Is it just I or are there other people out there who are too lazy or impatient to chop and slice meat, vegetables, and fruits?
I have been living independently for the last 7 years and while I learned how to cook a few dishes to save myself from over-dependence on fast-food and food deliveries, I never enjoyed the preparation stage, particularly if it requires too much cutting, slicing, and chopping a lot of ingredients. I might seem naive but I never heard of food processors not until recently. And this kitchen tool is probably a heaven-sent for the lazy me.
I did some research about it and if you are like me and are curious about what a food processor is all about, keep on reading.
What is a Food Processor?
A food processor is a kitchen appliance or kitchen tool that is useful for slicing, chopping, grinding, and kneading food. It is a kitchen staple that could help to simplify redundant tasks and save you time in food preparation.
What are the Uses of a Food Processor?
No food processor is perfect and complete, but the function of food processors generally covers time-consuming tasks in food preparation such as grinding, slicing, chopping, mincing or even grating food. Food processors are commonly used to prepare dish ingredients, like vegetables, fruits and the like.
Is there any difference between a food processor and a blender?
While both equipment seemed to function in a similar way, the difference can be seen in the output. A food processor produces dry and textured output, which means it retains the food as it is, but in smaller pieces. A blender, on the other hand, produces a liquid output, ergo, it “blends” the product.
Electric or Manual?
A lot of food processors are available in the market and online whether cheap-priced non-branded ones or premium branded ones. It varies as well whether they are electric-powered or are used manually. Manual food processors are handy for doing light soft-food processing, while electric-powered food processors can be great for tough jobs such as milling and shredding hard food.
How do I Choose a Food Processor?
Most home-use food processors, if not all of them, serve the same purpose; the difference comes in the capacity or serving it can hold. I did some research and figured that most food processors come in basic, medium, large and extra-large sizes. The extra-large ones are used for either commercial or massive food productions, but in this blog, I will only feature the ones that are often used at home.
Basic/Mini food processor
The basic or mini food processors can do the simple and usual kitchen food preparation such as mincing and grinding food. They are great for home use or for small-serving food preparations. Electric-powered basic food processors usually only have a single-pulse button that can be controlled manually to control the speed of the rotating blades. Some of the popular ones are below:
Medium-sized food processors
Medium-sized food processors can hold bigger amounts and process a larger volume of food. The popular ones in the market are either stainless and have two pulse buttons for varied speeds (one is for slow mode and used for grinding soft food while the other is the fast mode for harder and more solid food) or made in food-grade plastic.
Large food processors
These are the type that comes with some accessories and may consume a bit of space on your kitchen counter as they are intended for higher-volume food preparations. Accessories include a number of additional blades to add variety to the slicing style for your food or it has an additional function such as an added blending pitcher, or a juicer.
Honestly, these large ones are what I am gunning for. I aim to buy one of this size because I am a sucker for multi-functionality and versatility of stuff. Also, I tend to prepare food in huge amounts although I am just preparing it just for myself. 😅😅
Some of the popular and the best affordable brands I found are Imarflex, Kyowa, Hanabishi.
What is the Best Brand of Food Processor in the Philippines?
To be honest, I don’t know. I guess all of us may have differing opinions about which is the best brand, but our decisions will be affected by how familiar each of us is with the reputation of the brand that manufactures these food processors.
How much is a food processor?
Depending on the functionalities and add-on features, you can get a food processor for as cheap as Php55 or as expensive as Php10,000. I am personally aiming for the ones between Php3,000 and Php4,000 since that’s the only range I can afford.
Buy a Food Processor in Lazada
Buy a Food Processor in Shopee
Photo credits: “Preparing cauliflower crust pizza dough” by hallosunnymama is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
