Whereas all of the meals processors I examined can mainly get the job completed in terms of chopping, pureeing, shredding and slicing, they arrive in numerous sizes and bowl volumes with a spread of extra options and value factors. If dimension or value are limiting components for you, the choice goes to grow to be very straightforward as you’ll rapidly slim the sphere to smaller and cheaper fashions. If value does not matter a lot, and you’ve got limitless cupboard house for storage, a very good place to start may be by contemplating what kind of use you think about you’ve got for a meals processor frequently.
KitchenAid’s 8-cup meals chopper is an ideal meals processor for these with restricted counter and cupboard space.
Meals processor dimension and weight
There aren’t any customary sizes for meals processors, however they’re usually categorized based mostly on their bowl volumes: small fashions within the 3- to 6-cup vary, medium within the 7- to 10-cup vary, and huge within the 10- to 13-cup vary. Light-weight fashions weigh between 5 and 10 kilos, whereas heavier-duty fashions will be 15 kilos and above. The lighter fashions are inclined to have suction ft on the bottom, to stop motion whereas the meals processor is working.
The Hamilton Seaside 7073 will be had for $40 and is our choose for one of the best funds meals processor.
Meals processor capabilities
Meals processors are primarily used to cut or cube and puree, with an S-shaped, rotating blade doing the work. Shredding and slicing are different typical makes use of, however completely different meals processors might embody two-sided discs for these capabilities, or separate discs for every, and should embody a separate anchor pin that holds these discs in place, the place the principle S-blade is eliminated. Quick doughs equivalent to pie crusts will be made in a meals processor, however kneaded doughs are additionally potential, with a number of of the fashions right here providing separate, plastic S-blades for this objective.
Speeds
Most recipes involving meals processors specify mixing or chopping at both a excessive or low velocity and for that motive, you will need a processor with at the very least two speeds and a strong motor. The most typical configuration is a low, excessive and pulse possibility. There are some meals processors with only one velocity, however that is extraordinarily limiting, so search for a meals processor with at the very least some vary of speeds.
Attachments
Whereas your meals processor is primarily two spinning blades, loads of different attachments can broaden your processor’s capabilities. Some include a number of attachments like discs for grating, shredding and slicing, dough blades for kneading bread dough, and attachments for whipping cream, chopping nuts, juicing fruits or dicing greens. If you understand what duties you will do most frequently, be sure you test that your processor contains the blades and attachments you will want, equivalent to the suitable mixing blade, chopping blade, slicing blade or citrus juicer. Some meals processor fashions, just like the Magimix, include plenty of these attachments, whereas for others they have to be bought individually. Relying in your meals processing wants, this can be one thing to think about. Bear in mind, attachments should not be troublesome to wash, and you need to positively test whether or not they can go within the dishwasher.