What is a food processor? The food processor is an electric appliance developed in the late 20th century. It is used for various food-preparation functions, including kneading, chopping, blending, and pulverizing.
Pierre Verdon invented this kitchen appliance. His Le Magi-Mix, a compact household version of his previous restaurant-scaled Robot-Coupe, was first exhibited in Paris in 1971. Another American engineer, Carl Sontheimer, an inventor, further enhanced Verdon’s machines to produce the Cuisinart. The further widespread popularity of the Cuisinart following the exhibition in Chicago in 1973 led various other manufacturers to start designing competing models. This way, hundreds of thousands of food processors were sold in the late 1970s.
Also, Food processors are of two basic kinds: most of the work is done in a single bowl with a flat blade. The other is fitted with multiple attachments. Some standard accessories comprise a work bowl, lid, chopping blade, mixing blade, and disks for slicing and shredding.
Contents
- What is a food processor used for?
- Using the food processor for chopping
- To Grind Or Mince Using Your Food Processor
- Puree With Your Food Processor
- Use a Food Processor To Mix or Blend
- Shred Or Gate With a Food processor
- Slice With a Food Processor
- Knead Dough In Your Food Processor
- What Is a Food Processor Used For?: The Conclusion
What is a food processor used for?
The food processor uses plenty. A food processor allows users to prepare various store-bought staples or create new recipes at home. This can be done by using fresh, whole ingredients without additives and preservatives. As most of us know, freshly prepared foods generally taste better and can maintain more of their nutrients. With the help of your food processor, you can whip up your favourite recipe in just a few minutes. The best part is that you can later easily clean up the appliance in the dishwasher.
Let us look at some of the ideas for the various functions you can use in your food processor in a matter of minutes. You can easily experiment with these techniques and find new ways the food processor can make every task much quicker and easier.
Using the food processor for chopping
Food processors generally have an S blade comprising two angled blades facing opposite directions to form an S-shape structure. This blade has multiple purposes and can perform various tasks, such as chopping and grinding. For this, you need to insert the S-blade into the bowl, add the ingredients, replace the lid and set the food processor to the Low or Pulse function to start the chopping motion.
1. Vegetable to be used for soups, salads or sauces
The base product for most soups is a celery, carrot, and onion combo. This is also called mirepoix. Now, chop the ingredients together for a few seconds to create a wonderful base for multiple varieties of soups or stews. Now you can quickly chop and mince the salad and toppings, shred cabbage for chopped Chinese chicken salad and other customized creations. You can use the food processor to chop various ingredients that can be used to make various side dishes like hummus, baba ganoush or homemade tabouli.
2. Onions and garlic
The appliance can be used to chop onions for preparing fresh mango salsa or mince onions and garlic for roux, sauces, and others without having to shed endless tears. The best part is that this can be done in a fraction of the time otherwise used.
3. nuts
You can easily chop the hard nuts for cookies, brownies, chocolate truffles, and salad toppings. This can be done with just a few quick pulses of the blade, as most cooks might know the Freshly chopped nuts have more moisture and flavour than the pre-chopped and pre-packaged versions.
To Grind Or Mince Using Your Food Processor
The food processors do not grind; instead, they mince, using a sharp blade. However, this offers an end result of a finely chopped texture similar to grinding without requiring a grinder.
4. Burgers, Meatballs and Other Meats
Now, it is simple to control the cuts of meat you can use and avoid cross-contamination due to a butcher facility. Enjoying a veal, pork, or beef blend for meatloaf or meatballs is easy. You can also grind salmon to make salmon burgers with a few pulses of your food processor’s multipurpose blade. Also, you can prepare custom-made meat ready to cook. This way, you can easily prepare smaller batches of green meatballs using the food processor.
5. Cauliflower Rice
You can also instantly control your gluten and carbs intake by preparing cauliflower rice in your food processor. For this, you need to cut the head of cauliflower into florets and chop it into the kind of texture you like. You can also use the entire head to control waste and maximize the value.
6. Breadcrumbs
You do not need to purchase breadcrumbs again, as you can easily prepare fresh crumbs using the food processor. The best part is that you can create the preferred texture, ranging from coarse to superfine, according to the number of pulses you use. Next, try adding new herbs and spices for a custom blend that belongs to just you. Now, you can make use of the old, hard bread a new life, emerging as tasty bread crumbs. Make your own breadcrumbs and top this off with warm, cheesy crab dip.
7. Homemade Flours
You can also grind your own oats or nuts in order to prepare fine flour for gluten-free baking.
8. Healthy Energy Balls
Food processors can also be used to prepare delicious flour-free energy snacks within minutes. Now add dates and the nuts of choice. Next, drizzle honey in through the food tube until you have acquired a dough-like consistency. Prepare balls and roll them into coconut flakes if you want, such as the popular vanilla coconut energy bites.
Puree With Your Food Processor
With the help of this multipurpose S-blade included in your food processor, it is a versatile tool that can be used to puree foods in just a few minutes. According to your required consistency, pureeing foods can be just as simple as placing the S-blade within your food processor’s work bowl. Next, add the ingredients, secure the lid and run the food processor on high for 30 seconds to one minute.
9. Baby Food
You can easily prepare fresh and wholesome roasted vegetable baby food for your little one. This can be done for anyone who requires nutrition without having to chew. Now, you can easily prepare cubed vegetables or fruits and add them to your work bowl for a quick puree experience. You can also experiment using the various blends and textures to expand your baby’s palate.
10. Nut Butters
A powerful food processor that can run for a couple of minutes at high speed can be used to prepare the delicious nut butter at your fingertips. Select the nuts or seeds you prefer and add a small amount of oil or water. Now, watch the creamy spread appear in the work bowl. It is time to enjoy the homemade peanut butter or other nut butter on bread, waffles, or salad dressings and cook or as required as dips for sliced raw fruits and veggies.
11. Smooth Salsa
To prepare smooth salsa, all you have to do is add tomatoes, onions, jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper, along with any other ingredient you can think of, into the work bowl for a smooth, fresh salsa that has been spiced just the way you want it to be within a couple of minutes.
12. Mayonnaise
To be able to prepare Homemade mayonnaise is altogether a different ball game. The food processor lets you slowly add oil to your mixture and get a beautifully fluffy and creamy condiment you can eat with a spoon. Now, you can prepare your hollandaise and aioli by using your favourite ingredients like lemon tarragon aioli to drizzle over lobster corn dogs and much more.
Use a Food Processor To Mix or Blend
The food processor can be used to tackle the tough and rigorous job of shredding, kneading, dicing and grinding. However, it can also be used to blend various ingredients into a homogeneous mixture similar to the blender. Food processors generally depend upon a multipurpose blade set to a high speed to get the job done. Though the food processors are versatile, blenders are better preferred for various tasks like crushing ice or other hard ingredients.
13. Hummus
This is a high-protein dip, and the spread is immensely popular at parties and an excellent vegan treat. Now, you can easily whip up your hummus within minutes by using canned or soaked chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and spices. So prepare the traditional hummus or experiment with beans, root vegetables and more to prepare beet, avocado, or edamame hummus.
14. Pesto
Now, adding pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts, fresh basil, olive oil, black pepper, and parmesan is simple. Within a few seconds, you will have delicious and fresh pesto sauce that can be used for dipping, spreading, or putting over pasta. It is time to discover various ingredients to prepare a customized sauce using unique flavours and textures.
15. Salad Dressings
Now, you can easily prepare a delightful and fresh Caesar dressing using avocado-lime-cilantro vinaigrette and other ingredients. The food processor allows it to blend the ingredients well and allows you to add oil slowly through the drizzle basin or the food tube to acquire the perfect emulsification.
Shred Or Gate With a Food processor
Food processors generally consist of an attachment known as a shredder or grating disc that rests on the top of the bowl. Now, all you need to do is funnel the foods like cheese or veggies through the food processor’s feed tube. This allows it to come in contact with the shredder disc on its way to the very bottom of the bowl, thus making it quick to shred various ingredients.
16. Soft Cheeses
You can now shred mozzarella for a topping for the pizza, lasagna, fresh cheddar, and Monterey jack for taco night. Be sure to keep the cheese refrigerated until you are ready to shred.
17. Hard Cheeses
Preparing the freshly grated parmesan, asiago, or romano cheese for your Italian food tour night or adding to soups, garlic bread, or dips is just a click of a button away using the food processor.
18. Cabbage
One can make use of the shredding disc in order to shred the cabbage quickly for coleslaw, homemade sauerkraut, and more. This can be used for refreshing fish tacos with watermelon slaw for the taste of summer. Select a coarse or thin shred to fine-tune the recipes. The food processor can also be used to shred Brussels sprouts quickly and easily.
19. Potatoes
It is simple to Shred delicate strands of potatoes to prepare crispy and creamy potato latkes, hash browns, or your own specialized pierogi filling. Food processors can also be used to prepare delicious mashed potatoes.
20. Carrots
It is easy to finely shred carrots within a few minutes for your carrot-raisin salad or the chai-spiced carrot cake batter.
21. Broccoli Stalks
Do not throw away the stalks of your broccoli, as you can easily shred them in your food processor for a crunchy addition to salads or a healthy broccoli slaw.
Slice With a Food Processor
Every blade that comes with the food processor can accomplish various unique tasks, offering a chance to ‘act’ as a small sous chef to achieve your favourite creations. This appliance generally includes one or more slicing discs to create thin, medium or thick slices of your favourite meats, fruits and vegetables.
22. Potatoes, Yams and Beets
Now, you can simply slice potatoes and other root vegetables and fry or bake them for amazing fresh chips. Likewise, you can also use sliced white or yellow potatoes for a delicious au gratin.
23. Pepperoni Or Salami
You can further enhance your charcuterie board by being able to slice meats just before serving. It is simple to Slice just the right amount of pepperoni you require for your pizza and savour the flavour.
24. Cucumbers
To be able to prepare delicious pickles, you are required to slice a bushel of cucumbers. Be sure to take care of the entire process within just a few minutes with the help of the slicing disc. As the Sliced cucumbers are also wonderful in salads, sandwiches, vegetable trays, or the vegan Hawaiian poke bowl, you can now get uniform shape and thickness for a clean, crisp look and flavours.
25. Brussel Sprouts
The Brussels sprouts are rounded vegetables that can be tough to handle, slice or shave. Now, all you need to do is wrangle the sprouts into your food processor food tube, and the slicing blade ensures that beautiful shaved sprouts sauté or used in salads.
26. Sliced Veggies & Fruits
If you require to Quickly slice apples for an impressive tart tartin’ or comforting loaded sliced potatoes, the food processor can do just that. You can also adjust the thickness of your slices using the special slicing blades in order to acquire a wide range of results, from thick to thin.
Knead Dough In Your Food Processor
With the help of the rapidly moving blades, kneading the dough using a food processor can ensure build-up gluten for a nice, airy loaf. Most food processors include a special dough blade that has been designed for this particular task. This special blade is composed of plastic; hence, it does not slice through the dough like a metal multipurpose blade would.
27. Cut in Better
Now, you don’t need to shy away from making fresh pie crusts, biscuits, or scones just because of the labour of cutting in butter. Now, your food processor ensures that this step is easy. The process of “Cutting in” takes just a couple of seconds to get the perfect texture for delicious, flaky dough.
28. Pasta Dough
If you have had the taste and texture of freshly prepared pasta, it is tough to go back to the store-bought variety. With this appliance, pasta dough takes only a few ingredients and can be combined and kneaded as quickly as possible.
29. Pizza Dough
Did you know that Homemade pizza and flatbread are such fun to prepare, and fresh dough makes all the difference? The food processor’s plastic dough blade will make sure to knead the dough within a fraction of the time it would take to do it by hand.
30. Bread Dough
Now, you can use the plastic dough blade and quick pulses to knead bread dough within just 1-3 minutes. You can also allow it to rise in the food processor work bowl.
What Is a Food Processor Used For?: The Conclusion
Food processors are useful for more than just some simple food prep and are the perfect tool to allow you to discover new flavours and textures. You will be amazed by the endless possibilities, from delicious hoisin sauce to Greek cucumber sauce, to gazpacho, and a creamy dairy-free “ice cream” from bananas. So now it is time to get yourself a food processor and ‘wave off’ all the food-prep worries just before you start your favourite meal-making.