The food processor

[bixaorellana]

Do you own one? If so, do you feel you get full use from it, or does in languish in a cupboard?

I don't use mine for what I deem little stuff. For instance, I would chop three onions with a knife rather than the processor, although six or seven might make me think about using it.

Making something like cole slaw puts me in a worshipful state towards the processor, and it can be useful for something like vast quantities of deviled eggs. But still, I feel I could get more use out of it.

How do you use yours?

[Deleted]

I have owned 3 or 4 at different times,all given to me. Never used,took up space,gave them all away.

[Don Cuevas]

My food processor languishes until some special need (as a big batch of something, or chopping walnuts for baking, etc) Then it gets a thorough workout.

When I make pizza for a crowd, the FP gets exercised in preparing vegs and shredding cheese.

[bixaorellana]

Today I wanted to use up two overly ripe bananas, so thought I'd toss together a batch of cookies. Then I remembered that I didn't have any flour. The last time I was out of flour I made some from rolled oats by putting many small batches of them through the coffee/spice grinder.

So today I got out the food processor, put in the oats, and let it zizz. As it was grinding, I put in some spices, baking powder, etc, afterward adding the bananas, oil, and egg.

This made great little drop cookies!

[traveler63]

I use mine quite often. I will not put onions, celery or anything with a lot of water in it because I don't like the results; mushy. However for creme soups, coleslaw, thin slicing of quantity, I love it. I have used it for some baking but if I am doing bread, etc, I use my big mixer with dough hooks. Doing quantities of cheese grating, wonderful.

[lagatta]

How does one use a food processor to make cole slaw? Will it really julienne cabbage?

I also had one - given to me, not a "gift" but a friend giving his away, I didn't like it and also gave it away. I know there are more perfected ones. For cream soups I use a Braun immersion blender that I've probably had for half my life. What I crave are microplane graters (that brand, Lee Valley or others). But I don't often cook for 50 or more people; obviously it is a lifesaver if cooking for large groups.

[bixaorellana]

LaGatta, they are heaven-sent for cole slaw. Besides the work bowl with the knife attachment, food processors come with discs. The ones shown are the fancier extra ones that can be bought for KitchenAid processors, but the ones that come with the machine are pretty marvelous. I made slaw yesterday with cabbage and carrots in the finest shred you can imagine. However, I could have chosen a somewhat coarser shred or have used one of the slicing discs.

[Deleted]

I use mine for cole slaw also, and also to grate potatoes and onions for potato pancakes.

[bazfaz]

The first rule of food processors is not to store them in a cupboard but keep them on a work surface (sorry if you think your kitchen is too small; but I have had small kitchens and found room for mine). Getting it our from a cupboard seems like a job too far.

I use it for coleslaw too. Also for carrots and celeriac for salads. I put lumps of pork in to make mince (plain pork mince is not availablehere, only sausage meat).I use it for batters, grinding walnuts, making purees of fish and shrimps - oh, lots of stuff.

[Don Cuevas]

May 28, 2010 7:19:46 GMT bazfaz said:

The first rule of food processors is not to store them in a cupboard but keep them on a work surface (sorry if you think your kitchen is too small; but I have had small kitchens and found room for mine). Getting it our from a cupboard seems like a job too far.
<cut>

I agree. In my Mom's kitchen, the FP is stored deep in a lower cupboard and one must first remove various bottles of specialty cooking oils and other paraphernalia (AKA crap), before getting out the FP, very very carefully. Mom's kitchen battery needs a thorough overhaul, but she goes ape$hit if I make any changes.

I keep mine on a big counter next to my John Boos Pastry work table. I am in kitchen heaven at home. I may have to do a photo blog on my maturing kitchen, as if anyone else cared.

[bixaorellana]

You don't want to show me your "maturing kitchen", as you might be smitten down right there in your chef clogs by the force of my envious hatred.

My entire work surface is 22 1/4" x 31 1/2". I can eke out a bit more space if I need it for some project by putting the dish drainer on the floor. The work surface is a sturdy wooden formica-topped table (36 1/4" high) with a towel rack on one side, a drawer, and a cabinet below. The cabinet contains, from left to right, the blender, the food processor, & the cutting boards & pressure cooker gaskets. The space behind those things holds the citrus juicer, the spice/coffee grinder, and the extra doo-dads for the food processor. Since the floor of the cabinet is a foot off the floor & the food processor sets front & center, it's no big deal to get it out & put it on the counter when needed.

[cristina]

Since I still can't multiquote (its, OK, Bixa...I am adapting), I will just say that I agree with everyone about keeping the FP front and center on the best kitchen counter real estate.

However, when my FP died...at the same time as my blender, about 12 years ago, I decided to replace them with a stand mixer (as in, in my case, a Kitchen Aid). I have acquired attachments which take up little space but carry out all of the FP functions. My immersion blender, which can rest in a drawer, takes care of the rest.

The stand mixer gets place of honor in my little kitchen. If I was still with my FP, it would have that bit of real estate.

For me, it is allocating space to the one item which will be used most often. If I hadn't opted for the stand mixer, my FP would be standing proudly on my counter.

[hwinpp]

My GF (I'm going to abbreviate from now on, don't care what anybody thinks!) moves the kitchen to the TV room, I don't mind, smells good!

[bixaorellana]

How does she do that? Do you mean the prep work, or the actual cooking?

[hwinpp]

The prep work, yes. Chopping up the herbs , making pastes in the mortar, things like that.

Although she's told me she'd like to move the kitchen outdoors, into MY CAR SPACE!

I've told her that'd be impossible and completely out of the question... lets see how long that works...

[bixaorellana]

"impossible and completely out of the question" ~ or ~

an absorbing challenge for your keen mind and a way to achieve harmony and extra space in the home?

;D

[Deleted]

HW, can't you roll your car back and forth over the ingredients to serve as a mortar?

[bixaorellana]

No one commented on Baz's use of the processor as a meat grinder. That's a great example of how the fp can expand the use of foodstuffs you have on hand. Turning a round steak that doesn't inspire you into ground meat is better than flinging it into the freezer and forgetting about it.

My grandmother frequently turned leftover ham, roast beef, or pot roast into sandwich spreads by putting them through the meat grinder. I do the same thing, but with the food processor.

[Deleted]

I have chopped meat in my food processor before, but I have never been satisfied with the results. Either I stopped too soon, and I found chunks and strings and nerves in the end result, or I went on too long and pureed the meat into something rather disgusting.

So I do not put meat into food processors anymore unless I am making pâté.

[bazfaz]

Mrs Faz has asked me to say that I forgot that we use the juicer on the fp to make orange juice.

[Deleted]

If ever I take my blender out of the box, I intend to use it for 1. kiwi & lime juice 2. avocado shakes, Vietnamese style with sweetened condensed milk 3. piña colada.

[hwinpp]

2. avocado shakes, Vietnamese style with sweetened condensed milk

Yep, they're good, aren't they?

I had them the first time when I was in Nha Trang in Jan.

[Deleted]

You've been in SEA for so long and you only just had an avocado shake this year? That's tragic!

[hwinpp]

True!

And if I hadn't been with my colleague I'd have missed out altogether.

He's Khmer and he kept asking for 'like milkshake but not milkshake, but beur'. At first I thought butter but then he said green, so I though 'forget beur, concentrate on the green' and got to guava. The Vietnamese didn't understand head or tail so we continued walking around until we found a fruit shop that had the avocados.

Even here it's the Vietnamese that usually have it.

[Don Cuevas]

May 28, 2010 15:07:10 GMT bixaorellana said:

You don't want to show me your "maturing kitchen", as you might be smitten down right there in your chef clogs by the force of my envious hatred.

My entire work surface is 22 1/4" x 31 1/2". I can eke out a bit more space if I need it for some project by putting the dish drainer on the floor. The work surface is a sturdy wooden formica-topped table (36 1/4" high) with a towel rack on one side, a drawer, and a cabinet below. The cabinet contains, from left to right, the blender, the food processor, & the cutting boards & pressure cooker gaskets. The space behind those things holds the citrus juicer, the spice/coffee grinder, and the extra doo-dads for the food processor. Since the floor of the cabinet is a foot off the floor & the food processor sets front & center, it's no big deal to get it out & put it on the counter when needed.

Bixa, I have seen your old, triangular floor plan kitchen. It was amazing the things you could do there. Did I see a Nesco type roaster there?

I'd have to go count the cabinets here to say how many there are. The counter spaces are abundant and the best home kitchen I've ever worked in. (There was an exception, perhaps, a large, woodland home near Mountain View, AR the we rented for a pittance from 1983 through 1994. It had an enormous kitchen but with puny counters, so the owner had commissioned the building of a 5 or 6 ft long, 2 1/2 ft wide, rectangular, rolling island with built in cabinets, It was dreamy. However the stove was just adequate.)

Back to the present house: I was nearly convinced to rent it when we first saw it, 4 years ago, but when I saw the kitchen, that clinched it. With the addition of supplementary shelvings and a small appliance table, I'm able to keep all my appliances out, either on the long counter that separates the kitchen from the living room, or on the appliance table.

Here's an old picture of our kitchen, before it was organized and refined. It's arranged much better now.
Smite on.

[bixaorellana]

Drawers??! Drawers in a Mexican kitchen?! Ample closed cabinets AND space on either side of the sink, ~~ dang!

That's the classic concrete brick construction, though, with no kick space under the cabinets. (yes, that was a sour-grapes comment)

If I do say so, I'm good at efficient placement. I designed two of my own kitchens, my favorite of which was the smaller of the two -- complete galley style with a properly shallow pantry on the end wall.

That triangle shape was so goofy. The kitchen in this house is a small squarish rectangle with stupidly placed electrical outlets (all two of them). However, it does have two big under-counter cabinets and a huge easy-glide drawer. Best of all, it has what almost no Mexican kitchen has: a window over the sink!

I don't know what a Nesco roaster is. You're probably thinking of this.

[Deleted]

Jun 2, 2010 20:52:15 GMT kerouac2 said:

If ever I take my blender out of the box, I intend to use it for 1. kiwi & lime juice 2. avocado shakes, Vietnamese style with sweetened condensed milk 3. piña colada.

My blender is still in the box. I am insane.

[hwinpp]

Sell it on Ebay!

[tod2]

I'm cuckoo too as my fancy blender that can do most things except talk to me, is perched on the countertop in a corner out of the way --just sitting idle. I haven't used it in 10 years