With a large variety of Food processors available in the market, it can get very confusing for a new parent to decide on which one to buy for their baby foods.
A lot of people make the mistake of just getting any old food processor because they don’t know what features are important or which ones are better than others.
We will show you everything worth looking at when shopping around and answer all of your questions about avoiding common problems with these products!
Hey! By the way… any links on this page that lead to products on Amazon are affiliate links and I earn a commission if you make a purchase.
Thanks in advance – I really appreciate it!
Table of Contents
- What is a food processors? What can you do with it?
- Main features of a Food processor :
- Which Food processor should I get?
- Best food processor on a budget
- Best food processor for small spaces
- Best Foods For The Food Processor
- Food processor vs. blender: Which one should you get?
- Advantages of Homemade Baby Food : Why you should make it
- Conclusion
What is a food processors? What can you do with it?
A food processor is a kitchen tool that’s designed to make your life easier. It can chop, grate and slice foods for you so it eliminates the need for manual labor! And you also save a lot of time.
You can make simple baby food for your little one quick and easy.
A modern day Food processor with the latest technology can produce high quality foods from peanut butter to tomato slices, without much effort.
You can mix a dip or a salad dressing, knead dough for paster, grind seeds and meat, grate cheese and chop vegetables and a variety of other things
This appliance is great if you’re cooking large batches of baby food since it will allow you to feed many people at once without taking up much space on your countertop.
Main features of a Food processor :
You must look for the following features while buying a food processors.
1. Number of blades and discs:
This will determine what kind of textures you can produce with your machine and it’s also an indicator for how much cooking experience you have. If you’re a beginner, try to find a product that has at least three different kinds of blade attachments so that when the need arises, there is no confusion about which attachment to use! .
These tools help cut the food into small pieces of specific shapes, or they can help in the preparing a dish.
A metal blade is provided for chopping up food and a plastic blade for kneading large amounts of dough. A dough blade Makde of plastic is also available
Metal blades come in the usual S design and you can also get stacked blades with the new diagonal cut. These are supposed to be better than the old design but there is still a lot of disagreement on this topic as people still prefer the old design
Discs are available in two types : The Slicer which is like a normal knife and the Shredder which is meant for manual grating. You can adjust the thickness of the slices if you have an adjustable disc, so make sure you have this feature
Higher end models have several additional accessories. They may change the quality and shape of the slices, or you could find a totally way to use the machine.
Important notes:
Make sure you hold blades with the hub and the discs by their blunt edges in order to avoid injury.
When cleaning, put your gloves on and don’t forget to keep a visual of the food processor blades and discs.-
2.Size:
What size do I want my food processor to be?
The main part of the unit is the Work bowl where you put all the ingredients to process. These are dishwasher safe containers and they come in three basic sizes –
Large Food processor
These units have a bowl capacity of 12 to 16 cups and come with feeding chutes. You can make large portions of salads and coleslaw or Pizza dough
.
Medium Food Processors
You can handle from 7 to 11 cups and this is ideal for one to two people.
Small Food processors
Can be used smaller quantities which are under 7 cups. They help in simple tasks like pureeing solid food, grinding nuts , chopping garlic and onion into small pieces, and you can even knead some dough.
Since they chop and mix at the same time at hgh speeds, you could make mustard, mayonnaise and other similar foods very easily.
Generally the smaller units do not ocme with a feeding chute. They are also called “Mini Chopper” or “Food Chopper” or “Mini Food Processor” or “Mini Processor” as their primary function to to chop.
3.Power :
The motor power will vary depending on the unit’s size and will also depend on the jobs you want to get done – like shredding cheese, kneading bread dough or breaking down vegetables. So, if you do these regularly, make sure the machine has a strong motor. The capacity of the motor generally starts from 250 Watts and can go upto 1300 watts for the high end units.
If you don’t have enough power, you run the risk of food not getting processed properly , or even the motor getting burnt out.
For a unit with a bowl size of over 9 cup or more) you need atleast a 600 W powerful motor.
For smaller units you need a 450 Watt Motor.
In addition to having power, you need to ensure that the quality of the motor is good so it can be used for longer periods of time without a break. This is more important when you are working with sticky or hard ingredients and the unit should be able to process them easily.
4.Motor Speed options :
Choose a unit with different speed options so it can work well with what kind of ingredients you have (e.g., potatoes versus tomatoes).
One of the most important features to look for is a “pulse” button for small bursts of power, which is useful for rough chopping or kneading dough quickly.
5.Elegant Touch pad controls
Go for a smooth touchpad with LCD screen
for the controls, which not only looks sleek but is easier to clean than a panel with raised buttons..
6.Safety features
Various safety features are available depending on the model you are choosing.
Some of these are
- The unit will not start unless you have the lid or splash guard on properly
- Protective covers for blades
- Working bowl to lock properly on the motor base before unit starts.
- Power cord covers
- Automatic shut off
- Overload protection safety feature
7.Attachments and Accessories
An assortment of accessories are available so that you can get the maximum from your unit like different sizes and types of bowls, blades, discs and other specialised attachments. However please check if you really need these extra accessories before you spend your valuable money.
.The best food processors come with a variety of accessories for different tasks like:
- Various blades and discs (chopping, mixing, slicing)
- Measuring cups
- Spatulas/spoons
- Dough blade attachment for kneading dough, whipping up cream, eggs or other ingredients eliminating the need for other tools! This makes your kitchen more compact and less cluttered.
Which Food processor should I get?
If you are buying your first one for baby foods, then a basic model with minimal accessories would be good to start. It should have slicing and chopping blades so you chop vegetables or make various purees.
Once you have worked with the basic model for a few months, you could look at more advanced models to see what suits your needs.
Best food processor on a budget
If you are on a budget and want a no-frills food processor to handle basic tasks, then the No products found. is the perfect one for you.
With a 10 cup working bowl and a 450 watt motor it can handle most jobs easily.
No products found.
It comes with a reversible shredding/slicing disc and S-blade to handle various tasks.
One noteworthy feature is the built-in scraper which you don’t find on most other models. It scrapes the insides of the working bowl and you don’t need to do this with a spatula.
One notable and incredibly convenient feature on the Hamilton Beach food processor is its handy built-in scraper, which most other designs lack. Instead of having to scrape the insides of the working bowl with a spatula,
However the unit can be a bit noisy as the motor base housing is lightweight and also the chute from where you put the ingredients is not wide enough.
You will have to first do some chopping before you. put them through the chute
It is a great pick for someone who is looking for a no-frills food processor on a budget, without investing too much money.
It has a standard elegant design and looks presentable in any kitchen.
The bowl and other parts are dishwasher-safe.
Best food processor for small spaces
For Moms who don’t have much space in their kitchen, the KitchenAid KFC3516ER 3.5 Cup Food Chopper is an ideal model for making Meal preps everyday.
It comes with 3.5 cup work bowl which has a locking blade, handle and a spout for pouring out.
It can chop everything from vegetables and herbs to nuts and grains. It is also great for blending ingredients together if you want salad dressings and sauces.
- Convenient 3.5 cup work bowl features a locking blade, handle and pour...
- With its small, countertop friendly footprint and simple cord wrap,...
- 2 speeds and pulse for coarse or fine results for anything from chunky...
- Easily incorporate liquid ingredients for sauces and dressings while...
- Precisely chop or puree with the stainless steel multi-purpose blade...
Last update on 2024-10-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
You get precise control on what you want to prepare with 2 speeds and Pulse operation to produce coarse or fine results – ideal for creamy hummus, smooth tomato sauce or salad dressing.
However many users have mentioned that it is extremely difficult to remove the top and it gets stuck some times
Some users even found that it cannot be used continuously for longer periods. It just stops and you need to wait for sometime
Best Foods For The Food Processor
In addition to being a excellent baby food maker, you will find you can make the following stuff very well.
Dough required for breads, pie dough and biscuits are best made with the food processor because of the sharp blades.
This gives them a sturdy texture.
You will also save a lot of time as it simplifies the process.
Even the final product is more consistent.
It is also great if you want to chop and grind dry ingredients like nuts, breadcrumbs and coconut into a fine and even powder
If you have a lot of mincing then it works perfectly as well – whether it is vegetables or meat. The ingredients are chopped consistently and very quickly.
Food processor vs. blender: Which one should you get?
Although there are some common functions that you can perform, food processors and blenders have different purposes and are not interchangeable.
A food processor, also called a mixer, can also blend and chop food. While a blender, on the other hand, is a single-use appliance that can’t chop food. With that being said, a food processor can also chop food, shred cheese, and perform other functions that a blender cannot.
Advantages of Homemade Baby Food : Why you should make it
Parents prefer homemade baby food for the following reasons
- They know what their baby is being fed. No harmful ingredients will ever be used
- Cheaper than pre-packaged foods
- can choose their own ingredients instead on what are used by manufacturers.Have you ever been able to find melons and avocados in the baby food section of your favourite store?
- You can puree the same food that the rest of the family is eating
- Manufactured food is cooked at extremely high temperatures to kill bacteria and also increase the shelf life. This depletes the nutrition in the food, like vitamins and other nutrients. It is better to roast, steam or boil vegetables or fruits and puree them. It is far more healthy and provides great nutrition.
Conclusion
Food processors have existed for years, but it’s only been recently that the market for baby food processors has taken off. If you’ve popped in and out of the baby food processor market, you’ve no doubt noticed that there are countless models on the market. It can be really hard to figure out what features are important to you. And if you’re a first time food processor purchaser, you can feel out of your depth when you start looking around.
We hope our guide has helped you to learn all about Food processors and we hope you will make the right purchase.
1 thought on “The Best Guide to Food Processors for Baby Foods: What You Need to Know”
Comments are closed.