Food processors are some of the most commonly found kitchen gadgets in many homes of our country and the world. While there are many brands that come with varying designs and builds, there are various aspects about food processors that remain constant across the board, not matter the make or build of your gadget. Understanding each part is important as it allows you to know what goes where and how exactly it can be used, cleaned and stored. So, what are the main parts of a food processor?
No matter what make it is or what design it has, you can expect a standard food processor to have a motor base that houses the motor, a work bowl where the food processes take place, a blade base where the blades and discs are attached, a lid and feeding chute where the food goes through, a pusher and controls. This is ideally what you can expect a regular food processor to have to be able to function as it should.
Below is a step-by step breakdown of the main parts of a food processor and what they are made to do.
Parts of a Food Processor
Motor base
The motor base is easily the heaviest part of a food processor. It is tasked with housing the motor and supporting the work bowl and other upper parts. The motor in the motor base is the part responsible for providing the power needed to perform multiple functions. Without the motor, it becomes impossible to accomplish any tsk on your food processor. Apart from the motor, the base also houses other electronic components of the food processor.
Work bowl
The work bowl is the part of the food processor that houses all your ingredients as they are worked on. The size is largely dependent on the make of the food processor, but many are made to handle 6 to 8 cups at a go. The average food processor bowl is transparent, allowing you to see the food as it gets processed. Several food processor brands install a handle on the work bowl.
Blades
The blades on a food processor are essentially the ones designed to handle all types of chopping. Depending on the make of the food processor, you may have a choice of several blades that ideally work on different types of foods. Some blades are made to handle soft fruits and vegetables, while yet others are made strong enough to deal with hard roots, stems, fruits and vegetables, and also chopping raw foods. Depending on how strong your food processor is, some chopping blades are also able to mince different types of meat.
Discs
These work just like blades, but they are usually installed at the top of the blade holder, allowing the processed food to collect in the work bowl. There many types of discs, but the two main types are slicing discs and shredding discs. The slicing discs are made to handle whole fruits and vegetables, and it rotates to make a cross sectional slice of the said fruit or vegetables. The shredding disc comes with the capacity to grate different types of food such as carrots, potatoes and cheese.
Motor Spindle (Blade Holder)
This part of the food processor is responsible for holding the blades and discs used in processing your food. It is built and designed to hold the blades and discs at different heights since the two are made to operate at different points in the food processor’s work bowl.
Lid and chute
The lid is made to cover the work bowl as the food inside is processed. Often time, a food processor’s lid comes with a feeding chute that allows you to feed the food you need processed into the food processor. The chute’s diameter often varies based on the type of food processor you have. Some are wide enough to accommodate whole fruits and vegetables, but some are pretty slender, requiring you to slice your foods before they go into the food processor.
Inserts
Apart from the blades and discs that are used to process your foods, several food processor types come with inserts that essentially get attached to the motor spindle to handle different tasks. Some food processor inserts include graters, chopper, slicers and shredders. You will find that these are smaller than blades and discs, and are made to handle smaller food processing jobs.
Citrus press
Some food processor brands also come with a citrus press that proves essential in pressing citrus fruits such as oranges, lemon, grapefruit and others for their juice.
Food processor jar
This component is different from the work bowl and is largely designed to handle liquids. You can blend fruits and puree cooked foods, and it also comes in handy when making soups and gravies that need processing. You can also use it to make crush ice cubes into snow.
Wet and Dry Grinding jars
These are used to accomplish grinding exercises. You can be able to grind coffee beans and to make flour from grains such as wheat and semolina in the dry grinding jar, and to grind soaked rice and other similar foods in the wet grinding jar.
Control panel
On the control panel, you will have access to multiple settings that allow you to change the function, speed, mode and power parameters.
Kneading attachment
Apart from blades, discs and other cutting attachments, some food processors come with a kneading attachment that allows you to make bread and other types of dough.
Power cord
This part of the food processor is responsible for transferring power from the outlet to the food processor for optimal functioning.
The 4 main parts of a food processor and their functions
Food Processor Part | Function |
|---|---|
Motor base | Holds the motor and electric components |
Work bowl | Holds the blades and accommodates processed food |
Blades and discs | Conduct the food processing functions |
Lid and chute | Cover the food processor, feed food into the work bowl |
Conclusion
Even though there are many food processor makes and designs, there are standard parts and they have the same function across the board. When purchasing one, be sure to find out what extra parts it comes with, and whether or not these parts will allow you to handle as many functions as you need to.
