Is a food processor worth it?

A Cuisinart food processor (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Someone on Quora recently asked whether a food processor was worth the expense, loss of counter space and hassle to clean. They wanted to know what the benefits of owning one were. Most of the answers were negative on food processors, but since I have owned one for years and use it frequently, I wanted to offer another perspective. Here is my response.

One person’s essential tool is another person’s waste of space. For instance, I got rid of my microwave and don’t miss it at all, but many cooks would not be without one. I do use my food processor frequently, so if you are actually going to invest in one to use on a regular basis, I don’t think it’s a waste of time and money. Here are the things I use my food processor for:

• chopping, shredding, slicing or julienning large quantities of vegetables
• purees: sauces, dips, spreads, hummus, sorbet mix, etc.
• chopping nuts and making nut butters
• making pesto and other herb purees
• shredding cheese
• grinding stale bread for breadcrumbs
• making dough

If you plan to make all of these things on a regular basis, you would probably find a food processor useful. I don’t find my food processor difficult to clean, but maybe because I use it so frequently, I am just practiced at it.

However, if you are only doing some chopping and pureeing, and not in great quantities, you could probably substitute a stick blender for a food processor (make sure to get one with a chopping attachment). I use my stick blender for making smoothies, mayonnaise and salad dressings, chopping small quantities of nuts and herbs, and pureeing soups in the pot. You will not be able to shred a block of cheese or chop a whole cabbage with this tool though.

If you are a baker, you could probably substitute a stand mixer. It will also take up a lot of counter space, it is also expensive, but it may be worth it if that is primarily what you want to do.

The point is: identify what you most want to do in the kitchen and buy the tool that you think will help. If you don’t see yourself using it several times a week, don’t buy it.

As a side note, I recently reorganized my kitchen and relocated my food processor, along with other electrical tools, to a large cabinet. When I want to use it, I just pull it out and place it on the counter above. This has freed up counter space and helps keep appliances clean between uses.

How to Improve Your Cooking Skills and Knowledge

I originally posted this in response to a question on Quora: How can someone who enjoys cooking improve their skills and knowledge? I am a self-taught cook, and these are the practices that best helped me.

First, focus. Food is a very broad area, but it’s hard to be very good and very broad at the same time. Stick to ingredients that you like and want to eat. The same idea applies to cuisines. At home, I primarily cook Italian, French and American cuisines. The ingredients are familiar to me, the dishes are both classic and delicious, and my family enjoys them. When we want authentic Mexican or Japanese or Thai, we go out to eat. However, if you really enjoy one of these cuisines, specialize in that. Any of them will be an enjoyable challenge.

Next, identify dishes that you like and then cook them over and over. I like to pick a recipe — spaghetti carbonara, for instance — and try its variations from different cookbooks. Over time, I get to know what I like and what techniques are most effective. I also gradually memorize the recipe as I cook it over and over. Once the recipe is ingrained, you can start to play with variations.

As you are cooking, practice using your senses of taste, touch, smell and sight for seasoning food and determining when it’s done. Seasoning is the most critical way to build flavor, especially salting appropriately, but it’s difficult to learn how to season from recipes. Most recipes simply advise to salt to taste. I follow Alice Waters‘s advice and taste my food frequently, both before adding any seasoning and afterward, to see how the flavors change and deepen. Over time, you learn when a dish requires more seasoning and what seasoning to use to best augment the flavors of the dish. Whenever a new component is added to the dish, it’s time to taste again to see how the flavors have changed and if additional seasoning is required. This is really only something you can learn through practice. (I use my son’s old baby spoons for tasting spoons; they work very well.)

Another thing to practice is looking at, smelling and, in some cases, touching your food to determine when it’s done or when it’s time to add other ingredients. Don’t rely on recipe cooking times, as they aren’t calibrated to your stove, ingredients or tastes. The best recipes tell you what the food should look like when it’s ready. Should the onions be translucent, golden or deeply browned, for instance? What does the steak feel like when it’s cooked to your liking? After doing this for a while, you will only need the oven timer as a backup for your own sensory input.

Finally, keep notes. I keep a notebook of my favorite recipes, important techniques and basics I want to remember, and variations I like. I also use a website (Cookbooker) to note which recipes I’ve tried from my cookbooks and what I thought of them. I like the website for this purpose because I can easily search it, but a notebook or card file would also work.

And remember, when it comes to cooking, there’s always something new you can learn. If you find yourself getting bored or getting into a rut, stretch yourself by learning a new dish or technique.

One last tip: I benefited immensely from taking a knife skills class and investing in some good knives.

Some Ideas for Leftovers

I originally posted this list on Quora, in response to the question, What are the best dishes made from leftovers? Please offer additional ideas in the comments, as I’m always looking for creative ways to use up leftovers.

Some ideas for leftovers:

If you have leftover mashed potatoes, make potato cakes for breakfast. Combine potatoes with an egg for binder, cheese, herbs, some onion and bread crumbs. If you have leftover cooked salmon, flake it and mix it in. Form into patties and pan fry in a little oil. Delicious with poached eggs.

Similarly, turn leftover risotto into risotto cakes.

Many leftover cooked veggies can be turned into a healthy vegetable spread for lunch the next day. Puree with some olive oil, maybe some Parmesan cheese and whatever seasonings you like. (The process is similar to making pesto.) Spread on a sandwich or use for a dip.

If you have a small amount of leftover casserole, stew or grain dishes, make them into a meal by reheating, topping with a fried egg and grating some hard cheese over all. Particularly good with leftover ratatouille or polenta.

Refried beans are a tasty way to use up leftover beans. Saute the beans with onion, garlic, chili powder or other seasoning. Add tomatoes, chiles, cheese, sour cream as you like. Roll into a tortilla or top with a fried egg, or both for an excellent breakfast burrito.

Frittatas are perfect for using up leftover vegetables and meat. In an ovenproof skillet, reheat the leftovers first, then pour beaten egg over all. Grate on some cheese if you like. Let the egg set on the bottom, lifting the edges and letting egg run underneath. Once it’s almost set, move it under the broiler to finish cooking. You can even use leftover pasta this way to make a pasta frittata.

Finally, if you just have a small amount of this and that to use up, add the leftovers to a soup or salad.