Food Processor - What you really use it for?

meg72

Could you borrow one to try first, I bought mine at a carboot for 3 pound and I wouldnt
be without it now.

cooking-mama

I bought this little one from Argos for £20 on Thursday http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4200442/Trail/searchtext%3EFOOD+PROCESSOR.htm
Bought it for grating /slicing veg for soup,but today i used it to mix dough for a loaf which baked perfectly in my remoska

kunekune

I think a lot of it depends on how good a food processor you have.

My first one, I loved (years ago). But then I had a couple that I didn't use. They were just too complicated. I went without for a few years, apart from a miniprocessor that chopped but not much more, and then I had money come in from a side-job, some spare room on the benchtop, and got a Magimix 4200.

It is just wonderful. I use it to make pizza - on work nights, when I don't get in till 6 - pastry, breadcrumbs, chop nuts, etc. It is on the bench all the time, which makes it easier, as there is no hassle involved. Grating is good too: I make coleslaw and also other grated things like rosti. I liked my mini-processor (a kenwood) but it only does some of the jobs. Today I made my first ever tarte citron. I wouldn't have dared try without the processor to help with the pastry.

So yes, it is worth it, but if you don't cook the sort of things it does, don't bother. Your cooking style won't change just 'cos you have a 'gadget'.

shirleytch

Thanks all for replying - appreciated :beer:

helyg

cooking-mama wrote: »

I bought this little one from Argos for £20 on Thursday http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4200442/Trail/searchtext%3EFOOD+PROCESSOR.htm
Bought it for grating /slicing veg for soup,but today i used it to mix dough for a loaf which baked perfectly in my remoska

I have that one too, I bought it about 8 years ago and it is still going strong. I use it for making pastry etc, chopping veg, juicing, grating etc. I also have a stick blender and an electric handwhisk (both cost well under £10 each), and manage perfectly well with them. Although I make pretty much everything from scratch I don't feel I need a big processor.

jess444_2

I use mine all the time, mostly for pastry and cake making. However, I got mine from freecycle and the lady who kindly gave it to me told me she had hardly used.

Jess

Bronnie

jess444 wrote: »

I use mine all the time, mostly for pastry and cake making. However, I got mine from freecycle and the lady who kindly gave it to me told me she had hardly used.

Jess

Same here,Jess mine was a freebie from Freecycle too. Straightforward older Kenwood model with all the bits and instructions, hardly used. Definitely worth a wanted ad on freecycle (or freegle) esp if you're not sure or see if there's anything on ebay, local to you.

I think it's something you need to make yourself use for as many tasks as possible at first to familiarise yourself. The more you use it, the more adept and quicker you become. You'll realise it's better to give the bits a quick rinse as you go along, so it's ready for the next task. This way, the more time-saving and efficient a tool it becomes for you in future. When you're still at the fiddling round working out which bit goes where stage, it will be quicker to grate a carrot manually; you need to perservere a bit to start!

Personally, I wouldn't go for a cheap brand.....unless one comes highly recommended. The parts can often be of a more brittle plastic and can crack and it's frustrating if things don't slot into place easily.

I didn't want to buy a brand new replacement one, as I don't need to use it as much now, so I was more than happy to receive one via freecycle.

thriftlady_2

I use mine for

making breadcrumbs
making pastry
making crumble
chopping a mixture of veg (onions, garlic, carrot, clerery, leeks, peppers) finely for the freezer
coleslaw
grating a lot of cheese
making pesto
making hummus
making other paste like mixtures -anchoiade, tapenade
chopping nuts

I prefer to mix cakes and lnead dough by hand.

I wouldn't use it to chop veg just for one dish.

MrsE_2

I've got a processor, I'm thinking of buying a Kenwood chef too.

But I need to find a cupboard spot for it.

shirleytch

Well I decided to go ahead and buy one from Argos - a Kenwood FP196 which was reduced from £80 to £40 http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4234322/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CKitchen+and+laundry%7C14418476.htm

I have heeded advice on here and found it a storage spot which is easily accessible. So far today I have had fun making breadcrumbs, grating cheese and chopping veg to make pasties tomorrow. I think I need to use it as much as possible while it is new to understand what it can do and get used to the attachments. The one I have bought is not too big - there are only 3 of us though so it is fine.

Thanks for all the replies :rotfl: