Insider Tips on Buying a Food Processor

These days, food processors have become indispensable in the kitchen. They are versatile units that can chop, shred, puree and do just about any kind of food processing in a matter of seconds. However, there are some things you need to know before you go and buy one.

Useful Features That Make Your Food Preparation Easier

The majority of food processors on the market are equipped with a single speed motor, and a feed chute at the top of the unit which has a multiple purpose; it is used for easy addition of ingredients, keeps you from getting injured and comes with a pusher. Another useful feature is a pulse button. This button is used to give small bursts of power which comes in handy when you need to chop something quickly or when you’re kneading. Make sure that all the parts are dishwasher safe and that the controls of the unit are smooth (touch pad controls) since they are easier to clean.

How Much Power is Enough Power

Your food processor needs a strong motor in order to tackle the various different tasks like kneading dough, chopping and shredding cheese and carrots. If your unit is not strong enough, you run the risk of motor burn-out or your ingredients not mixing uniformly. When it comes to power – more is better.

Big or Small

The size of your potential food processor is determined by the number of people you’re typically preparing food for. There are small food processors and large restaurant ones, capable of processing large quantities. If you’re going to use it for chopping nuts and preparing different sauces a smaller one will suffice. If however, you’re going to use it for dough kneading and food preparation for a family of 3-5, I suggest you get a nine or eleven-cup one.

Additional Tools and Accessories

There’s a wide variety of tools that can come included with your food processor which are meant to maximize the efficiency of your unit. A single food processor can come with a variety of work bowls and blades, discs and other tools that can transform your food processor into a kneader and even a juicer. If you don’t intend to use all of these features, maybe you should buy a more basic and also a more inexpensive one.

The Cost of a Decent Food Processor

The two brands that stick out when it comes to consumer satisfaction and quality are Cuisinart and KitchenAid. Although these brands are a bit pricier than others, there are a lot of positive reviews about them on Amazon.com. However, there are a lot of other makes and models with interesting features and good customer feedback. Here, on our site, we’ve reviewed those with the highest customer rating and proven quality. If you’d like to read our reviews, click here.