself, the more nozzles will be in its kit. It means that the kitchen machine will be larger and heavier. Some models have special departments where nozzles and knives are placed for storage.
For simpler options, nozzles are stored separately. The best solution is to find a place for the food processor where it will always be at hand. For example, you can install it on the kitchen worktop. If you get it from the depths of the cabinet and put it back after use, you will very quickly notice what you are trying to do without using it. If you decide to store the food processor in a hanging cabinet or on a shelf, evaluate the loads that the furniture will be subjected to,
Conclusion
However, here we have covered every factor of “How to Choose a Food Processor“. We hope you will find this write-up helpful to understand the considerations regarding food processors.
Hello! I’m Paula Deen, a mother who loves to create memories in the kitchen. As a kitchen enthusiast, I love to do experiment with different kitchenware for daily recipes. This is my blog, where I’ll share my experience, knowledge, and reviews on various kitchenware and appliances.