Alright folks. I need your help here. See, I live in an apartment with very little storage space in the kitchen.
Thanks to my parents and a timely trip to Ikea, a butcher’s block and a metal shelf have given us a little more room to stash our kitchen loot.
But as you can see, we’re not exactly swimming in space, especially when food prep is going on. (By the way, that’s One-Skillet Pasta Quattro Formaggi in the works, recipe forthcoming.)
My spice collection alone takes up the entire top section of the grid we built to serve as our ‘pantry.’
In fact, we had to move our microwave, mugs, tea supplies and coffee maker into the dining room because there’s simply no more room in the kitchen.
I’m a firm believer in non-gadgetry. Okay, maybe a semi-firm believer. But I really don’t want to clutter up my kitchen with appliances and kitchen fad gadgets I don’t use. That’s why the lazy Susan had to go. That’s why the George Foreman had to go. I simply didn’t use them.
However, I’ve been dreaming. And this dream includes a beautiful vision of a food processor (Cuisinart or KitchenAid). I’ve been going back and forth in my mind–will I use it enough to make it worth the space? Here are the things I would probably use it for: making Thai curry pastes; making Indian curry pastes; throwing together a pie crust with a few pulses; making wet rubs to slather on meat; making tapenades; making pesto.
Now I have done almost all these things either by hand or with a combination of knives, my mortar and pestle, and my blender. But see, this one machine would do it all! And–I think–save me time.
I really don’t know. I really just don’t know. I really, really, just don’t know (Monty Python, anyone?).
So I’m reaching out to you. I know I count many amazing (and some professional) cooks among my readers and friends, so please tell me: do you own a food processor? How often do you use it? Do I need one?
I really can’t make up my mind.
Love,
Helplessly Indecisive in the Kitchen (Chicago, IL)
View Comments (33)
We have a tiny one that we got as a wedding gift. Honestly, if you make the space for a big {nice!} one and make an effort to use it, you will probably use it all the time and for so many things you would never imagined using it for! :)
I have both a small (4-cup) one and a large one. I got the large one as a wedding gift and got the tiny one last year. For me, the large one gets used maybe every 2 weeks or so but that little one gets used almost EVERY day.
4 cups is plenty for most of my uses, and sometimes, if I'm feeling too lazy to get the big boy out of storage, I just work in batches.
So I say YES! And the good news is that the 4-cup one doesn't take a lot of space!
You're right--I was thinking if I got one it would be a mammoth one (12 cups =) but you're right--a small one is easier to store, and I can work in batches if necessary. Thanks! I'm taking your advice to heart.
I say yes. There are so many things you can use it for. :-) Also, it looks like you have space to hang a shelf directly under your cabinets on the left, which you could use for spices, mugs, cans and other smaller jars/packages. And maybe you could get one of those shoe shelves (kind of like this http://tinyurl.com/4ovh6py) and put that on top of your fridge for even more space. Then you would have room for the new food processor!
We have a large Kitchen Aid food processor and I think it is a waste of space. Along with the box of attachments, it takes up a lot of cupboard space. Unless you are cooking for a lot of people, I find it faster to use a knife and a mandolin. The time and effort necessary to clean this thing isn't worth it. Just my $.02
I don't have one--though if I was going to make an addition to my kitchen arsenal, it's on the short list. It doesn't do anything a knife or mallet or something else I have on hand doesn't do...but I confess after making a large batch of pesto and spending what felt like five hours chop-chop-chopping the basil, I was covetting something with more horsepower than my poor hands. I'd get a small one so it doesn't take up much space, and just do multiple rounds with it if I made something in a large batch. But that's just me :)
You know what else is nice about a food processor? It will also slice or grate things for you! Need 3 cups of slice carrots? Bam! Need 15 cups of grated potatoes for has browns? Bam!
But I must admit that I only pull out my food processor occasionally. I forget that I have it half the time. But for the other half it's rather nice to have because it's amazing the variety of tasks it can accomplish.
I know a lot of people find it a kitchen essential but I make such small portions that I find it a pain to pull it out, assemble and then clean.
It seems like quite a bit of what you mentioned (sans pie crust) can be done in a coffee grinder. Plus you can grind whole spices and make nut flour (for gluten free applications.) That's a little smaller than a food processor. (Not the same one you grind your coffee in mind you, if not everything you cook will end up tasting like coffee!)
Here's a little article about food processors that I found very useful:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/05/equipment-which-food-processor-should-i-buy.html
We have an 11 cup Kitchen Aid with an optional small workbowl and blade, and I use it several times a week! It might just be because we have several family favorites that are so much easier to make with it - pesto, hummus, oatmeal pancakes, etc. Definitely a necessity for that weekly hummus. :) It's great too for pie crusts, freezer jams after strawberry picking, etc., but those are more seasonal uses.
I have one, but use it maybe once a month. I don't cook as much as I want to though b/c my job requires too many hours. =(
My kitchen is almost as tiny as yours!! We have done without a microwave for 2 1/2 years. Most of the time it's fine. Some days though, man, it would be really nice to have one.
I would go with what someone said and get a little one that will do most jobs. If in a pinch, you could do batches. But most of the time, you'll be fine with a small one that you can squeeze somewhere.
Now you tell me - do you have an immersion blender? Do you recommend one? I've wanted one forever..
Yeah, I'm liking the idea of a smaller one for sure. And YES, I absolutely recommend an immersion blender!! I use it regularly for pureeing soups, even Indian curries and such. It doesn't take up a lot of room, and it's an awesome little gadget.
You may well remember that I never had a food processer, but used to use the Kitchenaid every day, not just for mixing, but for grinding (meat, cranberries), grating (cheese, carrots) and occasional slicing (the blades on the Ka slicing drums are not sharp so the mandolin that Carlos Grasa gave us was my principal slicer--and if you were to buy a mandolin, the V-shaped blade is absolutely the best/safest ease-of-cutting blade...NOT the straight one like we gave Erica for Christmas some years ago).
The other major electrical was the good old blender, which I still use, as well as the immersion blender. So, as far as a food processer goes, I think everyone is right to say get a small one... if it becomes a staple in your food-prep diet, you can always get a larger one later. Otherwise, elbow grease combined with knives and "manual" instuments is the best way to go rather than cluttering with stuff-stuff-&-more-stuff.
"If you don't use it, lose it!" ...and you can quote that back to me!! =)