Food processors: Features explained
The basics
If you want to mix dough, or slice, chop, or grate family-sized portions of vegetables, a food processor is a good investment.
However, their ultimate versatility depends on the supplied accessories.
Attachments and accessories
Make sure your food processor comes with the tools you need
If you don't know your emulsifying disc from your dough hook, we explain the functions of common attachments, and how to choose the best tool for the job.
- Knife blade: Can be used for mixing, mincing, mashing and puréeing as well as chopping.
- Dough hook: For kneading yeasted recipes, such as sweet and savoury breads. Usually supplied with hand mixers, although we found the dough blades on food processors to be more effective.
- Maxi-blend canopy: This large disk can be used in conjunction with the knife blade to blend soups more effectively.
- Citrus press: A cone and sieve for juicing oranges, lemons, grapefruits and limes. If you want to juice hard fruits or vegetables, you'll need a centrifugal juicer attachment.
- Mill: For making small quantities of purée, grinding coffee beans and spices, and chopping nuts and herbs.
- Whisk: This can come in various guises - you might get an emulsifying disc or whisk paddle, but twin beaters are the most effective.
- Mini bowl: A small bowl with its own blade which fits inside the main bowl. Chopping is slower because the blade is shorter and therefore less effective at circulating the food, but for small quantities it can be more effective and saves on washing up the main bowl.