Will a food processor save time? Are they worth getting?

Brie

Braun MultiQuick 5 Vario MQ5235 Hand Blender, Sauce Mixer, BPA-Free Plastic Beaker - White/Grey : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

this is similar to the one I got for £60 a few years back from John Lewis.  

bouicca21

@Ginger_chocolate. I just checked and what I bought as a mini food processor is now called a mini chopper.   It’s small enough to keep out on the worktop - I doubt I’d use it as much if it were kept in a cupboard.  

https://www.kitchenaid.co.uk/food-processors/859794315020/mini-food-chopper-830ml-5kfc3516-onyx-black

ginger_chocolate

fyi - frozen peppers don't need to be chopped as they will shatter quite nicely which will save time later.  

If I learn nothing else from starting this thread, then this will still have made it worthwhile. Genius 

EssexHebridean

I've got one of those mini choppers (edit to add - mine is indeed a braun multiquick!) that is also part of a set that has a stick blender - the top half of the stick is what drives the chopper too. The stick blender attachment bit gave up years ago, but the top bit and the mini chopper bowl are still going strong. I think I'm right in saying they were a wedding present - so 22 years now of fairly regular use which is pretty good going. Most common uses are blitzing bread into crumbs and - yes, like so many others - making houmous! 

One option if cooking something like chopped onions is to chop a big batch all at once, cook them all off to the "golden and translucent" stage then school out all bar what you want for the current recipe and freeze the rest in batches once it's cooled. You can then just take a chunk or tub out of the freezer as needed. Someone knew ages ago swore by using a burger press to turn them into discs for freezing as they take up less space and defrost faster - I confess I've never tried that myself though. 

ZsaZsa

ginger_chocolate said:

fyi - frozen peppers don't need to be chopped as they will shatter quite nicely which will save time later.  

If I learn nothing else from starting this thread, then this will still have made it worthwhile. Genius 

Me too, I’d no idea!

Floss

Brie said:

 
fyi - frozen peppers don't need to be chopped as they will shatter quite nicely which will save time later.  

I don't have room in my freezer for whole peppers, chopped fit into odd corners.

skogar

A lot quicker to make crumble topping in the food processor rather than rubbing it in.

If you want to see if you think one would be useful it might be worth seeing if you can pick up one that someone isn't using on freecycle or see if you can pick up a cheap 2nd hand one to try.

Useful if processing a lot of fruit veg at once. Definitely quicker to process 30lb of rhubarb for winemaking that way rather than by hand! Another bulk one might be if you wanted to preprep veg then freeze it.

halfamo

Iv'e had one for yonks. Just started using number 3 (got about 6 months ago in charity shop).
If you make pastry at home, they are a great time saver.
We used to make bread and got ours to be able to get that over with quicker (use bread machine these days).
Things like chopping and grating and even chipping are quick work but obviously there is the washing up afterwards. Although for raw fruit and veg, this is quite quick especially if you whizz some water around in the bowl like you would with a blender to leave just a quick swish around inside with a sponge when you've got the time spare for actual washing up.
If you're only going to be chopping stuff and  making dough and batters then a basic processor with one blade will do it.
The ones with discs for grating, slicing and chipping are nice to have if you are going to use them a lot, else they just take up space in the cupboard.

timehastoldme

There are some jobs that are way easier with s processor. When the weather is hot we go to Bircher muesli for breakfast, make 3 days worth at once, but this means grating apples which is a pain and puts me off prep. If I can just whack it in the processor, and then throw the processor bowl and blade in the dishwasher I'm way more inclined to do it. Ditto a cheesy lentil chili that needs grated courgettes.

I wouldn't recommend ours though (Morphy Richards Prepster). Looks neat but falls apart during use.

-taff

I have one. I don't use it all the time, but then, I can say that for any of my gadgets. I got an old one from freecycle or fb mp, can't remember, and I use it depending on what I'm making. I will use it to crumble flour and fat if I'm making a full lot of something, or grating/slicing cabbage etc for large lots of coleslaw for example. I use the jug sometimes too. It is convenient to use sometimes and I can go for days without using, then days in a row using it...

Horses for courses. If you can find a cheap good secondhand one, try it out. If you don't like it, sell it on again.