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Size Matters With Food ProcessorsWhen I bought my first food processor I went for every attachment I could find. After lugging that big boy around, I bought a small food processor to save time and clean up. I admit it, I love to cook. But I'm not that excited about cleaning up afterwards, quite a cooking dilemma that I bet many others also face. This summer I finally broke down and purchased my first food processor. Well, actually I ended up purchasing a couple of food processors. And when I tell people about my multiple food processors they all understand. Once you have decided to enter the food processor zone there is so many choices. And the first thing you do is start piling on the features and gizmos you end up with a monster. And as you add all these neat attachments, the price continues to rise. And so does the size and capacity, which means cleanup becomes quite a chore. When you first use your new toy, clean up is not an issue, but you soon find out that you'll spend more time cleaning the beast than using it. Most recipes call for some kind of cutting, chopping, or mixing ingredients. Especially if you go down the Euro recipe section of any cookbook, there's lots of opportunity to slice and dice in almost any of the popular recipes. And if you aren't cooking for more than four people, you can often chop or slice small amounts of items by hand quicker than you can get your food processor out of storage, let alone the cleaning part. And no, I don't use the dishwasher for either of my food processors. I also never put my cast iron pots and pans in the dishwasher. Blame it on my Grandmother who talk me how to cook. Some items are not meant for a dishwasher due to the nature of the beast, end of story. So I was at one of the popular kitchen and home stores and saw a little mini food processor that would do 80% of the most common processor tasks. It was only $30 (not like my big bad boy at $225) and what attracted me the most is it broke down in 2 seconds and looked easy and quick to clean. No choice, I needed that mini food processor. As it turns out it was a good decision for a couple of reasons. When I'm preparing a big meal for lots of folks and making things like bread or rolls from scratch, the big boy comes in real handy and is worth the time to clean. When I'm doing a quick small meal my mini is great since it's fast and easy to clean. Another thing I learned fairly quickly is the blades on any size food processor are sharp. Not just kind of sharp, I mean if you look at it to long it will cut you sharp. Great care should always be used when handling any cutting blade. Whether you are cleaning out the contents into a bowl or washing, keep your eye on the blade and never forget how quickly they will cut you. I leave my mini food processor out on the counter for quick access. I use it almost everyday for some small chore. When a blender is too much, and I just need to chop a few vegetables it's faster than the knife and cutting board. Every salad I make now has vegetables, breadcrumbs are always available, and chives are in everything. Cheese is quickly grated or cheese sauces are quick to make and kick up any vegetable dish a notch. Creating a quick mix of your own variety of granola is only limited by items on hand. You will be amazed at how many uses you can find for your food processor when it's out and ready to go. Fresh vegetables are used more and rarely go bad since you didn't want to take the time to add them to a dish of any kind. f you have your own herb and spice garden, you can spice up any meal with fresher flavor. The difference in creating your own spices from fresh raw herbs and spices is amazing and adds a unique touch to any meal. And don't forget the snazzy deserts that you can make with a food processor. We keep dark unsweetened chocolate in the fridge for toppings for ice cream and other deserts. So if you have a big monster food processor that you rarely use, you might want to consider getting a mini or small food processor model that you can keep handy and is easy to clean. Keep the big guy for big meals that require the heavy-duty capabilities but get the small food processor for everyday cooking. |
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