I had an interesting conversation last week that set me thinking. A friend of a friend was given a copy of “Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals’ for Christmas but was aghast when she realised that most of the recipes require a food processor. A) She doesn’t own a food processor and B) they’re more expensive than the book!
The other problem with a large kitchen gadget like a food processor is the amount of space they take up. It’s unlikely that you’ll keep it out on the counter all the time so where are your going to store it? Plus they usually come with all kinds of useful add-ons with different blades for grating and chopping.
I don’t own a food processor either. I have been using what I think is the answer to this lady’s prayers for the past 15 years. I first bought it to make pureeing baby food simple and then discovered it made light work of breadcrumb making and went on to use it for blitzing soups and pestos. Mine is called the ‘Moulinex MultiMoulinette’ and it’s time for it to take a bow. Another gadget along the same lines is the Kenwood Mini Food Chopper. I’ve seen it out and about on the shelves of hardware stores proudly displaying a “Delia Cheat’ sticker and a great price tag at under 30 euro.
You need to bear in mind that the capacity on these gadgets is low. My old one is 500ml and the current Kenwood one is 350ml. That volume will be fine for pestos and breadcrumbs but you’ll have to use it twice or three times if blending a soup.
It gets my vote though for ease of use, storage and price.
If you are making breadcrumbs why not use wholegrain bread instead of white and fortify it even more with a handful of chopped parsley. For something that’s the antonym of this call back to the blog on Thursday where I’ll be posting a gluten free, SINFUL, chocolate mousse cake.
Til next time, Sheila.
Food Processors – The alternative
