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World's Best Kitchen Gadget - the Food Processor
Practically Perfect in Every Way
It was a definite splurge to buy, but was never regretted afterwards. Putting it together piece by piece like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, the Food Processor that I bought from my summer job has turned out to be one of, if not "the" most popular gadget in my kitchen.
It can be used to mince eye-watering onions, chop up walnuts, and create instant tomato sauce for spaghetti and pizza using fresh vegetables. It is so reliable. Wash it, suds up well to get rid of any odors from the onions for example, then rinse in hot water, and dry it on the dish rack. It goes in the dishwasher occasionally, but I hate to have it inaccessible. Hardly a day goes by that it isn't used for one thing or another at least once.
It's often used as an electric mixer, too. It creams butter and sugar beautifully. If I use it to froth up egg whites, for example, just unscrew the jug-style chopper and put it in the refrigerator. It has a handle and is covered up so it's a snap to remove and store in a cooler place.
It Dices, Chops, Slices and Blends
Safety First
Most if not all Food Processors have a safety device. The chopper - spinner - demolisher which looks like a mini propeller will not turn unless the cover is securely affixed to the top.
This is to avoid accidents from happening. Both Adults and children may absent-mindedly reach in at the wrong time. With safety features like these built into the machine, it's nearly impossible to get hurt.
Super Easy Salsa Recipe Using the Gadget
Creative Sauces
We salt our fish here - which means in the Spring when the sardines are jumping onto the boat more or less, you can buy a large supply of fish for the rest of the year. Salting them consists of one layer rock salt, one layer fish, criss-crossing them in a large bucket. A large wooden plug is placed on the top and compressed to smash them down with a heavy rock (the size of my father in law's head), conserving them in the process. In about two months' time, they are processed and will keep for many months.
Anyway, one year we forgot all about them and realized we had several pounds of fish on our hands! Cleaning them off the bones, off they went into the food processor. What a delicious fish pate we made from them. Mixing them into a batch of freshly prepared spaghetti, it was a meal the kids long remembered. I added olive oil, some onion, NO SALT and a little vinegar. It mixed well with the hot pasta. Saved again by the Food Processor.
Instructions on Food Processing Use
- Prepare your vegetables by removing all dirt and skins. Soak in water and / or grate with a knife or cleaning tool.
- Chop your vegetables into manageable pieces. The food processor is not designed to eat the entire carrot whole. Cut a medium sized carrot, for example, into four pieces.
- The same is true for processing meat. Do not place the entire piece of meat into the food processor. It will jam and maybe break. Cube the meat or Cut into strips no longer than your thumb.
- Try a lower speed to see if that is strong enough. If not, increase, paying attention to how the machine reacts. Sometimes just a half glass of water is needed to help the processing begin and run more smoothly.
- Beware of over refining the food. Mush is not what we are after in most cases. Walnuts may be finely chopped into powder to mix into a cake batter. Some recipes ask for coarsely chopped walnuts. So pay attention. The food processor I use has a pulse function to turn on, then off. Sometimes just a few seconds is enough.
