There’s an endless array of appliances to consider when you want to streamline and improve your cooking and baking experience. Reviewing the capabilities of the latest culinary equipment can help you find the right appliances for your home kitchen. Let’s take a look at two popular appliances for pureeing, mixing, and chopping: the food processor and the blender.
Both of these appliances take care of kitchen grunt work, helping professional chefs and at-home culinary masters save time and effort. While food processors and blenders are both kitchen essentials, there are several factors to take into account when you’re choosing between the two.
Discover everything you need to know about the food processor vs. blender.
A food processor is a tabletop appliance that’s a must-have for home cooks. Its ability to quickly chop or roughly blend almost any ingredient sets it apart from other pieces of culinary equipment. This makes it the perfect choice if you’re a household chef who wants to scale back a large recipe to suit your family’s appetites.
Food processors have S-shaped blades that sit on top of a sturdy base and circulate throughout a round work bowl, allowing the blades to slice, purée, and chop everything from salsas to chunky soups. At a low-speed setting, food processors can also help assemble food items to make a dough or crust. Equipped with a variety of attachments, a food processor can easily become your culinary assistant.
With multiple feed chutes, several blade options, and a high-torque motor, a food processor minimizes prep work and allows you to explore new recipes with ease. Whether you’re creating ingredients from scratch or assembling your favorite dish, food processors can come in handy for kitchen tasks big and small.
If you’re interested in making your own gluten-free oat flour or creamy nut butter, a food processor is just the tool for you. It can help you craft a lump-free pie crust or create your favorite pancakes. It’s the right tool when you’re trying to make chunky dips, spreads, or doughs.
Food processor lids also feature feed chutes, making it easy to add liquids and oils to the work bowl while the s-blade rotates. This feature allows you to make puréed dishes, like hummus, by adding oil and tahini to the bowl while the blades take care of your garbanzo beans. Other tasty sides and dishes you can make with the help of a food processor might include:
● Granola
● Cauliflower rice
● Bread dough
● Guacamole
● Vegan cashew cheese
Aside from assembling recipes, food processors are also useful for prep work, helping you save time in the kitchen by removing the need to chop everything by hand. So, be sure you know how to use a food processor to help you in the kitchen. For example, this kitchen appliance can take care of slicing and dicing veggies, shredding cheese, or making homemade bread crumbs.
When comparing food processors to other popular appliances, like blenders, you’ll want to consider their uses and benefits. Here’s a look at some benefits of a food processor:
● Helps you save time – One major advantage of using a food processor is the ability to achieve a precise chop, slice, or dice quickly, helping save time in the kitchen.
● Allows you to make popular foods from scratch – Rather than grabbing a tub of hummus or pre-made guacamole at the grocery store, a food processor can help you make these items from fresh ingredients at home.
● Offers a variety of attachments – While food processors are ideal for dicing chunky vegetables and hearty ingredients, they can also purée items into a creamy soup or sauce, making them a versatile kitchen must-have.
● Makes it easier to cook for large crowds – Not only can food processors allow home chefs to scale back large recipes, but with the capacity to hold 7–16 cups, they can make it easier to feed large groups at a dinner party, holiday, or special event.
Whether you need to cut down on your time in the kitchen or you want to try fun new recipes, a food processor is the at-home sous-chef you’ve been looking for.
A traditional blender is an essential kitchen appliance for at-home cooks who want to turn ingredients into liquids, whether that’s a smoothie, sauce, or creamy soup. Blenders also use blades, like food processors, to purée ingredients, but are known for their extra-powerful speed that helps blend contents more thoroughly. The narrow cylinder shape also helps incorporate ingredients thoroughly, in a quick motion, and finely pulverize into a liquid mixture.
In addition to powerful blades, blenders often have prongs that help create a whirling vortex within the work bowl or blender jar. Unlike food processors, blenders typically work best when some kind of liquid is included in the contents. As a result, many blender lids feature a removable cap that allows you to add water, oil, juice, or other liquids to help facilitate the cyclone of ingredients around the blade.
Compared to a food processor, a blender is known to achieve a smoother, silkier consistency in its final product (think smoothies and milkshakes). But a blender is certainly not limited to creamy beverages. They can also help home cooks make hummus, nut butter, sauces, and salad dressings.
With its long jug and upward-facing blade, a blender can take a range of ingredients and transform them into creamy dips, refreshing drinks, or satisfying smoothies. A popular appliance among health-conscious eaters, a blender can help you consume the fruits and veggies you need by turning them into delicious and easy-to-drink concoctions.
Blenders do this by pulverizing the structure of a plant cell, breaking down its original texture and making it easier for the body to absorb the food’s nutrients. Your go-to for anything in need of liquefication, a blender is the right choice if you’re a green juice lover or soup aficionado.
If you’re looking for an appliance that can help you make cocktails in the summer and hearty soups in the colder months, you should consider the benefits of a blender. Here are some advantages of this tabletop appliance:
Allows you to craft delicious sauces – Leave the store-bought pasta sauce on the shelf and create your own with the help of a blender. This kitchen tool can help you whip up a fresh tomato sauce or creamy Alfredo with ease.
● Gives any ingredient a smooth, creamy texture – Whether you want to blend softer ingredients like tomatoes or transform harder foods like beets and carrots, high-power blenders can help you craft the perfect dish.
● Helps you skip the hand-mixer – Less is more when you opt for a blender, as this handy appliance can help you skip the hand-mixer, allowing you to mix ingredients quickly the next time you bake.
● Crafts summer cocktails – One advantage of using a blender is its ability to crush ice while crafting mixed drinks. The next time you want to create a summer cocktail, consider assembling all of your ingredients in a blender.
Whether you’re in the mood for a milkshake or you want to serve a hand-crafted soup at your next dinner party, a blender can help you save time and effort in the kitchen.
While a blender is the right tool for crushing ice and bringing ingredients to a smooth paste or liquid, food processors can slice, dice, grate, shred, and more. Both tools allow you to change the consistency of an ingredient and combine foods to make a new recipe.
While blenders typically require a liquid, like water or juice, to work best, food processors mix, shred, and emulsify dry ingredients on their own. Both appliances can take care of your chopping needs, but you’ll want to be careful using a blender for delicate ingredients, like herbs, as they may end up as more of a pesto after a spin in the blender.
Blenders may also liquify your purées if you’re not careful, so consider which dishes you plan to make when choosing between the two appliances. If you’re intrigued by the idea of crafting a liquefied and nutrient-dense soup or smoothie, a blender is usually your best bet. But if you’ve got your heart set on making a tasty treat with a heartier texture, like vegetable soup or potato pancakes, a food processor is the way to go.
When you’re a home chef, it’s essential to have the appliances you need to craft tasty dishes without spending all day in the kitchen. Both food processors and blenders can help you simplify and speed-up food prep, making it easier than ever to create the ingredients and meals you love.
With Breville’s selection of kitchen appliances, you can slice and dice like the pros. Hire your live-in sous-chef with a new food processor or level up your liquids with a high-powered blender. Whatever your kitchen needs, Breville is prepared to help you elevate your culinary toolkit—so you can craft your next signature dish.
Sources:
1. Souvy. Blender Benefits. https://souvy.nl/en/blog-en/blender-benefits/
2. TastingTable.com. The Absolute Best Uses for Your Food Processor. https://www.tastingtable.com/892200/the-absolute-best-uses-for-your-food-processor/