Blender or Food Processor

[Shel_B]

Sometimes I use a blender to puree,other times a food processor. Sometimesthe results are excellent,other times not so terrific. When do you use which tool? Any rules of thumb? Thanks!

[Keith_W]

Hi Shel, use a blender when you want a super fine chop. Blenders can liquidize carrots, the most a food processor can do is turn it into a puree. The high speed blades on a blender can break cell walls resulting in superior smoothness. However, blenders can not grate cheese, or slice veggies, or mix dough, or whisk eggs. Those jobs are for the food processor.

[Shalmanese]

If all you're concerned about is smoothness, blenders work optimally so long as the liquid is thin enough to form a vortex at full speed. Food processors don't produce as fine a result but work for thicker liquids. If you're absolutely uncertain, you can always process in a food processor until it reaches a fine paste and then transfer to the blender and blend again. At worst, the blender will be ineffectual and you'll lose some product in the transfer. At best, you'll get a reliable puree. Running the product through a fine mesh sieve either before or after the blending stage can also result in a smoother puree.

If you want a more interesting texture, then it's going to be context specific.

[Chef Hermes Blog]

Hi, I tend to use a blender more than I would a food processor. But then I do more purees & soups that way. Kenwood do a unit which comes with both attachments so maybe look at that.

prices start at about £45 stg and to to over £100stg for the metal case ones.

[Shel_B]

Thanks for the input. I've now a better idea of why my intended results have been erratic.

[patrickamory]

I'm with Shalmanese. There's no one size fits all, and the level of liquidness is paramount in deciding which one will work best (at least for me, with my particular blender and food processor models).

To get more specific, you can't get as fine a puree in a food processor as you can in a blender, but if the mixture is too dry or too thick, the blender simply will not work. Equally, if there isn't enough volume, the food processor won't work.

The combo suggested by Shalmanese is sometimes the only solution.