Food Processor help

[bayo000]

Hey guys. I’m after a bit of advice about food processors. I’ve never owned one and not even sure how often we’ll use it but it’s been on my mind for a long time.
I was looking at this one (hope Amazon links to kitchen stuff are OK if not I’ll remove) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tefal-Vita-...r_1_8?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1357767173&sr=1-8

My sister said that it should be good for us but she’s also suggested to look at something like this:
http://www.electricshopping.com/moulinex-masterchef-gourmet-kitchen-machine-900w.html#.UPFYSmeTLw5
It’s not exact model but I can’t find the one she recommended on sale in UK.

However I found this Tefal (seems like some Moulinex products are sold under Tefal name) which seems to be the same thing
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tefal-QB403D40-Kitchen-Machine/dp/B007P3AY2O/ref=pd_sim_sbs_kh_13
Or this Bosch with less powerful motor
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008US18...de=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B008US186O

What would you suggest? Over Christmas we got bit into baking and my gf made pasta from scratch few times so something that will make our life easier would be great.
Oh and budget upto £130.
Thanks

 

[glosrfc]

Not sure if this helps but here's my thoughts:

1. I use a food processor but, to be honest, the amount of additional cleaning and space required usually means it sits in the cupboard. You'll probably find it's easier and quicker to make dough by hand, rather than trying to assemble, use, disassemble, then clean the processor.

2. I've never seen the point of spending a lot of money on a does-everything-you-can-possibly-think-of processor. When I do use mine it's usually to liquidise soups, or make a salsa, and most will handle that with ease. You can also liquidise in the bowl so there's no point in getting one of those processors that has a separate liquidising attachment. You just might have to do it in smaller batches to prevent it overflowing everywhere.

3. On the odd times I've tried to make dough it's worked but you do have to watch it and stop the processor as soon as the dough balls up. If you get one that has a dough hook, I wouldn't bother using as the standard rotary knife does the job better. Make sure all your ingredients are cold before you add them. The spinning blade generates a lot of heat which can kill the yeast. The blade, while more effective than a hook in a food processor*, will also tear all the gluten in the bread so the dough might not be as perfect as you'd like.

* the purpose of the hook is to stretch the dough, rather than cut it. This works great in a mixer which can be run at slower speeds. In a food processor where you'll generally only have faster speeds the knife is better.

Looking at your links, the first one is what I'd consider a food processor while the next two are food mixers. The last one is interesting as it looks like a food mixer which can be converted into a processor. Personally, if you're going to be using it mostly for baking, go for the mixer as you can use to make other things like meringue, buttercream, icing, etc. If you're going to be using it to prep food, i.e. chopping, dicing, slicing, pureeing, liquidising, with just some occasional dough making, then go for a food processor.

Or go for something like this for mixing:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Charles-Jac...r_1_8?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1358041179&sr=1-8
And you'll have enough left over in your budget to match it up with this processor too:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Charles-Jac...1_10?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1358041263&sr=1-10

Hope that helps

 

[Razor-BladE]

As glosrfc has already said, the products you've listed have different primary functions. Are you looking to get more of a mixer or food processor? I don't have either so can't comment on things to look out for/recommendations.

But I have a Philips blender that I got for about £20 and that's been great for making soups, juices and smoothies. Also, probably going to pick up a mini chopper sometime soon because blenders don't work on small amounts (as the blades start a few cms higher from the bottom), and blenders require a certain amount of liquid to work.

As I haven't used a mixer myself, I can't say whether it's really worth it, but for the price, I'd much rather just mix myself and spend the money on something else. But a food processor, you can't do that by hand!