Choosing and using a food processor

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. 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).

Other food processor pointers:

  • Performance is more important than extra attachments. 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 distracted by multiple 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 user complaints about 4- to 7-cup relate to problems caused by too-small bowls. Professional tests often reveal 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.

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.

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