The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 66

tool,andyoudon’tneedasillyinfomercialfromthe1980s
totellyouthat.
Want a pitcherful of margaritas? The regular blender’s
yourfriend.Needtomaketwoquartsofpesto?OK,pullout
the food processor. But for smaller, everyday blending
tasks,animmersionblenderisthetoolforthejob.Everget
annoyedatthoseropypiecesofeggwhiteyoucomeacross
whenbreadingfood?Blendtheeggsforafewseconds,and
they’ll be perfectly uniform and smooth.You like froth on
your hot chocolate? Heat it up in the pot and buzz it to
create a luxurious foam. Lumps in your béchamel? All
gone.Howaboutifyouwanttomakejustafewouncesof
perfectly smooth cauliflower puree or a half-cup of
mayonnaise? Yep, you can do that with an immersion
blendertoo.
TheBraunPowerMax,whichisonlyabout$30,hasbeen
performing admirably at least three times a week in my
kitchenforthepastelevenyearsnow.It’sthemostreliable
sidekick I know. Unfortunately, it’s not widely available
thesedays,asIfoundoutwhenstockingthekitchenatthe
Serious Eats World Headquarters. So there we use the
KitchenAid Immersion Blender (about $50), which works
justaswell.Youcangetitaspartofapackagethatincludes
a whisk attachment and a mini–food processor, but believe
me,thosearedustcollectorsandyoudon’tneed’em.
5.FoodProcessor
At a bare minimum, a good food processor should be able
to:


• Finelychopdryingredientslikenutsandbreadcrumbs.

In order to do this, a processor must have an easy-to-use
pulsingactionandamotorthatstopsandstartsonaturn.
•Roughlypureevegetablesforthingslikemarinades,dips,
and rustic soups (for full-on smoothness, use a regular
blender). Bowl shape, power, and blade design all affect
how well a processor can accomplish this. It should also
notleak.
• Grind meat. Short of a dedicated meat grinder or an
attachment for a stand mixer, the food processor is the
bestwaytogrindfreshmeat.Meatcanbetoughtochop,
soaverysharpbladeandpowerfulmotorarenecessary.
• Easily form emulsions when making sauces like
mayonnaise or a light vinaigrette. Bowl design can affect
thewaytheblademakescontactwithliquids.
• Knead bread dough quickly and efficiently.This is the
most-heavy-duty kitchen task of all, and the processor’s
effectivenessreliesmostlyonthepowerofthemotor.
I also like to have at least an 11- to 12-cup-capacity
processor, which makes grinding meat and making dough
mucheasier.Somemodelscomewithamini-prepbowlthat
canbeinsertedintothemainbowlforsmalltasks.Theseare
cutebutessentiallyuseless.Whateverthetinybowlcando,
I can do with a knife.That may take slightly longer, but if
youconsiderthetimeittakestowashtheblade,bowlinsert,
andlid,it’snocontest.
There’s also no use for a processor that’s going to get
gummeduporjammedeverytimeithitsahardnutorsticky
dough. Particularly prone to failure are models with a side-