When you purchase a food processor, you'll be forgiven if you toss the extra parts in the box and are left with the standard blade, bowl, and lid. However, you may be missing a lot.
While you can do a lot with the standard blades of food processors, you can do a lot more if you use the various blades in the box.
A food processor is an essential part of your kitchen equipment during food preparation. It can be a versatile tool that will help you perform various tasks.
For instance, one food processor can help you grind meat, knead dough (check out this review), puree soups, and a lot more with the correct attachments. Most food processors come with a small footprint, making it possible to fit them even in a compact kitchen. They also come with easy-to-follow instructions, making it possible for even new employees to use them.
What are the different types of food processor blades, and what do they do?
Types of Blades for Food Processors
There are various types of blades for food processors that perform various tasks. Such blades include:
S-Shaped Blade
An S-Shaped blade is also referred to as a Sabatier blade. It is the standard blade that you will most likely use for various tasks in the kitchen.
The Sabatier blade is best suited for general purposes used in the kitchen, including churning out pesto, hummus, and nut butter.
When the food processor is on the pulse, an S-Shaped blade will mix and chop. If the device is on continuously, the Sabatier blade will blend and chop.
The S-Shaped blades are the most versatile blades for food processors as they are used for various purposes, including chopping, grinding, slicing, grating, etc.
French Fry Blades (Crimping Blades)
Although french fries are some of the most common types of foods in the United States, making them at home can prove to be quite a task.
Potatoes may be quite hard to cut, and they can also be time-consuming if you are cooking for a large family. As such, a food processor with french fry blades comes in quite handy.
The crimping blades help you to make thin or thick french fry shapes. The blades also reduce the amount of time you'd take to cut the french fries into shapes by hand.
Additionally, you can use the french fry blades for shredding and slicing up vegetables for vegetable pasta or Asian dishes.
Shredding Disc
A shredding disc, also known as a grating disc (see 'Best Food Processors for Grating Cheese' review), sits on the top of the food processor's bowl rather than inside it.
The bowl has a feed tube on top of the lid. You put food in the bowl through the feeding tube, and it hits the shredding disc first, which shreds it before settling in the bowl.
You can use the shredding disc to shred cabbage for slaw, carrots for carrot cake, and broccoli for a crunchy salad.
Plastic Dough Blade
As mentioned earlier, you can use the Sabatier blade to make dough. However, a plastic dough blade is superior and will do a better job of kneading the dough.
The blades are usually plastic and have fewer curved paddles. This enables them to do a better job of kneading dough rather than cutting through it.
You can use the blades to make pasta dough or focaccia.
Slicing Disc
A slicing disc is similar to a shredding blade as it sits on top of the food processor's bowl rather than in it. They are the perfect choice for slicing up fruits and vegetables.
When you put the food through the feeding tube, the slicing blades help to cut it into thin and flat stripes in a few seconds. For instance, you can use the blades to slice Brussels sprouts to make shaved salads.
Perforated Blades
If you wish to make liquid-based dishes such as pesto, sauces, and hummus, perforated blades will do the best job.
The perforated blades will help you grind vegetables, fruits, and other types of foods and break them into a liquid form.
If you wish to make a new cocktail sauce, perforated blades are an excellent pick for the job.
Dicing Blades
If you don't feel like dicing your vegetables and fruits by hand, you can use your food processor to do it.
The dicing blades mostly come in a set of two, and they help in creating dice-style cuts and patterns (see our top food processor picks for dicing).
If you want some precise dice that are easy to make and even, the dicing blades will do the trick.
You can use them to make diced fruit for a fruit salad. You can also use them to dice vegetables for stews, snacks, soups, etc.
Whipping Disc Blades
Whipping disc blades come in handy in creating textures, dessert bases, and sauces. If you want to bake a cake or a pie and you need to whip some cream, the whipping disc blades are an excellent choice.
The whipping disc blades also come in handy if you want to make homemade sauces, pesto, or butter. The best thing about whipping disc blades is that you can use them to cut your preparation time significantly. They also save you from the hand and wrist strain that comes from trying to whip thick liquids and bases manually.
Brunoise Blades
Brunoise blades come in handy if you want to make small dices that you can apply to pasta, salads, and soups.
The brunoise blades are the best bet if you prefer to have your fruits and vegetables in the smallest size possible.
Additionally, you can use the brunoise blades to make small bouillon cubes for various dishes, including rice, stew, or chilli.
Note, the Brunoise blades may not come with your ordinary food processor. As such, you may have to search for food processors that specifically have the blades or have attachments that you can buy them separately.
Gaufrette Blades (Waffle Blades)
Are you a potato fan? If so, the Gaufrette blades are the perfect pick for you. These blades are excellent at creating slices of potato, waffle fries, and other types of garnishes and sides.
These types of blades may not come with a standard food processor. You may have to look for a food processor with blades or an attachment that allows you to use them.
Julienne Blades
Julienne blades resemble small snake teeth. They have pointy, razor-sharp edges that are perfect for making straw-like cuts.
Julienne blades are an excellent pick if you wish to make vegetable sticks, homemade hash browns, or garnishes.
You can also use Julienne blades in making non-cook squash pasta recipes.
Serrated Blades
Do you have frozen products or meat that you want to slice in your food processor? If so, serrated blades are the way to go.
Additionally, you can use them for chopping vegetables of all sizes and pureeing them. They are also a great choice if you want to create nut butter.
What's more?
If you want to make small batches of minced meat to use in broths or soups, serrated blades will help you get the job done.
How Do You Clean Food Processor Blades?
Cleaning food processor blades is a simple and straightforward task. Ensure you don't use any abrasive materials on your blades to protect them from corrosion that would lead to rusting.
If you want to have an easy time cleaning the food processor blades, ensure you rinse them immediately after use to prevent foods from drying on them.
Sometimes, you may not reach the middle of the blades using your sponge or scrubbing pad. In such instances, it would be best to use a disposable toothbrush or a small bristle brush in between the blades. You can also try to use a water bottle brush.
If the blades have stubborn stains or odours, it will help if you try out a homemade solution to remove the stains.
You should start by putting the blades in a big bowl. Add a tablespoon of baking soda and leave the blades to soak for about 5-10 minutes. After that, use warm and soapy water to clean the blades thoroughly. Ensure you get rid of all the stains and odours.
Next, buff the food processor blades using a dry cloth and then keep them aside to dry. You can use a regular cleaning sponge or a textured scrubber to clean the food processor blades.
You should be careful as you clean the blades to ensure you don't hurt yourself. It would be best to clean with your hands outside the dishwasher to ensure you can see everything that's happening.
The blades are dishwasher safe. As such, you can throw them in the dishwasher to clean them automatically, or you can clean them manually.
Additionally, ensure you use mild detergents as you clean. Strong detergents may wear down the plastic that surrounds the food processor blades.
You should also avoid putting the blades in very hot water as the heat may cause the plastic to melt. After cleaning the blades, it would be best to place them on top of the rack.
Final Thoughts
A food processor is a vital kitchen appliance. It helps to simplify most of the food preparation tasks in the kitchen, saving you time. Kitchen appliances come with various blades to perform different tasks. Above is a list of the different blades, their purpose and how you can clean them after using them.