Buyer's guide - Kitchen appliances

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By Alexandra Aussenac A guide to food processors

Appliances to help you whip up a feast!
A food processor for every concoction
Get creative in the kitchen
Focus on… style in the kitchen
All the right ingredients
Conclusion

A food processor for every concoction

With work, kids and outings on your plate, it can be hard finding time to cook. A multifunction food processor is a simple solution for pleasing the whole family, cook included!
Food processors are compact, stylish and full of ingenious functions to take labour-intensive tasks like kneading, whisking, dicing and blending out of your hands. Pixmania's guide will help you choose your new favourite kitchen appliance!

A food processor for every concoction

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If you aren’t sure whether to choose a multifunction food processor, blender or chopper, read on!

Get cooking with a food processor!

Multifunction food processors are designed to take the chore out of repetitive kitchen activities such as grating, kneading, mincing, whisking, chopping, blending and mixing, letting you whip up tasty treats in no time!
Kick-start your day with delicious, freshly squeezed juice made using the juice extractor in your food processor. At lunchtime, prepare mayonnaise from scratch in an instant - just attach the metal blade and put the egg, mustard and oil into your food processor’s bowl. Some food processors can even spin lettuce dry, which is sure to come in handy!
Treat your children to a home-made pie for their afternoon snack, and let your food processor knead the dough and cut up the fruit. All you have to do is fill the crust and slide it into the oven. It's easy as pie!
If your little ones are keen on milkshakes, use a blender to prepare smooth, frothy concoctions.
Use the different speeds and settings, like the Pulse button, to adapt your food processor to your preparations. If you feel like soup and lemon meringue pie for dinner tonight, set your processor to the lowest speed to gently beat the egg whites and use the Pulse button to blend your vegetables to make a smooth soup.
Some food processors don’t use traditional planetary or continuous rotation but adapt their speed to the density of the food they’re processing, leaving you with nothing to do but dig in!
To glide from one recipe to another without having to waste time washing up, choose a food processor with an extra work bowl. Plus, if your food processor has a clever storage or stacking system for accessories, you’ll have everything you need to make meals worthy of a restaurant chef.

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Time-saver

If you don’t have the need or the counter space for a food processor, choose an appliance that only does what you need it to.
Beaters, mixers, blenders, hand-held blenders, mincers and mini-choppers are just as effective as food processors and are faster and easier to clean too.
If you believe that food should look just as good as it tastes, try a mincer or chopper, either mini, or regular sized for bigger jobs. Choppers chop, of course, but they also slice, dice, grate and mince, meaning you can produce beautifully presented food without doing any work!
Hand blenders sometimes come with a mincing or chopping attachment and let you blend all your preparations, from lump-free pancake batter to smooth and velvety soups. Hand blenders are simple to operate, easy to clean and very practical, especially when cordless. Blend your vegetables in the pan you cooked them in to save on washing up. If it has a beater attachment, you can make creams, custards and beat egg whites in a flash.
A blender is basically the same as a hand blender, only bigger, and allows you to prepare batter, sauces, milkshakes and more using whole fruits and vegetables, and obtain thick purees that you can thin with water, milk, ice or anything else you like.
If you mostly want to make cocktails and home-made fruit juices, opt for a juice extractor (or centrifuge). These appliances separate pulp from juices, leaving you with a smooth liquid.

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Cooking for baby

Educate your child’s palate by cooking all baby food yourself. Far from being a long and complicated task, preparing your baby’s meals is rewarding and enjoyable when you have the proper tools.
Some food processors don’t just puree foods; they also reheat, steam and thaw food, making them suited to all your baby’s needs. You can make several meals in advance, freeze the food in portions and then reheat each portion when you need it. Your baby won’t have to wait for his dinner and you won’t have to spend all your time in the kitchen.
Devices for preparing baby food usually come with a loads of accessories like jars, dosers and sometimes a cookbook too. They can also be used to warm and maintain your baby’s bottle at just the right temperature, saving you from burned wrists!
Some devices can even be used as a steriliser. You don’t have to lug a steriliser and a bottle-warmer around when you have a machine that does both. These devices benefit both you and your baby. They should be compact and easy to use so you can use it everywhere you go.

Get creative in the kitchen

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If your food processor still works like a dream but your needs and recipes have changed, pick up a few new accessories to mix it up!

The crème de la crème of kitchen appliances!

To make the most of your food processor, remember to consider the size of the work bowl - it needs to be big enough for you to feed your family, without having to proceed in batches and without crowding up your kitchen. Work bowls are usually unbreakable and have a capacity of up to four litres.
A work bowl that can be placed in the fridge, oven or dishwasher is the most convenient. Some food processors can be run with nothing but washing-up liquid and water in the work bowl, meaning you get a flawlessly clean machine with no effort.
Optimise your food processor by having several attachments at hand. A grater, sieve, blender, beater, chopper, mincer, dough blade, juicer and a lid are more than enough to prepare every delicious dish you can think of.
There are even machines for preparing cookie dough, pastry and pasta. Just make sure they're compatible with your food processor and that you have the space to store an extra machine.

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A few tips for your food processor

With your kitchen fully stocked with the perfect appliances, all you need to get the most from your food processor are recipes! Whether you’re looking for low-carb, dessert or kids-only recipes, keep your meals varied and delicious thanks to cookbooks.
If you like to eat good, down-to-earth food but aren’t a whiz in the kitchen, try out some cookbooks to give you some fundamental techniques.
You can also find many single-subject or themed cookbooks to give you easy and precise tips on how to enjoy more exotic foods without having to phone up the local take-away!
Multifunction food processors are easy to use but aren’t always easy to clean. Getting rid of sticky dough on the blades and bits of food stuck in the crevices can require some skill and precautions.
Some food processors are dishwasher-proof, making them a cinch to clean – but if bits of dough or food get stuck inside your machine, they might still be there after a trip through the dishwasher. Soaking your food processor and its blades in hot soapy water beforehand can help avoid this.

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Best-sellers

KITCHENAID 5KSB52EGR Ultra Power Blender - grey: € 180 Inc. VAT; IN STOCK

KITCHENAID 5KSM150PSEAC Stand Mixer - cream: € 499 Inc. VAT; IN STOCK

KITCHENAID 5KSM150PSEBU Stand Mixer - blue: € 520 Inc. VAT; IN STOCK

SODA CLUB Soda Club Jet Machine: ~~€ 65~~; € 53,78 Inc. VAT -17%; IN STOCK

KITCHENAID Artisan 5KSM150PSEMC Stand Mixer - metallic silver: € 540 Inc. VAT; IN STOCK

KENWOOD Prospero KM 266 Multifunction mixer: € 288 Inc. VAT; IN STOCK

Focus on …

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Stylish kitchens

Don't stash your appliances away in the kitchen cupboard!
Manufacturers are teeming with ideas to add a bit of style to these devices. You’ll find elegant stainless steel designs, bright cheery colours and retro looks that will look great in any kitchen!
Just because they’re pretty to look at doesn’t mean they’re less powerful, though. Kitchen appliances are a great addition to any kitchen and lend you the helping hand you need without taking up too much precious counter space.

All the right ingredients

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A good food processor needs to be more than powerful; it has to be adapted to your cooking style. Read on for some helpful tips and key points.

Efficient and versatile appliances

Ranging from 200 to 1500 Watts, food processors are adapted to all cooking styles. If you eat lunch in a rush, a compact food processor with one or two speeds is just what you need. With an average power of 500W, it’ll whip up soups, milkshakes and purees in no time!
A multifunction food processor is better adapted to preparing family meals, especially if you intend on making home-made pies and dough. For large preparations, low-end 300-Watt models won’t do; you’ll need a heavy-duty 1000- to 1500-Watt appliance.
Besides size and power, factor in the number of speeds to assess the performance abilities of your food processor. Most models only have two speeds but some can have up to 6 or 7.
Factor in the size of the bowl as well; the bigger the bowl, the more you’ll be able to make in your food processor and the more convenient the device will be. A work bowl with a 1-litre capacity is big enough for two people, but 4 litres is necessary to prepare large meals.

Cooking made easy

A good kitchen appliance is one you use regularly, which means you’ll need one adapted to you and your kitchen.
A multifunction food processor with a cable tidy and extra attachments is helpful – your food processor will be more versatile and you won’t have to waste time hunting around for compatible accessories.
The perfect food processor should even have a convenient place to keep all of the attachments in one place – either in a container or in the base of the machine. This way, your work bowl doesn’t get scratched and little fingers don't get hurt by sharp edges. Extra work bowls are handy too.
As far as safety features are concerned, suction cups or non-slip feet on the bottom of the processor will keep it from sliding all over the place when the blades are in motion. Most food processors come with a lid to prevent splashes; some machines won’t start until the work bowl is locked into the base and the lid is locked onto the work bowl.

Conclusion

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Cooking doesn’t have to be a long and tedious chore; food processors and kitchen appliances everywhere can take the chore out of cooking and let you enjoy yourself in the kitchen.
From versatile multifunction food processors to compact mini-choppers and hand blenders, you can find the right tool for the right task.
Though it should have many features to help you in the kitchen, your food processor must remain compact and intuitive so that you enjoy using it. Now get cooking!