Quick and Easy Food Processor Tips?

Answer 1

Food processors may be great for blending soups and sauces, but their usefulness goes far beyond pureeing and chopping. Here are five things you can do and make with your food processor.

Pie Crust

Pie crust can be a source of frustration for even experienced bakers. Instead of mixing pie dough by hand, try making it in your food processor. Perfect, flaky pie crust relies on cold butter, which does not fully incorporate into the dough — instead, the butter stays in pea-sized pieces that melt during baking and create steam, making flaky layers. Using a food processor means your hands don’t have to handle the dough, so you save time and won’t warm the ingredients too much.

Mayonnaise and Other Emulsions

Homemade mayonnaise requires only a handful of ingredients and takes a matter of minutes to make if you use a food processor. Try adding basil, garlic, or sun-dried tomatoes straight into the food processor bowl to make a flavored mayonnaise. Other emulsions, like salad dressings or hollandaise sauce, can also be made in a food processor.

Pizza Dough and More

Most food processors come with a dough blade, which makes mixing bread and pizza dough easy. The dough blade not only mixes the ingredients but also kneads the dough in half the time it would take by hand. You can also use your food processor and dough blade to make cookie dough and pasta dough.

Grating and Slicing

Instead of just throwing ingredients into the food processor for a quick chop, utilize the different blades that come with your processor. Instead of breaking out the box grater for cheese or potatoes, use your food processor’s shredding blade to do the work in half the time. Most food processors also come with a slicing blade, so forego the knife and cutting board the next time you need to slice carrots, tomatoes or other vegetables.

Fresh Dips

Store-bought dips usually don’t give you a lot of bang for your buck, so try making homemade versions of your favorites in the food processor. Since many dips require ingredients to be ground or finely chopped — like hummus or salsa — a food processor makes the task a lot easier and faster.