To easily explain what a food processor is, just place a chopper, a blender, a mixer, and, depending on your taste, a centrifuge or a planetary mixer next to it.
Once placed one in a row to the other, think you can combine them all into a single appliance, and here is the food processor. With all due respect to ancient traditions, the time available to “treat yourself well” culinarily speaking, due to work and commitments, has drastically reduced.
For some, this translates into eating ready-made or pre-cooked meals, but other more demanding palates who want to think bigger, saving, and preparing more people often turn to 3-in-1 or more robotic functions. kitchen.
Right here we had listed out the best models of food processors that are given below.
Food Processors Buying Guide
Understanding the operation of a food processor as a whole is quite simple: a container of several liters of capacity is usually attached to a work base, with different speeds and modes of operation, where all the necessary preparations can be made.
Depending on the model, other instruments can also be connected to the main base, change the blades, fit a centrifuge, a juicer, or transform it into a planetary mixer in a moment.
Everything proceeds through more or less elaborate settings: some products tend to have only timers and different working modes.
While others even manage to adapt the operating speed according to the food inserted, or make the mixer and whisk work at different speeds, even two at the same time.
Power and Wattage
The power that our food processor must-have is one of the first factors to consider when making a choice. Apart from the classic manual chopper that we all have in the kitchen cabinet.
Depending on the type of use and the functions we need, we will have to opt for a more or less powerful robot. The 3 in 1 multifunction robot.
Usually, kneader, blender, and mincer do not require particular powers (usually they are around 250-350 Watts up to the 750W of the most performing models) and allow us to perform all the necessary operations without problems.
If, on the other hand, we want something with particular characteristics, such as the function that allows you to cook food directly in the robot container, we must certainly consider greater power, usually from 750W upwards.
In any case, all models are equipped with a speed selector that allows you to set the execution speed according to the accessories and the result you want to achieve.
Dimensions and Shape
Dimensions, container capacity, and shape depend on our needs and the space we have available. If we have limited spaces in the kitchen, it is better to opt for something compact and super functional.
On the contrary, if we have a large kitchen we can indulge ourselves with most of the models on the market, choosing the one that best suits our needs and our style.
The market, from the aesthetic point of view, offers models for all tastes: compactor of a slightly more generous size, colored or in steel, modern or in Vintage style, the choice is so wide that it can satisfy anyone. The size of the container must also be assessed according to our needs.
If we usually cook for two people we can consider the models equipped with a container with a capacity of around 1.5 / 2 liters; on the contrary, if we have a large family and want to cook risotto and creams we will have to direct our choice on containers of at least 4 liters.
Then there are models with a capacity of over 6 liters and motors that allow you to work for longer without overheating that can also be used in small restaurants, pastry shops, and bakery workshops.
Extra Functionality and Accessories
Starting from the basic hand chopper, complete with a set of blades of various types, we come to the most popular motorized ones, the so-called 3 in 1, which come with a chopper with various discs, blender, and mixer.
With the latter, most of the operations necessary in the kitchen can be performed, such as slicing, mincing, grating, kneading, whipping, emulsifying, and much more.
For those who are mainly dedicated to bread, pasta, and desserts there are planetary mixers: food processor with more powerful motors and specific characteristics for this use.
Sold with different whips, hook, heart, and wire, which allow you to mix, assemble, mix, and emulsify without effort, obtaining perfect creams and doughs in a few minutes.
The robots called Cooking Machines allow you to cook pasta, rice, soups, and velvets directly inside the container. They are able to fry, cook, mix, mince, whisk, steam, emulsify, and knead quickly and independently.
Among the most famous range of Food Processors, there is also the possibility of subsequently expanding the range of accessories, going to buy them as needed as they are also compatible with older models.
In this case, you can really indulge yourself: grain grinder, homogenizer, centrifuge, sheeter, pasta extruder, juicer, vegetable mill, potato peeler, baby cooker, etc.
For all models, among the accessories supplied there is always an instruction manual and a recipe book that guarantee you the possibility to immediately prepare delicious recipes that will amaze relatives and friends.
Maintenance and Cleaning
When we choose a food processor, whatever the investment in money we have made, we cannot fail to consider the speed of cleaning; together with the ease of disassembly.
It can really make the difference between an appliance that you use regularly and one that is stored in the most remote corner of the kitchen cabinet or to take dust in the closet.
The market meets us with food robots that can be dismantled in no time, with accessories and containers that can be washed in a moment or put in the dishwasher.
So that they can be stored quickly without further encumbrance in the dedicated spaces or reused for subsequent preparation. For the external part just pass a cloth moistened with a little detergent, taking care not to wet the electrical and mechanical parts.
For the maintenance of these appliances, a little more thorough cleaning and a check of the more wearable parts such as gears and blades is often enough.
By following the instruction booklet it will be possible to check which pieces can be removed and which cannot; once cleaned, a general check is carried out, checking that there are no breakages and intervening where necessary with a little lubricant.
In case of overheating or failure of the electrical or mechanical parts, it is necessary to call the assistance service. So there are many factors that we must take into account when we have to choose our help in the kitchen.
Without a doubt, the possibility of having spare parts, after-sales service, and the possibility of purchasing accessories that are always compatible at a later date are all aspects to be taken into consideration.
Food Processor and Planetary Mixer: The Main Differences
At first glance, it might be easy to confuse a kitchen robot with a planetary mixer, but the two appliances perform sometimes similar functions, but in profoundly different ways and above all with substantial differences.
The planetary mixer is an essential addition to the kitchen, as the kneading ability, but also that of many models of whipping wire and hook whips, as well as being able to add accessories, is vital for those who follow preparations with large quantities of dough like bread, focaccia, sweets or fresh pasta.
However, it is a large tool, not exactly multifunctional, or with rather limited skills, especially in environments where space is a serious problem.
The multifunction robot, on the contrary, is very suitable for confined surfaces, and when the need to combine multiple appliances into one becomes an essential element in the purchase choice.
Too many houses, in fact, now see shelves and doors filled with single-function appliances and, consequently, the food processor becomes an attraction for its versatility and ability to combine multiple functions.
For example, mincer and vegetable cutter, but also for the ability to programming, ease of cleaning, and often and willingly are the extra functions such as weighing the ingredients introduced and steaming to definitively convince buyers that the investment in progress is an improvement in their quality of life.
However, it is always essential to understand if a multifunction robot offers so many advantages for itself compared to a planetary mixer since the work done by the latter cannot be completed with the same ability and modality as a multifunction robot, which however can perform many more tasks that the “enemy” is unable to do.
