The Blender - Why?

Does anyone have any cooking tasks that cannot be accomplished using a food processor? I know, blending small amounts or drinks might be a bit easier in a blender, but it seems to me that 90%+ of what a blender can do is covered pretty well with a food processor, especially one with a smaller bowl inset.

So far I have avoided owning a blender - what am I missing?

Does anyone have any cooking tasks that cannot be accomplished using a food processor? I know, blending small amounts or drinks might be a bit easier in a blender, but it seems to me that 90%+ of what a blender can do is covered pretty well with a food processor, especially one with a smaller bowl inset.

So far I have avoided owning a blender - what am I missing?

If you had pick one, I'd pick the food processor, which can do most of what blender can do. In general, a blender is best with liquids. The chart below may help:

Recipe...............................................Blender................................................Food Processor

Soups and purees..............................Best....................................................Capable
Smoothies..........................................Best.....................................................No
Dips....................................................Capable...............................................Best
Butters................................................Not ideal..............................................Best
Chopped vegetables..........................No........................................................Best
Baking (dough and crust)...................Not ideal.............................................. Capable
Shredded cheeses.............................No.........................................................Best

Excellent well organized response! So as long as I am not addicted to smoothies, I can get by with a food processor alone!

[Robin Garr]

I assume we're talking about a stand-up blender with a glass container? We don't even have one. But a stick blender? That's a whole 'nuther thing, and I wouldn't want to be without it. If nothing else, it's a hell of a lot easier to clean up, dry, and put away than a processor.

Correct - a regular blender appliance.

I also use the stick blender quite often - very useful and much less messy to break a soup down a little without liquifying it.

I assume we're talking about a stand-up blender with a glass container? We don't even have one. But a stick blender? That's a whole 'nuther thing, and I wouldn't want to be without it. If nothing else, it's a hell of a lot easier to clean up, dry, and put away than a processor.

Me, too. In fact I have two or three Bamix stick blenders. Good for soups, even for deviled eggs filling.

I own a stand-up blender from days of yore. I only use it to puree soups and to make the occasional batch of Bernaise.

I don't have a food processor, basically, because there is no room for it. But now you've got me wondering whether I might ditch the blender in favor of a food processor... I cut a lot more vegetables than I puree soup. (Yes, I have two mandolines. No, I don't have a stick blender.)

I own a stand-up blender from days of yore. I only use it to puree soups and to make the occasional batch of Bernaise.

I don't have a food processor, basically, because there is no room for it. But now you've got me wondering whether I might ditch the blender in favor of a food processor... I cut a lot more vegetables than I puree soup. (Yes, I have two mandolines. No, I don't have a stick blender.)

Might be a way to go - swap the unitasker for a multitasker (credit Alton Brown).

And my wife is always telling me to stick it, so i am well equipped to obey!

[Jenise]

Where'd my post go? I answered this a few hours ago:

I said, more or less, that the standard housewife kitchen blender, fine as it may be for making a pitcher of margaritas, is not in the same league with a blender like a Vitamix. I honestly didn't use a blender much when I had an ordinary blender, but getting a Vitamix changed my game. I do more blended things because I have a blender that's so exquisite. Honestly, the ultra refined purees and ethereal emulsifications possible, sometimes requiring one-two minutes running time, has no equal. You can't do it in a food processor, you can't achieve it with a stick blender. The Vitamix goes to a place beyond.

Grating a boatload of potatoes? Food processor. Vichysoisse? Blender. Chopping tomatoes for an amatriciana? Food processor. Gazpacho? Blender. Etc.

I shall have to do without a blender - I am out of parking spots in my pantry 'garage' (and even had to stow the panini press to make things a bit roomier).

The other devices, Cuisinart, coffee maker, mixer, coffee grinder, and espresso maker (didn't realize I was so coffee oriented) fill things up.

[Jenise]

My Vitamix lives in a drawer. Too tall for my appliance bar!

I’ve gone a slightly different watyY. As I have had a Kitchenaid stand mixer for 30+years and own most of the attachments, slicing, shredding, etc etc. a food processor is redundant. I Also have a kitchen aid blender for the purée ing type things the stand mixer can’t do.

Ah - but you can take a soup with veg in it and run it through the food processor and get a smooth soup, but you can't do that with a Kitchenaid. You can with a stick blender though.

I have almost every attachment for my Kitchenaid and for the most part they are very well designed although I use some more than others.

I have almost every attachment for my Kitchenaid and for the most part they are very well designed although I use some more than others.

Does it have a mandoline blade sharpener attachment? I hear Paul is looking....

Yeah, when I take apart the julienne assembly in my mandoline, should I run the pieces through a food processor or a blender to sharpen the blades?

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I’ve gone a slightly different watyY. As I have had a Kitchenaid stand mixer for 30+years and own most of the attachments, slicing, shredding, etc etc. a food processor is redundant. I Also have a kitchen aid blender for the purée ing type things the stand mixer can’t do.

I have meat grinder and several attachments as well. But if I had to hook up all that every time I wanted something chopped up, I'd never do it. Whereas the Food Processor: lift lid, insert food, push button. Washes easily. On the fly; spontaneous, whereas for me nothing about using KA attachments is.

[David M. Bueker]

There's a few tasks for which I wish I had a blender, but not enough to buy one.

[ Whereas the Food Processor: lift lid, insert food, push button. Washes easily.

I never thought of using a food processor to wash food.

-Paul W.

We use a few Kitchenaid attachments a fair bit.

SWMBO loves the ice cream maker - I keep the main freezer at -23 C. so she can take whatever berries and such that she picks up and turn them into sorbet or ice cream.

We use the pasta maker (both basic roller, cutter and (less frequently) the extruder for round shapes. Yes you can do it all by hand and no, the KA isn't as fast as a professional electric pasta machines, but it does a pretty good job.

The meat grinder is also very useful for sausages and terrines and such. I am past the point where I really want to use a cranked grinder fastened to a counter.

We only use the shredder/slicer when we are doing a big batch of soup or some such, otherwise just doing it by knife or mandoline is quick and less clean up.

I had a food processor once, back in the 80s and 90s, but I think I left it behind with a previous husband. After the initial novelty wore off, I mostly used it to grate carrots or cheese, so I don't miss it. I have a blender but these days I don't use it much. In the last 12 months I've used it twice to make vegetable soup - blending chopped raw vegetables down to a crumb-size consistency to make vegetable soup. Most blending jobs get done with the stick blender, which (as previously noted by others) is easy to clean and compact to store.

[Jenise]

Made a quart of salsa yesterday: guajillos, California chiles, cilantro, roasted tomatillos, pan-fried onions and tomatoes, garlic, lime juice. Couldn't do it without a blender!

Well I made a big batch of gazpacho yesterday (after what seemed like hours of chopping) in the Cuisinart processor and no problems. I liquify it completely and then add back in some of the finely chopped bits as a garnish. Would a blender have done it a bit smoother? Probably, but the processor worked well (and I could always have used a stick bender to finish if I'd thought it needed it).

The Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle worked well with the soup, BTW. I'll post notes when I get around to it. To bad our weather isn't currently what one would want for a cold soup, of course!

[Jenise]

Your Cuisinart must operate differently than mine. Mine is the original circa 1979 model--one of the best appliances ever! But big batches are impossible, the bowl cannot be filled to the brim with liquid because it will seep up the central spine under the blade and leak out. It's a real specialty manouver to get the blade out and empty slushy contents.

But yeah, this weather! Had to cancel last night's plans due to rain.

Maybe the later Cuisinart had better sealing blades, but it is still necessary to ensure that the fluid level isn't higher than the central stack before pulling the blade out. If in doubt I leave the blade in place and remove the bowl with blade to empty it.

Ironically, given this discussion, I just had to make a small amount (c. 1/2 cup) of red pepper mayo to do some paninis and a smaller bowl would have been better - but I don't think I have yet hauled out the smaller bowl for this model, I just stubbornly do it in the large bowl and wield the spatula to clean it out.