Food Processor

From food processor

My husband did not know what to give to me last Christmas (I already had every electronic gadget that I could possibly want, though not the latest ones. I tend to keep one as long as I could until it just breaks down.) Even if he would have wanted to surprise me, he did not want me disappointed with something I did not want. So, I asked for a food processor.

While a lot of homemakers with a food processor usually end up stacking theirs in the basement, I already had plans with what to do with it, especially that I love cooking and canning. The set that I got can also prepare dough, and every reader of this blog knows how I enjoy baking. With the plans that I had, I had to get a specialty disc set, because what I really would want to be able to do with this food processor is the fine grating -- of yucca, mainly, since I love pichi-pichi and cassava cake. Of course, aside from the fine grating, I also had in mind faster and easier chopping/pureeing, and slicing when I am canning produce from my garden during fall. I actually chose the fine grater first then the main gadget
to go with it (as recommended by amazon.com). The only brand that has this fine grating disc was Cuisinart. Nothing else. However, when I got the pair, they were not really a pair. I got the wrong model. I should have gotten another model that had a stem which would attach to different discs. Good thing there was no problem shipping back the item and getting the refund. (I love amazon!)

Recently, with a recent Filipina gathering, my trip to the Asian store and getting green papaya to turn into atsara, I went on to "break in" my new food processor, grating two big yuccas in 1/4 the time it usually took for me to grate them manually (minus the achy arm and wrist!); grating the green papayas, and slicing the other veggies. It took me seconds to grate what I would have grated in an hour. Wow! I was impressed! And the receptacle was large enough to hold a whole onion! Cool! I am so looking forward to making more jars of pickles, jams and jellies next year.

I also made ube haleya two nights ago, using pre-grated ube that I was not sure whether it was pre-cooked or not. And while I was cooking it, I realized it was uncooked, and it was drying up already without being fully cooked yet. I decided to add more liquid and puree it using the food processor (I was not sure whether I could have achieved the same result with the blender; I probably could), before putting back to the stovetop to cook further. I have been eating some haleya since then (my sons have been enjoying it as well), but saving some for an experiment with ube cake. Those two will be on future posts...

Verdict: Met my expectations and more. Easy to clean as well. Seems durable (time will tell, but I am hoping to make full use of it). Quite pricey, but it seems worth it for freeing up some of my time and wrist/arm aches. If you are into canning or even catering, this is a great help. If you are not going to make any slicing or grating in big volumes, this is not recommended.

Now if only there is an electric stirrer powerful enough to stir cooking ube haleya, and long enough to reach the bottom of a stock pot while preparing pasta sauce, I'd be a much happier cook! Not that I don't like burning the calories, but I hate having a sore arm and wrist and right shoulder after such a tedious task.