When you’re cooking a great meal there is usually a lot of repetitive tasks that take up most of your actual cooking time. A lot of people would rather not cook than go about these tasks, but a good food processor can do them for you! They can take care of the slicing, grinding, shredding, pureeing, and even mixing and kneading doughs. When a machine can quickly do all of these tasks for you cooking an amazing meal becomes a much easier chore.

Food processors look similar to blenders, but your blender can’t do all of these things for you. With a blender you usually have a fixed blade, but with these great appliances you can switch out different blades for the various tasks it can perform.

While they used to be only manual hand crank style devices, they are now almost always electric, and have a feed tube on top that allows you to add ingredients while it’s chopping, pureeing, or grinding. This is also where you’ll put food in while you have the device on the slicing setting.

Your price range will effect what your device can do for you. You’ll often see a very cheap black food processor these days that’s smaller than others you’d typically see. The size usually isn’t the only difference–often these smaller versions only have one or two different settings (like chop and grind) instead of the long list above. If all you’re looking for is a grinder then this will work out just fine for you, but you definitely want to be sure you know what you’re getting since this isn’t really a food processor by conventional standards since we traditionally expect the device to be able to chop, grind, puree, slice, etc.

The first thing to decide is what you’re basically hoping for the appliance to be able to do for you. A top of the line option is going to have multiple blades for you to work with, while a cheaper option is going to come with one or two blades. These are usually mini options that hold a cup or two of food, and are really meant for grinding, making sauces, and chopping. The popular bullet food processor is a good example of these smaller options—and they are just fine if that’s all you’re looking for your appliance to be able to do for you. A top of the line option will be able to grind, puree, chop, shredding, dice, slice, and much more. They’ll even be able to knead doughs. They’re able to do all of this by having multiple blades that you switch out when you switch to the next function.

The next thing to decide is how big of an appliance you’re looking for. As mentioned above you can get a mini one that just holds a couple of cups, other common sizes include 7 cups, 11 cups, and odd sizes up to 14 cup food processors. You can find a rare larger size, like a 20 cup, but be aware that you’ll be paying double what you would be paying for the 14 cup size. The 14 cup size is the standard largest size available and is typically big enough to handle whatever a standard kitchen will be able to do. When you get up to a larger sized model you’re also going to be looking at some really nice machines that have pulled out all the stops and have all the fancy features you could want.

The color of your appliance is another fun thing to look at. Most commonly you’re going to find stainless steel, white, and black food processor options out there. This really just depends on your personal preference and what colors you currently have in your kitchen. You’ll notice many appliances come in multiple color choices, so if you first see it in something you don’t like but the other areas fit make sure to check.

A really big factor is to be sure it’s going to be easy to clean and take apart. If you’re shopping in the store you want to take apart the cups and blades and look for hard to clean nooks and crannies where food could build up. If you’re shopping online, take a look at the pictures to see what you can see, make sure it’s dishwasher safe for the accessories, and browse through some online reviews to see if anyone complains that it’s hard to clean. This is an easy to overlook area that’s really important.

With all of this in mind you’ve got enough factors figured out to make some easy selections and get the right food processor for your needs.

You probably first saw this product advertised on the television in the infomercials, and because you didn’t think you could make those types of foods easily on your own at home, you were probably skeptical. The truth is that a lot of things we usually buy premade aren’t all that hard to make on our own. For instance, guacamole, sandwich spreads, hummus, pesto, shakes, sauces, tomato soup, mocha, egg nog, bean dip, egg salad, cheesecake, whipped cream, salsa–and the list goes on!

For an example, with something like salsa, all you have to do is toss in tomatoes, onions, jalapeno, lemon/lime juice, and cilantro, hold the bullet cup down for a thirty seconds or so (watch it, you don’t want to go too long) and you’re done!

In more detail, you work the bullet by loading the food into one of the cups that comes with the set, screwing the top with the blame in it on top, and then placing it onto the motorized unit, pressing down, and turning the cut to the side. That’s really all you need to do.

The bullet food processor box is a seventeen piece set. It comes with the power base, two different blades, two cups without handles, four mugs with different colored screw on lip rings, two shaker/steamer tops, two lids, and a one hundred paged Magic Bullet 10 Second Recipe book, which will give you a lot more ideas for what to make with your bullet.

A traditional food processor is going to chop, grind, slice, puree (and the list goes on), and the bullet is really not going to do everything that one of the top of the line food processors will be capable of, but for the price it’s capable of a lot. You can make smooth sauces by running the unit for slightly longer, and chunky salsas or egg salads by only running it for a few seconds. If this is what you’re looking for from a unit, then the bullet food processor is definitely a product for you to consider.

The lids and seventeen piece set make it easy for you to make something and then store it in the fridge for a few days, so you don’t have to eat it all at once. The cups are microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safe, making clean up simple, too.

Some of the fun features these come with include how to DVDs, multiple sized bowls, overall warranties and motor warranties, larger chutes for putting in ingredients, better dough kneading options, various lids for the containers, dishwasher safe parts, recipe books, accessory storage cases, reversible slicing and shredding discs, and more. Of course, note, that every one of these 14 cup food processors is different and will offer you a different combination of features. One of the big differences is that some have plastic blades and some have stainless steel, and the warranties vary on different models. For instance, some have entire warranties, some have limited, and they also vary in length both for the entire unit and for the motor.

You can find black, white, or stainless steel models fairly easily. If you see one you really like in a color you don’t, take a closer look. A lot of the bigger models come in different options, so you might be able to find it in the style you want.

Of course, the main reason you’re looking for this size is that you want something big that can handle a lot of food at once, which they can all definitely do. The ones that also have smaller bowls that come along with it are extra nice so that you can also make smaller items as side dishes without having to wash things out first. This is great for when you have parties and want to make a big meal and maybe some side dishes or dips.

If you’re worried about the size they’ll take up on your counters for something so large, take some measurements. The accessories usually come in carries that you can stash in a cupboard, and the unit itself takes up only a little more space than a smaller processor (or a blender) would take up.

The only other drawback to a unit this size is that if you’re often going to be making smaller items it might seem silly to use something so large. If this is the case for you, the models that also come with smaller bowls are really the best way to go for you, because you can use the smaller ones when you want to, but still have the option to use the larger 14 cup food processor bowls when you need to.

Because of the added functionality and the ease with which you can make large meals one of these larger models is really a great way to go.

If you can’t afford one of the full sized options, or you don’t want one taking up all your kitchen space, you may want to consider one of the smaller appliances out there. It’s important to recognize, though, that you’re not only getting something smaller, it will also have much less in terms of features and capabilities.

A full sized version would be able to slice, dice, mince, chop, grind, pure, knead doughs, and more. They have multiple blades and attachments so that they can handle all of these different functions perfectly. A mini food processor usually only has one blade. It can usually just grind or chop (depending on how long you run the appliance for). If this is all you need it to do, then that’s great! It can usually hold four cups, but you generally want to keep it below three. This is different with every device, but most will overflow if you fill them up to capacity and then run the blades. This small appliance is great for chopping up some garlic, a potato (as long as you don’t need uniform squares, this will give you more of a hash brown consistency), or making dip, hummus, salsa, or something of a similar consistency.

A lot of people who are looking at the mini food processor as an option also consider the popular magic bullet that you’ve probably seen on TV. These are great little appliances for making a lot of different things mentioned above, but in the same general price range (and often cheaper) the mini food processor option will generally work better for your needs.

When you’re shopping around for different appliances, always make sure to look at how easy they are to clean. Do all the pieces come apart easily? Is it dishwasher safe? If there are hard nooks and crannies to get in and clean, this can be a serious downside because you always want to try and keep things you prepare food with as clean as possible.

A mini food processor is a great option for grinding and chopping up food in a kitchen where you want to save space and have a handy device for taking care of some of the repetitive kitchen tasks.