primitives discuss food processors

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x75278

Oh my.

noamnety  (1000+ posts)        Mon Feb-22-10 09:01 PM
Original message
 
food processors

I broke my cheapy one today - dropped the bowl and cracked it, replacements seem to be almost as much as I paid for the whole machine. I think it's a sign I'm ready to upgrade.

Does every food processor have something sucky about it?

I use mine a ton in the summer now that I have a real vegetable garden and a pressure canner. And I make a lot of cole slaw, I love cole slaw. I am tired of having to cut everything down to fit through the tiny shoot. I want to run beets and squash through there without having to quarter them all first.

Also, I want to be able to process my horseradish properly. Last summer was the first crop, and the small amount I made just tumbled around in my old processor, like I was tumbling stones - it couldn't dice up something that small.

After pouring over product reviews, I see there's a kitchenaid with a small bowl that fits inside a big bowl - perfect for switching from tiny horseradish sized portions to big batches of salsa. But reviewers say because of the bowl configuration you can only do maybe 1-2 inches of liquid substances or it overflows. (The center tube is too short.) That doesn't sound functional for salsa or vegetable soup. The kitchenaid without the stacking bowls has a smaller chute.

There is a cuisinart without a small bowl, that has a wide chute. That would leave me without the horseradish capability. Or there's one with a wide chute and mini bowls that fit in the big one. I love that it has pour spouts on the bowls. Unlike the kitchenaid, it has a good seal and you can seriously do liquids in it - up to 10 cups at once. Perfect! Except ... food particles slide up under the gasket and get trapped there, and reviewers say cleaning it is a huge pain. One reviewer has detailed instructions on how to use a slurpee straw to jam into the gasket to dislodge food that collects - not a good sign.

Am I missing something? I know I can get a cheap one for 30-50 dollars. If I spend 150-200, that's a huge investment for me, for that I want something that does it all - and does it well. Is there a decent quality model I overlooked that does exactly what I want, without having a fatal flaw?

Warpy  (1000+ posts)        Mon Feb-22-10 10:45 PM
THE DEFROCKED WARPED PRIMITIVE, #09 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2009
Response to Original message

1. I look for capacity and ease of cleaning

I live alone so I no longer need a huge one, the smaller one is fine. I do need to be able to take it apart to wash it. I don't want half a dozen plastic parts to have to disassemble every time I use it (a real problem with the commercial job I used to have) just so stupid people won't stick their hands into the bowl with the machine running. I know better than that, thanks.

I have a small Cuisinart now, just big enough to do bread crumbs and pastry, the jobs I generally use it for. It's an indulgence since those jobs could easily be done by hand. I do slicing and grating with a mandoline.

Question.

I know it sounds stupid, but remember, franksolich doesn't watch infomercials on television.

What is a "mandoline"?

If Mrs. Afred Packer had posted this, I would've read it as "machete."

grasswire  (1000+ posts)      Mon Feb-22-10 10:57 PM
THE FARMERETTE FROM WISCONSIN
Response to Original message

2. I have an Oster blender - processor combo

...and I love it. It may not do all of the jobs of a large food processor, but for everyday tasks, it's great. I've had it for about ten years and it runs like a top. Here's a look at the new model of this appliance.

after which a photograph of a blender

noamnety  (1000+ posts)        Mon Feb-22-10 11:29 PM
Response to Reply #2
 
3. if I was starting out fresh I might get that.

But my husband got me a good quality blender as a gift a few years back, so I can't cheat on that. I like the dual purpose built into the one you posted, though.

At this point I want something where I can drop an entire beet down the chute or a decent sized zucchini without having to preslice it first. Some of them have the larger size chute that's like this:

after which a photograph of another blender

I want that for volume because - well, here's my fridge:

after which a photograph of the inside of a primitive refrigerator

(Disclaimer about the bottled water in there - I don't buy bottled water. It's left over from doing an experiment with students about how stupid bottled water is. There's just tap water in it.)

As I get more confidence in my canning abilities, I'll stop storing it all in the fridge. I know it's unnecessary, but this was my first year having a go at it, and I just want to make it through a year of eating it without poisoning myself before I switch to having full faith in storing it at room temps.

I do a lot of dehydrated food as well, I want something where I make full sized beet chips.

FreeState  (1000+ posts)        Tue Feb-23-10 12:38 AM
Response to Original message
 
4. I just got the Cuisinart Custom Prep 11 ev-119c9

I've only had it about a week and love it. It was $149 at Costco.

Here is the non-custom one (it has the same features from what I can tell - but cost $50 more)

after which a photograph of a third blender

after which the specifications of this third blender

http://www.cuisinartwebstore.com/detail/CUI+DLC%2D2011C...

noamnety  (1000+ posts)        Tue Feb-23-10 07:59 PM
Response to Reply #4
 
7. I just looked at that at costco.

It looks like the chopping/slicing/dicing functions would be great.

But that center tube looks short, like even though it's an 11 cup bowl, if you tried to do more than 3 cups of liguid at once, it would slop up and down the center tube and spill into the machine guts. Have you tested that out? Is there a fill line for liquids there?

Tesha  (1000+ posts)      Tue Feb-23-10 07:23 AM
Response to Original message
 
5. here's an interesting page...
 
http://www.shopwiki.com/Food+Processor+-+Metal+-+14+cup... (B0000VZZJ0)

lots of comparisons there... one pro model for $1600!

surrealAmerican  (1000+ posts)      Tue Feb-23-10 12:24 PM
Response to Original message
 
6. You probably want to grate the horseradish rather than grind it.

I've made the same mistake myself. Grinding avoids the fumes, but doesn't leave you with the right texture.

As to the food processors: have you checked "Consumer Reports"? They usually have good comparative information on small appliances.

noamnety  (1000+ posts)        Tue Feb-23-10 08:14 PM
Response to Original message
 
8. This isn't going well. (kitchenaid question now)

I stopped at Lowes on the way home today to look at what they had. They didn't have much of a selection for food processors ... but they had a kitchenaid stand mixer floor display marked down to 150. The boxed ones of the same model were 300.

I never had a stand mixer, only a tiny black and decker hand held one. I went back with the husband to look at it and get his opinion. His job was to get me refocused and talk me out of it.

Needless to say, now I own a kitchenaid mixer and still no food processor. If I get the kitchenaid attachment thing that goes on their trailer hitch, will that do the same things as a food processor? Do I still need both machines? I don't know how big the shoot is on that, if I'd still want a wide mouth machine or if it can slice a zucchini in the attachment.

(This is turning out to be the most expensive plastic bowl I've ever broken.)

[chitownchica]

Mandolines are great.  I had one but lost it while moving.

[GOBUCKS]

I like Ricky Skaggs, but Bill Monroe was pretty good, too.

[PatriotGame]

noamnety  (1000+ posts)        Mon Feb-22-10 09:01 PM
Original message
 
food processors...
...I am tired of having to cut everything down to fit through the tiny shoot. I want to run beets and squash through there without having to quarter them all first.

Is she talking about her twat?

Sorry but I am posting about a DUmmy and I have ZERO respect for the animal.
C.an't U.nderstand N.ew T.hings anyway....