The Great Debate: Food Processors vs. Blenders

In the world of kitchen appliances, food processors and blenders often find themselves at the centre of debate. Which is the better one to have? Which one is worth investing in more? Will a blender or food processor meet most of my home cooking needs?  While both are essential for different cooking tasks, understanding their unique functions can help streamline your kitchen and elevate your culinary creations. Let’s break down the key differences and use cases to help you decide which appliance you need—or if both deserve a spot on your kitchen counter.

Understanding the Basics

Food Processors

Food processors are culinary workhorses designed to handle a variety of tasks. These versatile machines are perfect for finely getting both hard and soft ingredients into shapes and sizes that are required for your recipe. Food processors can offer a variety of tasks such as:

• Chopping and Slicing: With attachments like a chopping knife blade or reversible slicing/grating disc, food processors can finely chop or slice both soft and hard foods.
• Grating and Dicing: Perfect for preparing vegetables like carrots and potatoes.
• Kneading Dough: Ideal for quickly creating pizza dough or bread without the elbow grease.
• Whisking and Blending: From whipping cream to blending batters, a good food processor can be your best friend in the kitchen.

A Food Processor We Love: 

Kenwood’s MultiPro Go Food Processor (FDP22130GY) is a compact yet mighty food processor offering food prep versatility with its range of attachments including a Chopping knife blade, Reversible 4mm Slicing/Grating Disc and 360° Express serve™ that lets you slice or grate directly into your bowl or pan.

Blenders

Blenders, on the other hand, are all about consistency and smoothness. They’re typically known and used for easily blending soft ingredients together to make smoothies, soups, purees, baby food, sauce and dips. Blenders excel at:

• Smoothies and Milkshakes: Perfect for blending soft ingredients like bananas, berries, and yoghurt.
• Purees and Soups: Fantastic for creating creamy soups and purees.
• Sauces and Dips: Ideal for making smooth hummus or pesto.

A Blender We Love: 

Sunbeam’s Two-Way Blender (PB8080K) features a unique two-way blade system, ensuring a smooth and consistent result every time. With three pre-programmed functions, this blender is great for quick blending tasks like making smoothies or salsas.

Food Processor or Blender: Choosing the Right Appliance

Versatility and Capacity

If you’re looking for an appliance that can handle various tasks from chopping to kneading, a food processor is your best bet. For instance, KitchenAid’s 13 Cup Food Processor (5KFP1319AER ) not only offers a huge 13-cup capacity with a range of functions to meet any food prep need, it also  includes the Exact Slice™ knob for precision thickness adjustment. With functions like Chop, Shred, Precision Slice, Dice, Knead and Mix, this food processor is perfect for home cooks and entertainers.

Consistency and Smoothness

For those who love a perfectly smooth beverage or soup, a blender is essential. The design and functionality of blenders make them ideal for achieving that silky texture in next to no time. Blenders are designed to deliver fuss-free operation – just add all your ingredients into the blender jug and blend!

Niche Needs 

For people  with specialised culinary needs, such as bakers and bread makers, selecting the right kitchen appliance can significantly enhance their toolkit. While traditional blenders are excellent for producing silky smooth textures, they may not cater to the specific mixing and kneading needs of bakers. Kenwood’s QuickMix+ Hand Mixer (HMP50000BK) stands out as an ideal choice. This hand mixer is designed with the QuickMix+ function and pulse setting that makes light work of any folding, whisking and mixing. The included Stainless Steel Beaters and Kneaders are durable and provide greater versatility so bakers can go from whisking eggs to mixing cake mix or pizza dough.

Food Processor or Blender: Which One Is The Winner?

There is no winner, both food processors and blenders are amazing at what they do! If you love experimenting with a wide range of recipes, investing in both might be worthwhile. However, if your primary focus is on one type of preparation more than the other, choosing the right tool can save you both time and counter space. The right appliance to get your hands on ultimately depends on your lifestyle, usage and needs.

Food processors: they’re perfect for cooks often cutting or turning both soft and hard ingredients into smaller pieces for cooking or other meal prep activities. Food processors are also ideal for kneading dough, removing the need to manually knead.

Blenders: suitable for lightweight mixing and blender of softer ingredients for a range of dishes like soups, sauces, dips and smoothies. Blenders offer less variety of functions and are great for quick blending and mixing.

Not sure which appliance is right for you? Explore the detailed specs and real consumer reviews of each model below to find the perfect addition to your kitchen!