Blender vs Food Processor

[mismar]

Hi-

I am beginning a diet based in raw foods, and am wondering about equipment I will need to get started. I am planning to blend up some drinks and maybe grind some nuts too. I don't have a blender so will a food processor work fine, or do I really need a commercial-grade blender (vita-mix)?

[Res]

The Vitamix is awesome. But I've managed for years with a blender and a food processor. The food processor works better for me than the regular blender so no worries there. Stick with the food processor. :)

~Res

[mismar]

Great, thanks Res for your reply. :)

[victus]

I would recommend you give careful thought to equipment if you are committed to a raw / living foods lifestyle. Granted many appliances are expensive. However, if you plan to eat this way, then the expense is an investment with savings in time and money. More importantly this can mean the difference in staying committed.

I own a Vita-Mix and a Cuisinart Food Processor. Additionally I also own two juicers: Breville (super fast for fruit, veggies, and greens) and Champion (great for "ice cream" and homogenizing pates and dehydrator recipes), a coffee grinder (seeds, nuts, herbs, spices) a great set of knives, and several other gadgets. Each has its purpose. My decision to purchase all of them (made over time of course!) centered on saving time as well as giving me flexibility and options in my food preparation and menu.

That said here is my input on blender vs. food processor:

A BLENDER...
(I'll focus on Vita-Mix) most often needs liquid in order to function. Yes, Vita-Mix suggests 34 uses for its machine, but there are limitations. I know--I've had one for 15 years now. It works best to make soups, a quick soft ice cream or sorbet, smoothies, drinks, dressings, dips, sauces, and nut milks. I have found eating a raw / living foods lifestyle limits some of its uses like grinding flour for bread or melting chocolate or cheese sauces. I also do not use it for salsas. It cleans ups fast, but is hard to control for course chopping or grinding. The reason is lack of liquid. The food near the bottom gets finely chopped or pureed, where the food higher up is course. Vita-Mix suggests dropping a few pieces of carrot or onion, etc. into the container while the blades are spinning, but it usually sticks to the sides and requires multiple scrapping--still will poor results.

FOOD PROCESSORS...
usually have multiple disks for cutting, chopping, grating, shredding, grinding, and pureeing. They excel in the first five areas, and do okay in the latter. In my opinion you can't make a great smoothie, whole fruit juice drink, dressing or nut milk in a food processor. They are also more time-consuming to clean. When it comes to mixing and grinding they are excellent.

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
Will you be preparing food for yourself or others? Food preparation for one or two can usually be done with fewer appliances. As you increase the number, you increase the prep time where appliance can help you get out of the kitchen quicker.

If you usually make small portions it is faster to just use a knife to slice, chop, mince, etc. An inexpensive hand grater also helps.

What kinds of recipes are you making? If you tend to stick to simple meals, you may not need several appliances, or can choose less expensive options and still get the job done.

How much kitchen space do you have? Will the size and number of appliance work in your kitchen?

What is your budget? You may need to start slow or opt for less expensive, not as effective, models.

I would highly recommend you check reviews for products online to get feedback on what works from a practical, user point-of-view. Consider attending some raw food potlucks and talk to people about what they use and why.

I have been on live foods for over 15 years. Over time I upgraded to better equipment and expanded the number. I usually fix food for 3-4 at a time, so the equipment saves me time and money. Many times however, the recipes only call for a small amount of something. That's when I use my knives and coffee grinder, or citrus reamer and sieve, for example.

If you are experimenting with raw foods, I would recommend using what you have and adapting recipes to work in that environment until you make a lifestyle change.

I wish you success!

[jatc]

Hey, I need some guidance and input ...

Really trying to determine where to invest the $ most wisely in equipment for the Raw Food lifestyle, and have been doing a great deal of research on options/recommendations ... however, it seems everyone has a different take on what is essential, best, worth the $, etc.

The "basics" seem to include blender, food processor, juicer (all can be expensive) ... but a Vita-Mix sounds like it would do almost of all of these functions if you just bucked up the $ for one of those, instead of expensive versions of all three of the above (blender, fprocessor, juicer) ... and the overall cost would be less ???

Plus, storing, pulling out, using and cleaning three or more counter-space-hogging appliances would be a pain ... and it seems that it would be much better just to have one major appliance that does almost everything.

For example, with a Vita-Mix, that you wouldn't necessarily need a juicer at all - since a Vita-Mix will juice the entire fruit/veggie (with the skin, if desired - which adds more nutrients, fiber, etc.). Is this correct?

Also, if you have the Vita-Mix, you have the blender (best you can have), and can even grind seeds and nuts (for which a $15 coffee grinder would also work).

It seems that if you had a Vita-Mix, you could use simple and inexpensive tools for special uses (grater, spiralizer, coffee grinder), and you really wouldn't need a food processor, in addition. (FYI - in my case, would only be preparing food for one or two people.)

I've never had or used a Vita-Mix ... so please let me know if I'm on track with this analysis ... and where best to spend the bucks on quality ...

Thanks much for any and all advice!

[Peter Glickman]

Hi Jatc, :)

Victus really had it right on the limitations of a blender/Vita-Mix.

My wife and I have a Vita-Mix, twin gear juicer and food processor. The blender/Vita-Mix makes things "smoothie-like" and does not do course chopping well. Nor is it any good at juicing. True juicing discards the pulp and allows you to drink 3 - 5 times more vegetables at one meal than you can eat. Liquifying doesn't condense like that. So, if you're liquifying for taste, that's fine. However, if you are doing it for nutrition, you'll need a dedicated juicer. Furthermore, if you are trying to reverse a degenerative disease, such as with the Hippocrates Diet, Gerson Therapy etc., the centrifugal juicers won't do it as they spin so fast they generate heat and substantially reduce enzymes.

Here are links to a comparison of the three types of juicers:

"Just the facts": http://www.hacres.com/diet/articles/Juice_Extr_Comp_2006.pdf

Long version: http://www.hacres.com/diet/articles/Juice_Extractor_Comparison.pdf

Peter 8)

[TeePee]

How about the Breville Juice Fountain Elite? Has anyone tried that one?

[vip]

I checked out a library cookbook on Raw Foods and almost every recipe requires a dehydrator. I checked the book store and the same thing there, in several books. Do I really need a dehydrator? And what should I look for in one? Any advise appreciated!

[namaste]

VIP, I made one until I could find one, (the appliance stores in Sydney dont really stock them, I had to order online). The thread is available here:

http://www.therawfoodsite.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2814

I'm still using the one I made, been too busy to get the new one out of the box and plug it in, (does that sound as ridiculous to you as it does to me?), so cant really compare the homemade one with the new one. I have absolutely no complaints about the tried and true homemade one though. Will test out the new one this weekend and let everyone know.