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An electric kitchen tool that is used to chop, grate, mince, slice, puree, and blend a variety of food ingredients. Food processors have different blades that perform the various functions, which may also include kneading dough with a blade rather than a hook. The food processor can usually perform any of these tasks in minimal time, which makes it an indispensable tool in the kitchen.
The processing or holding containers on Food Processors are available in sizes ranging from 2 to 14 cups. The smaller sized Processers are limited in their functionalities, but work well for very limited and small tasks. Typical accessories or components may include any of the following: food feeder tubes (wide or narrow mouth); small to large processor bowl (some have snap on lids for storage of processed contents); disk blades, steel "S" blade for chopping, a dough blade, disk slicing blades for fine or medium cuts, and grater disk blades for fine of medium grating.
When considering tasks performed by food processors, they are generally best for: 1) chopping or mincing items such as herbs, garlic, nuts, olives, and select vegetables; 2) grating carrots, cheese, chocolate; 3) slicing cabbage, onions, potatoes and vegetables; 4) mixing, blending or making breadcrumbs, bread or pizza dough, hummus, mayonnaise, and tapenade. It is suggested that chores such as grinding spices or nuts, pureeing into smoothly blended mixtures, or slicing into equal lengths and sizes can best be accomplished with a blender.
There are numerous tips and techniques for using food processors however, several that are common include: 1) To grate soft items such as soft cheese, dried fruit, meat, poultry, or chocolate to name a few, freeze the food to stiffen it into a firmer texture that grates easier and more uniformly; 2) To cut or chop food items into sizes or shapes that are similar, pre-cut the food into smaller pieces and then process with by repeatedly turning the processor on and off for short durations.
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