Just looking at a food processor and a blender side-by-side, they do seem a little similar. Each machine has a motorized base, a few settings, rotating blades, and a main container. Yes, they look very similar.
Are food processors and blenders the same? the short answer is no, food processors and blenders are not the same. They are also not interchangeable. If you are debating which appliance is right for you, this is an article you need to read. Today I am going to tell you all about food processors and blenders, and why they are not the same.
Some people prefer having a food processor and a blender, separating the two tasks. But sometimes you can purchase equipment that works as both. However, before you make any decisions, you really need to know the difference between a food processor and a blender, and what each unit can bring to your kitchen.
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What is the Difference Between a Blender and Food Processor?
The main difference between a food processor and a blender is what they are designed to do. They may look and function almost the same, but their purpose is different. Food processors are specially designed to prepare food. They work with dry grains, doughs, and other types of raw food to pulverize, mix, and process. You wouldn’t want to make a smoothie in a food processor.
You see, food processors use special blades and special functions to mix dry ingredients for cooking. Blenders are kind of the opposite. They are used for making wet food from veggies, fruits, and other standard ingredients. Especially liquids! The big difference between a blender and a food processor is liquid and dry.
Basically, if you are dealing with dry ingredients, you want to use a food processor. If you are dealing with wet ingredients, you want to use a blender. A blender spins in such a way that it sucks ingredients into its blades to shred them into a liquid. The food processor works the opposite way, pushing ingredients away from the blades to mix rather than shred.
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Food Processor Basics
A food processor lets you prepare lots of different kinds of food. It can chop and shred, it can make batter and dough, and it can handle lots of other tasks that would normally take you a very long time to complete. A food processor has a motor base, a main container, removable blades, and a lid – yes, the exact same as a blender.
The big difference is that a food processor’s main container is typically very large and wide to accommodate larger amounts of food. Food processors also come with a special feeding chute so that you can slowly add ingredients while mixing your recipe. This allows you to perfect dough and batter without getting your hands dirty.
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Food processors also come with an assortment of blade attachments for different types of jobs, whereas a blender only usually comes with one set of blades. With a food processor, you can use different blades to shred, grate, chop, mix, and slice. You can get dull blades or sharp blades, and you can tweak the speed settings to get the desired consistency with your recipes.
You can even get bowl inserts so that you can work on several different tasks using the same machine, by mixing ingredients in different compartments. A legitimate food processor is irreplaceable as an appliance.
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Blender Basics
Blenders are built the same as food processors. They have a motor, a main container, and a set of blades. But blenders are a lot simpler. They have variable speed controls so that you can blend lightly or quickly. This will allow you to change the texture of whatever you are mixing.
And while some blenders are advertised as great food processors, they just don’t work the same. A blender is primarily used for mixing liquid. You can puree fruits and vegetables to make smoothies and soups. You can make baby food, frozen desserts, iced drinks, summer treats, and all kinds of other liquid-type recipes. You can even make ice cream and apple sauce in your blender.
A blender’s container is typically tall and thin to accommodate swirling liquids. The blades blend together your liquid and solid ingredients to create a moving vortex that ensures everything gets blended into a liquid paste. If you’re into healthy living and want to drink green smoothies or protein shakes every day, a blender is what you need.
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Is a Food Processor or Blender Better?
Neither machine is better than the other. It’s just a matter of what tasks can be accomplished. If you are looking to expand your horizons and the kitchen by purchasing some new appliances, you might want to think long and hard about what kind of recipes you will be tackling.
For example, a food processor is not able to make soups, smoothies, or other pureed recipes like sauces, dressings, salsas, and iced beverages. On that same note, a blender is unable to chop or mince vegetables, it can’t really mix dough, and it’s not very good at shredding cheese. Also, making nut butter in a blender is possible but extremely messy.
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Are Food Processors and Blenders the Same: Final Thoughts
If you are still not sure which machine is best for you, I suggest picking up a combination of both. You can indeed purchase a blender that doubles as a food processor. Vitamix blenders specifically are very good at processing food, and you can purchase accessories that turn a Vitamix blender into a food processor.
This is really the only way to get the best of both worlds. If you purchase a blender and the dry grains bowl accessory with the special blade system for food processing, you can simply switch containers and blades and turn your blender into a food processor.
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The only downside to this method is that it will be expensive. You need to get a quality blender with a seriously strong motor if you want to convert it into a food processor. Most blenders are not designed to run for long periods of time because the motor will overheat. However, food processors can run for ages without overheating because that’s what they are designed to do.
This article has answered the question: are food processors and blenders the same? You should now know which one you should get, depending on your needs. At the end of the day, you will need to use your discretion. Check different units online and see what fits your budget.