Nowadays, when you look around the standard American home kitchen, you will see dozens of cooking tools and appliances. To most home cooks, the number one equipment that is never lacking in the kitchen is the food processor. The invention of the food processor was meant so that methods such as shredding, grating, slicing, grinding, blending, mixing and pulverizing, would be done with ease.
People would often secondhand themselves when buying a food processor because of its price tag in the market, and sometimes even compare it to food choppers and blenders. This kitchen appliance is designed as their name suggests it— to be able to chop food ingredients. With these tools aiding you in your day-to-day cooking, it would inspire you to cook healthier meals for you and your family.
Food Processors 101
Food processors were developed in the late 20th century by Pierre Verdon as a way for cooks to be more efficient in the kitchen. The most common brands of food processors that are currently in the market are Breville, KitchenAid, and Cuisinart.
The YouTube channel, Eater, in its shows The Kitchen Gadget Test Show hosted by Esther Choi, put to the test three of the most well-known food processors to determine which is better. The show had four tests shredding, slicing, grinding of vegetables and mixing dough.
Best Food Processors
The Cuisinart Elite 2.0 16-Cup Food Processor:
it’s complete with stainless steel chopping/mixing blades, dough blade, adjustable slicing disk, and reversible shredding disc. Along with its brand name, this is one of the most common food processors home kitchens around America have. When it comes to mixing/pulverizing, this 1500 watts of power came in first then the other two brands; it was consistent with both of its coarse and powder sides, and with the pie dough it did an even job. This food processor is currently in Amazon at a whopping $300.
The KitchenAid Pro Line Series 16-Cup Food Processor:
It was the most expensive one out of the three compared brands. Currently, it is being sold in Amazon for $600; in the tests, it stood out as the best processor when it comes to chopping food ingredients. It gave less waste compared to the Cuisinart Elite 2.0, and it was consistent with its cuts. Having this in your home kitchen is like having a personal private sous chef complete with its heavy-duty 650-watt motor that helps in cutting large-sized vegetables. The most distinctive part of this processor is it's different sized lids to easily put a variety of vegetables without difficulty.
Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro Food Processor:
The brand that came in number one out of the other two. The lid of the processor has a smaller feed, which means the shredding is more controlled. Its cutting was consistent and had less waste compared to the KitchenAid food processor. Even with its pulverizing and grinding, the results showed evenness on both the fine side and the coarse side. It was tied with the Cuisinart Elite 2.0 with its consistency with the pie dough mixing test; the dough was even, with both flaky and crumbly bits. Right now, it is being sold in Amazon for $400, just between the price range of the Cuisinart and KitchenAid Food Processors.
The Difference with Food Choppers
If you haven’t noticed, food choppers are designed to be compact and small. This is just one of the major factors as to why people would often go for food choppers instead of food processors. There are two types of food choppers, manual choppers, and electric choppers. Much like the food processor, this was invented to help cooks with their day-to-day cooking without difficulty.
Suggested Uses:
- 1Chopping onion, celery, garlic, carrots, and different fruits & vegetables for cooking
- 2Dicing fresh herbs for sauces
- 3Making salsa, condiments, and dressings
- 4Chopping hard nuts
Best Food Choppers
Check out our full list and reviews of food choppers or check out our quick recommendations below.
The Cuisinart Stainless Steel Food Chopper:
One of the most well-known branded food choppers in the market. This is an example of a manual chopper, where all you have to do is push down on the top of the chopper and watch the magic happens. With its base, it allows the cook to the chop without the cutting board, and because of its stainless steel exterior, it’s dishwasher friendly. Amazon has this product listed under $40, but reduced the price to only $13, with all of its good reviews this product is definitely worth the try.
- EXCEPTIONAL DESIGN: Easy push down handle allows for quick chops– Chop anything from hard cheese, nuts, or vegetables in seconds. Base allows you to chop with or without using a cutting board
- CLEAN UP: Stainless steel housing and blade are dishwasher safe to make for an effortless clean up
- LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY: Refer to user manual for troubleshooting steps and questions surrounding warranty policies – this product is BPA free
Kuhn Rikon Pull Food Chopper:
If you are looking for something bigger than the Cuisinart, right now, Amazon is currently selling Kuhn Rikon Pull Food Chopper for a price of $32. The reason why this is way more expensive is because of its 2-cup size chopping capability and also of its pull-chop mechanism. It doesn’t have the difficulty of pushing down, especially on hard to cut ingredients, like the Cuisinart Food Chopper. All you have to do is pull multiple times and see how you want your cuts to be. It has 4.8 out of 5 stars compared to the 3.9 out of 5 stars of the Cuisinart in Amazon.
- Save time spent on preparation and chopping - cut a wide variety of foods in seconds with the pull of a cord, which rotates the ultra-sharp, removable stainless steel blades
- Pull the cord approx. 5 times for coarse cuts, approx. 10 times for fine cuts and approx. 15 times to create dips, sauces and more (watch the video to see the Pull Chop in action)
- Ideal for fruit, vegetables, garlic, herbs, boiled eggs, breadcrumbs etc - it’s even perfect for nuts
- 2-cup capacity container (diameter = 5”; height = 4.5”) stays in place via a non-slip base and the lid allows food to be stored in the fridge for when needed
- Container is both microwave and dishwasher safe (wash the lid by hand). A blade protector is included for when not in use (store within the container with the lid on)
What about a blender?
Now, often people would compare the capabilities of both the food processor and food chopper to a regular blender. To clear this one out, the main purpose of a blender is to turn solid ingredients into liquid form. Nowadays though, some blenders are being made to be as powerful enough to handle the same capabilities as the food processor. VITAMIX 5200 Blender Professional is the perfect example of these modern blenders with the power of food processors. With its aircraft-grade stainless steel blades plus its improvement in horsepower, the VITAMIX Blender can cut, grind, blend, and pulverize like the Breville Sous Chef Food Processor. Amazon is currently selling this product at a price tag of $450.
- Create every course of your home-cooked meal – from fresh smoothies to creamy desserts – in minutes. The Vitamix 5200 is the universal tool for family meals and entertaining
- Variable Speed Control: 10 Speeds you can easily adjust to achieve a variety of textures. The dial can be rotated at any point during the blend, so you’re in complete control!
- 64oz Container: The size and shape of the 64-ounce container is ideal for blending small to large batches.
- Hot Soup: The blades in the Vitamix container reach speeds fast enough to create friction heat, bringing cold ingredients to steaming hot in about six minutes
- Smoothest Texture: The power and precision of our patented designs are able to pulverize every recipe ingredient, including the tiniest of seeds for the smoothest blends
So what should we get a Food Chopper or a Food Processor?
If you’re looking for a way to cook that is less time consuming, really helpful, easy to use, and presents quality results, I would suggest to go with a food processor.
Food processors, food choppers, and blenders were made to do different things, but the superior kitchen equipment as described by Pamela Salzman, a cooking instructor known for her YouTube videos would suggest, go for the food processor.
A blender will only come in handy if you are trying to make a recipe that is liquid-based like smoothies, soups, dips, dressings, puree and sauces. Thinking about the price tags of these products, obviously food processors would cost so much more, but the benefits you would get would compensate for the amount of money paid.
I cannot stress enough on the possibility of eating healthier for you and your family because of the ease this product provides you in the kitchen.