Mar 12 2010
Food Processors Have Been Used In the Food Industry Since 60s
Popular in many households and almost all professional kitchens, blenders, food processors and stick blenders share common characteristics, yet are different in many subtle ways. Without these simple, yet feature-packed, appliances, many of today’s simple tasks such as mixing, blending and pureeing would be a good deal more time consuming or simply not possible at all. Selecting the right appliance is a matter of determining what recipes and features you will need the appliance for, researching the features of each model, and identifying the most reputable brands of blenders and food processors.
Food processors have been used in the food industry since the early 1960s and in the early 70s the food processor was available for home use, courtesy of French produced and then Cuisinart in North America. The primary difference between blenders and food processors is that food processors use interchangeable blades and disks instead of a fixed blade and they do not require liquids to operate efficiently. Their bowls are wider and shorter, which works better with solid or semi solid foods.
Broadly speaking, the basic functions of a food processor are slicing and chopping vegetables, grinding nuts, seeds, spices, meats and dried fruit, shredding or grinding vegetables or cheese, pureeing and mixing and kneading doughs.
Those of you, who use lots of vegetables in their cooking, be it in stews, roasts or any other type of recipe should prefer a food processor over any other type of kitchen appliance, as it dramatically cuts both preparation and clean up times.
KitchenAid, Cuisinart and French-made Magimix are traditionally the largest and most renowned manufacturers of food processors. Recently, Morphy Richards have launched a line of food processors to challenge these traditional giants of the appliance market.
While food processors, stand mixers, blenders, hand blenders and stick blenders essentially do similar things, they each have their own pros and cons. Enjoy your cocktails? Then a blender is right for you. Health conscious and want to whip up a quick protein shake? Then a stick blender will suffice. Preparing soups, stews or pot roasts in large quantities? Then a food processor is an absolute must. Love baking? A stand mixer from KitchenAid or Cuisinart is a great investment. The best advice would be to purchase 1 or 2 of the appliances, depending on your needs, and add to your collection at a later date if you find your cooking needs have changed.
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