A food processor tends to have a much wider, flatter work bowl, which means that it is much better at getting larger amounts of food – particularly solid food – to a smaller-but-not-puree consistency. A blender, with its tall, narrow shape, would struggle to get an even consistency with non-liquid foods unless you take it all the way to slush.
Could you get by with juse one? Sure, but having the right tool makes the job easier and the results better. Blenders are the right choice for some applications – particularly liquid ones – and food processors are the right choice for solid foods.
My “food processor” is a Thermomix.
It can hold a lot more, process much harder items, and generally do a much better job than simply liquefying like a blender.
I’m unsure if this is how all food processors work, but the way the Thermomix *works* differently to a blender is through precisely angled blades, and most importantly, oscillations of the blade speed.
By oscillating the blade speed at certain levels, it can achieve a much more even chop/grate than a blender without slushing anything. The oscillations make the food crash against itself and bounce around a bit more due to the changing speed, to allow a more even process.
1. A food processor usually has more power so can “blend” or mix more for longer- mix for example a dough in a blender, it will burn out and cut the power -or fuse if it’s a cheap model and then cut your circuit if you do too much in it. Blenders are best for short sharp bursts for example, smoothies and soups but not for heavy going stuff or for any longer than a few seconds or a few minutes.
2. Food processors have more tools and can blend/chop/mix and get different texture results. Blenders tend to just do liquids or make things more liquidy (blenders can make cakes and bread mixtures and the tools mean it wont turn to liquid or puree or smoothie like with a blender)
3. Food processors can mix up more in terms of volume than blenders, generally speaking.
4. Food processors tend to have a longer life.
5. Blenders cost a lot less and are easier to clean!
Blenders are primarily for “liquids”. The blade needs liquid, whether oil, orange juice, or water, to get things spinning, usually it’s added first, then the solid stuff on top. A vita mix can make things silken smooth unlike a food pro. Example: putting eggs and oil in first to make aioli. A food processor literally chops food up, and you don’t always need liquid to get things going. Example: Parmesan cheese. Just get the blade spinning and throw pieces in.
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