Several professional and owner reviews say durability and performance problems can be an issue for some inexpensive food processors, so consumers should keep this in mind. Additionally, people strapped for counter or cupboard space may be interested in compact food processors and combo machines; these use a single base unit with blender and processor accessories.
Cooks partial to petite portions or users who routinely find themselves doing small slicing and dicing tasks should also consider mini choppers. There are several mini choppers on the market that have a 3-cup capacity and are ideal for simpler tasks like mincing garlic. Most units have a 3-cup bowl that snaps into a base that houses the motor.
Other food processor pointers:
* Performance is more important than extra features. All food processors can chop, slice, shred and puree foods. Optional attachments like juicers, egg beaters, cream whippers, dough kneaders, french fry cutters and julienne blades are nice extras, but can be purchased later. It's much easier to buy more blades than it is to buy another machine.
* Don't get caught up in the number of speeds. One speed plus pulse is all you need.
* The shape and size of the feed tube will affect how you have to prepare the food for the processor. For example, a long, narrow tube means slicing potatoes lengthwise, while a wide feed tube allows larger chunks of food to enter.
* A 4- to 7-cup capacity is adequate, but a 9- to 12-cup bowl size is even better. Most of the complaints about 4- to 7-cup models at consumer voting sites like Epinions.com resulted from problems caused by too-small bowls. Professional tests often find bowl capacity to be somewhat less than advertised. Also, keep in mind that advertised food processor capacities measure dry ingredients only, and an open-topped tube limits liquid volume to about half of the advertised capacity.
* Heavy food processors are more difficult to haul out of a cupboard, but they're also more stable. Weightier machines are less likely to shake across the counter during big jobs, and they also tend to be quieter. Reviewers agree that major projects like baking bread, making your own pasta or chopping heavy vegetables require a heavy machine.
For more effective processing, cut food into equal-size pieces, use short pulses, scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary and avoid using blade-damaging frozen or hard foods. Using the feed tube can also maximize efficiency. What else can blenders do?
Processors are not always good for blending small quantities, so if you want a small amount of mayonnaise, hollandaise, breadcrumbs, pesto or anything else that needs some quick, brief blending, you will find a blender does a better job.
What doesn't it do?
It won't grate or chop; it pulverises but doesn't actually chop. So herbs, for instance, just get mashed to a pulp, which is okay for pesto, but not for other things. Incidentally, I think a liquidiser is a more accurate title here than blender because it pulverises ingredients almost to a liquid.
What is the difference between a full-blown blender and the hand-held version?
Briefly, with a hand-held blender you have to do a little more work. In the goblet of a full-blown blender the ingredients are pulverised at the press of a button in seconds; with the hand-held version you have to manipulate it into the corners of bowls and pans to make sure the blades are reaching all the parts they need to. What you use is a matter of personal choice. Some may find the bother of washing a goblet a chore (though they are dishwasher-proof nowadays) and I have friends who say they prefer the hand-held version.
Do I really need a blender?
If you really don't enjoy cooking, particularly making and eating home-made soups, I would say probably not. But I feel a serious cook will always appreciate having both a blender and a processor because the two together provide a wonderful service in so many different areas of day-to-day cooking.
Food processors