Just got a food processor tips gratefully received

chickaroonee

I am now the proud owner of a kenwood food processor, thanks to freecycle :T

And I'm ashamed to say I've never used one before, so any tips are very welcome, I want to get the most out of it.

Thanks

deedledee_2

Chickaroonee food processors are brilliant little gadgets and think that every home should have one !

I use mind almost every day. For example for spagbol I chuck roughly chopped carrots, celery, peppers, onion and garlic in it, which chops it up finely and use that to bulk up my mince. I also use it for baking sometimes, when making puddings, pancakes etc.. It is extremely useful for making home-made humus and chunky soup. I've recently discovered that it's great for chopping up raw ginger, which you can then freeze and use as required. There are many other uses but that's all I can think of for now. Does your food processor have any other attachments because mine has an attachment which you can use to whip cream or egg whites and it also has a lemon juicer and grater, but I tend to use the blade the most!

deedledee_2

I've remembered another tip. If you've got any bread that's about to go stale or crust, whiz it in the food processor and you've got breadcrumbs which you can freeze and use as required!

kunekune

I don't have a full-size food processor, just a little mini chopping thing and a stick blender. I use the chopper it all the time: chopping onions & garlic for curry, carrots & celery for hiding in sauces, breadcrumbs and nuts. The blender is used for soups, obviously, but also hummous. The only thing I miss, and the reason I'll get a proper one when I have space, is the grating attachment. Coleslaw is so much easier when you don't have to use the cheese grater!

rockie4

Brilliant gadgets, I wouldn't be without mine but my tip is.......don't put the blade in the washing up water!!!!!:eek: I just rinse it under the tap and wipe it gently if it needs it.

The fingers have healed now

blueberrypie

If you're chopping an onion, chop several at once and refrigerate or freeze what you don't need.

If there's a blender attachment, use it to make your own smoothies - easy and healthy.

If it has a strong enough motor, make bread dough in it - add the dry ingredients, then start pouring the liquids in with the dough-blade (or regular blade, if you haven't a dough-blade) running. Let it run for 60-90 seconds, then tip your dough out and put it in a bowl to rise.

If you've got a mini-chopper attachment, it's dead easy to make up your own spice-mixes.

Buy a lump of parmesan and use the grater to grate the whole thing, then store it in the freezer and use it as you need it.

I'm sure I'll think of more as soon as I post this :-D

Sharra

You can make your own pastry in food processors in about 2 mins - just chuck in flour and fat, wizz till looks like breadcrumbs, then take lid off and scatter some water over.
Very handy but be careful not to overload it

thriftlady_2

rockie4 wrote: »

Brilliant gadgets, I wouldn't be without mine but my tip is.......don't put the blade in the washing up water!!!!!:eek: I just rinse it under the tap and wipe it gently if it needs it.

The fingers have healed now

OMG:eek: that's made me feel all wobbly -shudder!

I have a lovely Magimix which I don't use every day by any means. It is absolutely invaluable for making my vegetable hash.

Every 6 weeks or so I use it to finely chop a huge batch of onion, garlic, celery, leek, carrot and red pepper. Sometimes I add courgettes too. I stir it all up in a big bowl then put large spoonfuls (probably a heaped handful) into freezer tubs or bags and then into the freezer.

Every time I make a stew, soup, curry, mince dish, pasta sauce etc I defrost one of these tubs for 2 mins in the microwave and add it to the oil/fat in my pan. It makes a huge difference to the flavour of those sort of dishes and saves so much time.

morganlefay

Lucky lady ! Happy food processing....I agree with all of the above (my OH constantly cutting himself on submerged blades so indeed, do be careful (or is it a bloke thing ?) One cunning thing I was taught: if you are cooking a whole meal and need to chop/whizz several things see if you can organise them so you don't have to wash up the bowl between each one - say you wanted breadcrumbs for a treacle tart, and also pastry, you'd do the breadcrumbs, then the pastry, then you'd chop the onion and garlic for your meat thing - the tiny bit of pastry left on the bowl sides won't matter, tho you wouldn't have wanted the garlic in your crumbs IYSWIM. My Magimix bowl is wonderful but also an invention of the devil where washing up is concerned - all fiddly little plastic bits which won't let themselves be dried. Happy cooking !

chickaroonee

Thanks everyone that's so helpful! Not worked out what all the attachments do yet (there's a few) so going to clean it up and give it a whizz tomorrow. We do have a stick and a jug blender already, but nothing that chops so looking forward to this. Really loving the idea of chopping a whole load of veg and freezing it!

powershopper

lovely gadgets, just a teensy no-no, don't try to whisk egg whites. the blades just chop up the albumen and like chopping string, they wont hold air!!!