Blender or Food Processor?

[The Late Night Gourmet]

When I started dabbling with making things from scratch, the first thing I bought was a food processor. But, as I watched cooking shows, I kept seeing chefs using a blender. In fact, I can't recall ever seeing a chef use a food processor.

Over time, I figured out why: the food processor has areas under the blades and out at the edges that seem to not get touched. So, if you're trying to puree something, you will either have to scrape off these areas and try again, or just leave it out. And, getting the top on the food processor is an unnecessarily difficult proposition (at least on mine, it requires lining it up just so and rotating it at just the right moment to get it on correctly).

But, the blender creates a vortex that pulls everything into the blades. And, my blender is bigger than my food processor, so I can usually puree an entire pot of mushroom soup in a single shot; this would have been a 2-batch job with my food processor.

I do still use a food processor for making pesto because I always start first with the greens. I think a blender would work if I added the olive oil first, so there's something for the blades to pull inward.

When I'm making small batch sauces, however, my favorite thing to use is the mini food processor that came with my immersion blender. Mine is similar to this one:

 

[Morning Glory]

I don't have a food processor or liquidiser - I do have a mini chopper like the one above and an immersion blender. I use the latter a lot but hardly use the chopper. I agree with everything you say about food processors which is one of the reasons I don't have one - the other reason is I simply don't have counter space.

 

[GadgetGuy]

When I started dabbling with making things from scratch, the first thing I bought was a food processor. But, as I watched cooking shows, I kept seeing chefs using a blender. In fact, I can't recall ever seeing a chef use a food processor.

Over time, I figured out why: the food processor has areas under the blades and out at the edges that seem to not get touched. So, if you're trying to puree something, you will either have to scrape off these areas and try again, or just leave it out. And, getting the top on the food processor is an unnecessarily difficult proposition (at least on mine, it requires lining it up just so and rotating it at just the right moment to get it on correctly).

But, the blender creates a vortex that pulls everything into the blades. And, my blender is bigger than my food processor, so I can usually puree an entire pot of mushroom soup in a single shot; this would have been a 2-batch job with my food processor.

I do still use a food processor for making pesto because I always start first with the greens. I think a blender would work if I added the olive oil first, so there's something for the blades to pull inward.

When I'm making small batch sauces, however, my favorite thing to use is the mini food processor that came with my immersion blender. Mine is similar to this one:

Funny that it's a Cuisinart.

I have a Cuisinart food processor & a stick blender.

 

[Francesca]

I prefer my Bosch Stand Up Mixer & use it the most often as I still love my mortar and pestle however, if making more than one portion ( a quick lunch for just me), the Stand Up Mixer by Bosch is what I use for the two of us or if I have Company ..

It all depends on what one is preparing .. and how much is required ..

The Blender, I use depending on what I am making.

I have a food processor however, I rarely use it as I do not cook that much that requires it ..

I prepare alot of Paellas, Fideuà, Risotto, Grilled shellfish and oven baked or grilled fresh fish and Mediterranean classics ..

The dips or salads I prepare are done with my Bosch Stand Up Mixers ( I have 3 of them, one small, one médium and a jumbo large .. )

Have a fabulous weekend ..

 

[GadgetGuy]

I often use the slightly smaller plastic bowl & whipping beaters on this stand mixer to shred pork shoulder for pulled pork. This is one powerful stand mixer!!

 

[ElizabethB]

@The Late Night Gourmet
You should have included immersion blender in you survey. I use that a lot.
Anything that needs to be pureed goes in the blende and Margaritas. I used it a lot right after G's surgery. He was on a pureed food diet for a couple of weeks. I pureed EVERYTHNING. I use the food processor for chopping if I have a lot to chop and sometimes for grating. I use it less since I got my Japanese chef knife two years ago. That beautiful baby makes an arduous task easy.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Immersion or stick blender, but it's all good in the hood!

 

[Elawin]

It all depends what I'm making. I use an electric mixer and bowl for making cakes, the food processor if the dish involves a lot of chopping, a manual food chopper for onions if I need a lot, and a good old fashioned balloon whisk for sauces (and whisking milk for lattes). Someone gave me an immersion blender a couple of years ago, but it is battery operated and near enough useless as far as I'm concerned.

Funnily enough, certain TV chefs here in the UK use food processors rather than blenders.

 

[CraigC]

We use both and the immersion blender pretty much equally. We probably use the spice grinder more often though.

 

[Morning Glory]

We probably use the spice grinder more often though.

I use that a lot too.

 

[Elawin]

I do have two grinders, one that I had had for years and one that came as an attachment to my food processor. The old one is used exclusively for spices.

 

[GadgetGuy]

With an immersion blender, you can carry the machine right to the pot on the stove to emulsify and thicken soups, sauces , etc..

 

[GadgetGuy]

Here's what mine looks like. Two speeds; High & low.

 

[MrsDangermouse]

I love my Magimix food processor - for jobs needing a food processor there's nothing better. But there's no escaping the fact that its a hassle to get out of the cupboard and wash up again afterwards so it tends to only come out when I really need it...so I've probably used it no more than a handful of times over the last 6 months. I tend to use it for things like grating a whole block of parmesan or pecorino or making garlic puree (both of which get portioned off then frozen). I did use it to make a layered cheesecake back in the summer (the stand mixer would have introduced too much air into the mixture). So for all its disadvantages, I would never get rid of the food processor.

I also have a mini-chopper I use for chopping veg if I'm doing more than an onion or two - much easier to clean and store.

I use my immersion/stick blender very very occasionally. Its a very simple one which I acquired secondhand 15 years ago...so I've no idea how old it is!

 

[Morning Glory]

But there's no escaping the fact that its a hassle to get out of the cupboard and wash up again afterwards so it tends to only come out when I really need it.

That's why I gave up owning one - that plus limited cupboard space and having to wash it up. I can't say I have missed it really. You must be making a lot of garlic puree at once... I usually grate garlic as needed for curries but I think I have used the mini chopper in the past to make garlic/ginger puree.