I've been seeing the instruction "process" in a number of recipes. What
does a food processor do?

Between the following am I missing any functionality by not having a
food processor?

I have

Kitchenaid Accolade 400 stand mixer -
http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...rod uctId=776

with attachments:

KA slicer / shredder
http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...&productId=363

KA food grinder
http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...&productId=353

and
Kitchenaid Immersion Blender KHB300 with food chopper
http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...&productId=407

what else does "process" mean besides mix, knead, slice, shred, grind
and chop?

thank you,
Sathyan

> wrote in message
ps.com...
> I've been seeing the instruction "process" in a number of recipes. What
> does a food processor do?
>
> Between the following am I missing any functionality by not having a
> food processor?
>
> I have
>
> Kitchenaid Accolade 400 stand mixer -
> http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...rod uctId=776
>
> with attachments:
>
> KA slicer / shredder
> http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...&productId=363
>
> KA food grinder
> http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...&productId=353
>
> and
> Kitchenaid Immersion Blender KHB300 with food chopper
> http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...&productId=407
>
> what else does "process" mean besides mix, knead, slice, shred, grind
> and chop?
>
> thank you,
> Sathyan
>

I'm 45 and have been without a food processor, pretty much whole life.
Sometimes I think it would be neat to have one. They're just kind of
expensive and I can make pretty much anything I want, with a KitchenAid
mixer and a blender. Although, my vegetable slicer thingie, for my mixer
broke, so I need a new one.

Dawn

> wrote in message
ps.com...
> I've been seeing the instruction "process" in a number of recipes. What
> does a food processor do?
>
> Between the following am I missing any functionality by not having a
> food processor?
>

It does nothing that cannot be done by hand, albeit a bit slower by hand.
It is one of the least used appliances in our house.

It is good for making pesto, making peanut butter, whipping cream. For many
other jobs, it does them fast, but takes longer to clean up that if you just
chopped by hand.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

> wrote in message
ps.com...
> I've been seeing the instruction "process" in a number of recipes. What
> does a food processor do?
>
> Between the following am I missing any functionality by not having a
> food processor?
>
> I have
>
> Kitchenaid Accolade 400 stand mixer -
>
http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...rod uctId=776
>
> with attachments:
>
> KA slicer / shredder
>
http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...&productId=363
>
> KA food grinder
>
http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...&productId=353
>
> and
> Kitchenaid Immersion Blender KHB300 with food chopper
>
http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/produc...&productId=407
>
> what else does "process" mean besides mix, knead, slice, shred, grind
> and chop?
>

A food processor is like any other kitchen appliance. You don't really need
one as you can do anything the FP does with your hands and a few basic
tools. That said, I use my FP nearly every day, and find that as time
progresses I use it more and I use my KA stand mixer less.

What the FP does depends on what blade or disk you use. It chops, grinds,
purees, and emulsifies. You can make bread dough and pie pastry. It
"grinds" meat. With the slicing disk you can slice things. With the
shredding discs, you shred. Some come with emulsifying disks, dough blades,
and whisks. Some have julienne cutters. Some come with small bowls to do
small jobs in addition to the large work bowl for larger jobs. Some come
with blender attachments. Some have citrus juicer attachments. I'm sure I
have omitted something. I find that 90% of the time, I just use the steel
blade.

There is a learning curve with this appliance and I think if you don't keep
it on the counter you will be unlikely to use it often enough to justify the
purchase. I don't have issues cleaning it as it just pop the bowl, lid, and
blade or disk into the dishwasher. I had extra bowls for my old FP, but I
haven't purchased any additional bowls for the new one that I got in July.

I think that a FP is something that you really find useful or can't imagine
using. There doesn't seem to be much gray area - people are polarized in
their views.