Help- Food processor or blender?!

clippy_girl

Hi all,

I am not sure this is the right board but here goes!

In my quest to eat less processed foods and cook more from scratch I would like to make my own humous and also curry pastes etc.... Many recipes say stick it in a food processor so i have been looking to buy one.

However they all seem to relate to chopping stuff according to the descriptions?! Is a food processor what I need and if so are there any specific attachments I need to ensure I include? Or would one of those stick blenders that come with little bowl attachments be best?

I currently have a smart price stick blender for soups and smoothies but it is not that great tbh and I am always left with lumps!

Can anyone recommend a good reasonably priced one please?

Thanks in advance

Seakay

similar thread here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/135148

lots of people on here seem to love the Kenwood - if you search on that you should come across several more threads talking about that and other processors

I have a Moulinex blender. I like the ones with a glass jug as it's a bit safer for ice, but not vital. I use it for soups etc but have to be more careful with grinding dry seeds etc (pour through lid onto whirring blades) as otherwise the get jammed underneath the blades and don't get processed.

nuatha

Chickpeas into homous, food processor.
Grinding spices, coffee grinder, mortar and pestle.
Spice pastes, mortar and pestle or food processor.

Generally a food processor is for slicing and chopping, I've yet to find one that can mill spices, but I've made curry pastes from milled spices and other ingredients in a processor.

Generally a blender will take a lumpy liquid and turn it into a smooth one (particularly soups, but smoothies and the like as well - though few are able to cope with crushing a lot of ice).

I have an old Lidl's food processor, it came with a blender jug and several slicing blades (ignore the chip blade, it doesn't work that well) as well as a metal chopping blade and a similar looking plastic blade. The latter is for mixing and it will make a fair all in one cake or decent pastry.
I've previously had a kenwood processor ( it left with an ex) which I regard as no better than the Lidl's one which was a third of the price. (Last time I saw Lidl's advertising a processor it was a radiccally different design).
The main issue I have with the current system is that it struggles to work with minimal quantities - if you're cooking for one, look at a mini processor.

If I was starting over on equipping a kitchen, I'd still buy a Kenwood Chef, but would buy more of the accessories (and eliminate the food processor) however if the budget was tight, then a processor would be a higher priority.
HTH

suki1964

I make all my curry from scratch using a pestle and mortar and a stick blender. I use the processor to slice the vast amounts of onions needed

For soups the processor is great for slicing and chopping, once again it's just the stick blender used to blend

Stick blender for sauces

I use the processor when making pastry or cakes or butter or for when I need things like potatoes sliced fine

The kenwood sits in the cupboard in the hall out of sight out of mind


I think you really need to take a look at the sort of meals you prepare on a regular basis before deciding what you really need Many years ago I bought an all singing all dancing processor and rarely used it. Now I have a bog standard magimix that's small enough to sit out it's used a couple of times a week at least. Same as stick blender