Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Food Processors--Please Help!

I think I'm finally ready to give in and invest in a food processor. Typically, I try to avoid kitchen appliances, especially if I can do the job by hand (e.g., mixing, kneading, chopping). Still, there are some things that just can't be done well by hand. I'm thinking mostly of pesto. I can never get the ingredients chopped finely enough to meld together properly. And the blender can't do the job--trust me, I've tried.

So, I'm asking for your help. What kind of food processor do you use and what do you like about it (or not)? I would prefer something with a fairly small footprint and not too high a price, but if that high-end behemoth of a processor is really is all that and a bag of chips, I might be convinced to splurge. Just tell me why. Oh, and how bad is the cleanup of the parts? I wash everything by hand, so that's a consideration, too.

Please leave your suggestions here (or for those who know me well and don't like to publish comments here, e-mail me or post on FB). Thanks for your help.

2 comments:

  1. Hey guys,
    We have a KitchenAid food processor, and we use it at least three times a week. It's super handy, durable, and easy to clean (we only hand-wash, too).
    We like that it has a mini-bowl insert that is a perfect size for grinding spices or chopping nuts.
    We also like that it only has three buttons: on, off, and pulse. We don't need a bunch of settings, and it's nice that we don't have to mess with them.
    Oh, and it's really good at shredding. We tend to shred/grate by hand, but if you have to shred a lot of something (like 4 cups of carrots), it is really handy.
    And if you are mincing a lot of garlic (like more than four cloves), the food processor is really useful. If you just put in whole, peeled cloves and pulse a few times, your garlic comes out evenly minced. And as soon as it's chopped, it sticks to the sides of the bowl, so you don't have to worry about ending up with garlic paste.
    So yeah, we use our food processor like crazy. And I've had mine for years (longer than I've known you), and it still works like a champ. And it doesn't show any signs of dying anytime soon! So there's our recommendation.

    We would love to get together with you guys soon. Are you free anytime this weekend? We are thinking of having some people over for dinner on Saturday. Let us know if you guys are free!

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  2. Thanks, SBBB, for the detailed recommendation--just what I was hoping for! We're doing Organic Growers School stuff all weekend and since Jim is still nursing his cold, I think we'll be laying low in the evenings. Raincheck, please?!?!

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