An excellent food processor will almost certainly become useful in the kitchen because of its versatility and efficiency. Use it to shred cheese, prepare biscuit dough, purée baby food, grind spices, and chop salsa components, among many other things. However, before you travel to the market, take into consideration the following aspects to guarantee that you get the finest food processor for your purposes.
Features
In most cases, a food processor has just one motor speed and a little tube opening at the top that allows you to simply add more ingredients. They are often sold with a "pusher" that goes into this tube and aids in the feeding of heavier foods, as well as keeping fingers safe and serving as a cover.
Check to see whether the machine you chose has a "pulse" button, which will provide short bursts of power (good for rough chopping or quick dough kneading). You'll love the smooth touchpad for the controls, which is simpler to clean than raised buttons, as well as the fact that the controls are dishwasher-safe (although we recommend hand-washing blades to keep them from dulling).
Power
Make certain that the machine you purchase is strong enough to handle the harder duties, such as kneading stiff doughs, cutting fresh vegetables, or shredding hard cheese. A failure to do so will result in the processor not cutting or combing the ingredients evenly. Or, even worse, the motor fails completely. If you're looking for a full-sized processor (9 cups or greater), look for a motor that has at least 600 watts of power.
Size/Capacity
Various sizes of food processors are available, from little 3-cup choppers to large 20-cup machines that may be used in a restaurant kitchen. The optimal size for you will be determined by the number of people you normally cook for as well as the dishes you'll be preparing with it. If you're regularly cooking for a family of four or making single-batch doughs, an 11-cup food processor should be quite big enough for the job. Look for a food processor that has a tiny work bowl and blade, or invest in a second 3-cup "prep" processor only for these activities if you often chop small amounts of herbs or nuts or make small quantities of sauces.
Attachments and Accessories
Some food processors come with a slew of attachments that are designed to help you get the most out of your machine's capabilities. Among the options are different-sized work basins and blades, disks that slice and grate foods to variable degrees of thickness, and even attachments and speed settings that may transform the processor into a citrus juicer or a bread dough kneader, among other things. Take into consideration whether or not you would really utilize all of the additional features included in a machine with all of these bells and whistles before you invest the extra money.
Brand and Price
Cuisinart and KitchenAid are the two market leaders in the food processor category, and their devices routinely get the top scores in both test kitchens and customer surveys. Moreover, they're among the most costly; models with 11-cup capacity or greater from these two manufacturers can set you back $130 or more. Other brands to consider include Hamilton Beach and Black & Decker, both of which have devices that begin at $50. While these minor brands may provide some unique features and accessories, their motors are often not as strong as those offered by the primary manufacturers. However, in the end, the choice boils down to your own personal preferences as well as your financial constraints.
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