Food processors can have different blades and attachments for various tasks. Check your model’s manual before trying a use described here. So, you can accomplish different things with this handy kitchen appliance.
You can use it to chop, slice or shred, mince, grate, puree, and pulverize ingredients. You can also prepare nut butter, dips, and condiments like mayonnaise and hummus with it.
Let’s take a closer look at the different things you can do with a food processor.
1. Chop Vegetables and Fruits
Many food processors have an S-shaped chopping blade; check which blades your model includes. This attachment is mainly used for chopping ingredients.
It has two angled blades facing opposite directions, creating the iconic S-shape. This blade is designed to chop ingredients finely.
While the processor is unplugged, fit the blade into the bowl as the manual directs. Then, add the ingredients, close the lid, and run the processor on Low or Pulse mode.
Some of the ingredients that the S-blade will finely chop include:
- Vegetables for soups, curries, salads, and sauces,
- Nuts for garnishing desserts like cakes and puddings,
- Onions, leeks, and garlic for sauces.
2. Slice or Shred Ingredients
Apart from the S-blade, food processors have other blade attachments. These blades can cut vegetables or fruits in different shapes beside small cubes.
For instance, there is a slicing and shredding disc. It’s a reversible blade attachment that can shred a variety of ingredients. This includes lettuce, cabbage, carrots, and zucchini.
You can also use this disc to shred cheese for pizzas and other dishes. To make it work, insert the disc into the food processor with the raised side facing up.
Then, add the ingredients, lock the lid, and turn the food processor on.
3. Knead Dough
If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use your food processor to knead the dough if it has a dough blade.
The dough blades are usually made of plastic. They have an empty slot in the center and dull, paddle-shaped edges.
The unique shape makes it possible to turn and pull dough without cutting. So it’s a useful attachment that you can use to make dough for pizza, bread, or pastries without having to knead the dough by hand.
With the machine unplugged, fit the approved dough blade or attachment as the manual directs. Do not force parts into place.
Fill the bowl with the ingredients for the dough, add the liquid, and pulse the switch. You will have to repeat the pulsing action several times to get the dough to come together.
4. Mince Meat
Grinding or mincing meat is a delicate process because of the texture of the ingredient. If you take it too far, the meat can end up becoming sticky and unsuitable for burgers and other dishes.
Some food processors can mince meat with their standard chopping blade; others have a dedicated attachment. Check the manual for permitted foods and batch sizes.
The blade used for this task is very sharp. So the end texture of the meat is fine and well-chopped. With this attachment, you can skip buying a grinder.
The multi-purpose blade of a food processor will also help you to make finely minced meat for burgers, meatballs, and other meats.
Mincing at home is not automatically safer. Keep meat cold, prevent contact with ready-to-eat foods, clean food-contact parts thoroughly, and cook ground meat to its safe internal temperature.
5. Shred Vegetables
You can finely shred vegetables into tiny pieces for dishes like cauliflower rice using a food processor.
In this case, you can use a blade that can cut finely and shred the ingredients into very tiny pieces.
The same blade is also suitable for preparing breadcrumbs with toasted or unused bread.
By adjusting the blade and the processor setting, you can set the texture from coarse to superfine. The longer you pulse, the finer the crumbs will be.
You can even add herbs and spices into the mix for added flavor.
6. Puree Ingredients
Apart from chopping ingredients finely, you can also use the multi-purpose S-blade of a food processor to puree ingredients.
The process is simple. Set the S-blade in the bowl, add the ingredients, and secure the lid. Run the food processor on high till all the ingredients blend into a single, uniform mixture.
If the ingredients are hard and difficult to process, you may have to repeat the process a few times.
This method is good for preparing baby food in bulk. You can puree vegetables like carrots or fruits like bananas in large batches and freeze them for later use.
You can also use the same method to create purees for soups, stews, and a variety of other dishes.
7. Prepare Nut Butter
Suitable food processors can make nut butter, such as almond butter or peanut butter, within their recommended batch limits.
Making nut butter at home lets you choose its ingredients, including added salt and sweeteners.
For nut butter, follow a recipe and batch size approved for your processor. Nuts release oil as they are processed; adding water is not a universal step.
Fit the correct blade, secure the lid, and follow the recipe’s processing method and the machine’s run-time limit.
Stop if the mixture stalls or the motor overheats. Before scraping the bowl, switch off, unplug and wait for the blade to stop; do not add water simply to force the mixture through.
The final texture depends on the ingredients, processing time and machine.
8. Make Mayonnaise, Hummus, Salsa, and Other Sauces and Condiments
Mayonnaise combines egg with oil to form an emulsion. Use pasteurized eggs or pasteurized egg products when the sauce will not be thoroughly cooked.
A food processor simplifies this process. You can feed the oil into the mixture in batches by using the feeding chute to make smooth and creamy mayo.
You can also use a food processor to make other sauces. It’s a good appliance for whipping up hummus or pesto. You can also use it to make salad dressings.
To make mayonnaise, slowly add the oil to the egg mixture through the feeding chute while running the processor.
However, to make hummus or pesto, you can add all the ingredients into the bowl and process them together.
9. Grate Ingredients
The shredding disc in a food processor is also capable of grating ingredients. You can use it to grate vegetables like cabbage or carrot.
You can also use it to grate soft and hard cheese for different recipes. Or to shred potatoes for making hash browns.
Some food processors have separate discs for fine and large cuts. So you can fine-tune these for your recipes.
To grate ingredients, secure the shredding or grating disc before adding the ingredients to the bowl. Then, lock the lid and engage the shredding function.
Feed suitable pieces through the tube using the supplied pusher, never your fingers. The grated food collects in the bowl; unplug the processor before clearing a jam or removing the disc.
