How to choose a food processor: making the right choice

Food processor is a multifunctional kitchen unit that any housewife is thinking about purchasing. The huge range of this technology can cause confusion and even panic. It turns out that in order to make a choice without any problems, you need to take into account every detail, from the size of the equipment to the configuration.

How to choose a quality food processor

Even before going to the store, you should decide exactly for what purpose you need a food processor. If you intend to use it exclusively for slicing vegetables and fruits, then you can opt for inexpensive models. Their advantage is their small size and ease of use. Such units are easy to disassemble and wash.

Among the criteria that you need to rely on when choosing are the following:

• performance;
• work functions;
• ease of storage, washing and use;
• reliability;
• safety of use.

Taking into account every little detail, you will be able to choose the technique that will make the cooking process a real holiday.

Functionality of a food processor

Functionality is what you need to pay attention to first. In many ways, the price of a unit depends on the set of functions it has. Among the main capabilities of the combine are the following:

• meat grinder. Attached is an attachment that ensures the grinding of meat into minced meat, making it homogeneous;
• blender. The bowl is used for making cocktails and crushing ice, whipping various sauces;
• juicer. It can be universal or intended exclusively for citrus fruits;
• dough attachment. Helps replace any dough, regardless of its purpose. In this case, lumps are not formed;
• special discs for slicing, as well as graters and shredders. With their help you can prepare absolutely any vegetables;
• whipping attachment. Helps beat eggs, prepare pancake batter;
• attachment for making pasta. With its help, it is possible to make pasta of the desired shape and size;
• mill. Allows you to grind flour and coffee. If desired, you can even set the degree of grinding depending on personal preferences;
• emulsifier. Indispensable in preparing various sauces;
• freezer. An additional function, thanks to which there is no need to purchase an ice cream maker separately.

Important! Many manufacturers offer to purchase a food processor with a minimum number of attachments. Additionally, any others are sold, thanks to which the functionality of the unit will be maximized.

What types of food processors are there?

There are several types of combines. Among the most common and in demand are the following:

Food processors with meat grinder. The most popular of all models, allowing you to grind meat in a matter of seconds. Some units are additionally equipped with a nozzle for stuffing sausage casings.

Food processors for dough. They have high power and a large bowl. They turn out to be simply indispensable for housewives who prefer to bake their own bread and pies.

Professional food processors. The power of these units is at least 1 thousand watts. They are equipped with a large bowl, making it possible to process a large number of products. In addition, such combines are equipped with special attachments that are not found in simple household appliances.

Food processors with dicing. The equipment is equipped with special attachments, with the help of which vegetables are chopped not only into cubes, but also into strips. There are few such units available today.

Food processors with juicer. For high-quality juice extraction, the device must make at least 8 thousand revolutions in one minute. It is best for the bowl to be made of glass. If you choose such a unit correctly, you will be able to pamper yourself and your loved ones with delicious juice every day.

What to choose between a blender and a food processor

Making a choice between a regular blender and a food processor is actually not that difficult. You just need to think about what purposes the unit will be used for. If its main tasks are whipping and chopping food, then a blender will be the best purchase.

In the same cases, if the device will be used for more complex work, for example, kneading dough, grinding meat into minced meat or preparing juice, then In this case, you need to purchase a food processor.

You should also take into account the size of the kitchen itself, because a huge food processor on it will not look very attractive and will take up a considerable area. A simple blender will not interfere with this.

How to choose the best food processor

Let's look at the features of such equipment as a food processor. It’s just that some of them have only basic functions, due to which they cost significantly less. Others are more versatile, but their price is much higher.

Choosing a food processor according to parameters

Parameters that you need to pay attention to when choosing this indispensable kitchen appliance:

• speed;
• power;
• compactness and weight;
• bowl material and its volume;
• nozzles;
• equipment.

It is these parameters that determine how practical and convenient a food processor will be.

Main settings

Among the main parameters when choosing are rotation speed, weight and size. After all, the more speeds a food processor is equipped with, the easier it will be to choose a mode for preparing food. Grinding of hard products is possible only at high speed.

Particular attention is paid to weight. After all, no matter how conveniently the unit is placed in the kitchen, it will have to be lifted and rearranged from time to time. Often housewives even have to hide it in a drawer after finishing work.

Compactness is an equally important issue. Some of the units are equipped with special boxes for storing attachments, while others do not have them, which subsequently causes a lot of inconvenience.

Bowl volume

The combine can be equipped with a bowl with a volume of from one liter to six.For a small family in which it is customary to cook in small portions, a bowl with a volume of about two and a half liters will be quite enough; for those families with children, you should opt for larger ones, about four liters.

Bowl material

The material for making the bowl of this kitchen unit can be glass, stainless steel and plastic. Budget series models are often equipped with plastic ones, but they are used only for processing cold products.

Units with glass bowls are significantly more expensive, but you can put both cold and hot foods in them. Steel bowls are considered the most durable and heat-resistant.

Number of nozzles

Most often, among the main attachments that a food processor is equipped with, the following are found:

• coffee grinder;
• mill;
• juicer;
• meat grinder;
• for cutting potatoes;
• for making pasta.

But even if the kit of the selected equipment does not include the necessary attachment, you should not immediately go in search of another unit; many of the manufacturers offer to buy the missing parts separately.

Power

The performance of any food processor depends on its power. The higher this characteristic turns out to be, the better the unit will cope with the task. Depending on this parameter, the processing time of products will vary from a few minutes to a quarter of an hour.

Depending on the model, the power can be from only 50 W and reach 2 thousand W. If the bowl is small, then 500 W will be enough to grind food, but only if the food is quite soft. It will be impossible to crush ice and grind raw meat.Units with a power of 700 W or more will be able to cope with this task.

Equipment

The small food processor comes with a bowl and several attachments. The configuration of larger equipment is somewhat different. It includes several bowls, attachments in the form of whisks, stirrers, knives and grates, special hooks for meat, dough and a juicer. The number of these parts may vary significantly depending on the selected model.

Any housewife can choose a food processor without outside help. To do this, it is only enough to understand what exactly is required from this technology. After all, it should not only fit perfectly into the interior, but also be a real assistant in the process of preparing food.