The 10 Best Mini Food Processors

Go Big Or Go Home?

A big food processor is often a chore to clean, whereas washing a mini feels like less work.

Cut Vegetables, Not Corners

It turns out that there is a surprising number of ways to cut food, depending on the combination of shape, size, and consistency you'd like to achieve. For a successful meal, it's important that you pay attention to this type of kitchen vocabulary, as various cuts can completely change your finished recipe. Fortunately, the differences are easy enough to learn.

Not every mini food processor can grind, since this requires ultra-tough blades and a fast speed.

When you purée something, you blend it until it becomes a creamy near-liquid (think baby food). Generally, you'll start with cooked fruits or vegetables for puréeing, using a high setting to achieve the power needed. If you've never attempted a purée, you might try it with cauliflower, which makes a filling — but not too heavy — side dish.

Similar to puréeing (because of the speed and power) is grinding, although you generally grind hard, dry ingredients, such as coffee or spices, to make a powder. Not every mini food processor can grind, since this requires ultra-tough blades and a fast speed.

Mincing is a term many are familiar with, as in "mince some garlic," which simply means to process the food until it's in very small, uniform pieces. You need to have a light hand when mincing in a mini processor, because if you keep it running too long, you'll create mush. Expect your successfully minced ingredients to mix uniformly into a recipe, such as when you stir fresh ginger into a sauce.

Dicing is one step up in size after mincing; you still need uniform pieces, but they can be a little larger, measuring about a quarter of an inch on each side. To achieve this, it's often helpful to turn the food processor on and off in short bursts, unless the machine has a pulsing feature. Diced foods add a little more texture to a recipe than minced ingredients.

Stepping up in size again, you'll find chopping, which creates bite-sized portions rather than smaller bits for seasoning. For instance, you might add chopped broccoli or zucchini to a casserole. It's still important to make the pieces even, though, so they cook evenly.

Cleaning Tips

Most mini food processors are easy enough to clean, but we have a few tips to make this annoying task go even more smoothly. After all, the point is to eat and relax, not spend half the day doing dishes.

One way you can save yourself a little hassle is by filling the container halfway with warm water when you've finished using it. Then, add a tiny squirt of dishwashing liquid and run the processor for just a bit. This will make rinsing it a breeze, since you've effectively already half washed it.

Finally, don't forget to wipe down the actual machine from time to time.

If you were in a hurry and didn't rinse the machine well the last time you used it, you might find that the food has become stubbornly stuck. You can soak it, but you might also want to try a soft, flexible bottle brush, which gets into odd crevices better than a typical dishwashing bush.

To extend the life of the blades, avoid putting them in the dishwasher or scrubbing them with rough pads. Use a mild detergent and dry them as soon as you're done washing them; ideally, you'll complete this step as soon as you're finished using the processor, although in real life, this isn't always possible.

Finally, don't forget to wipe down the actual machine from time to time. Small splatters can create a type of crusty coating, which is unappealing, to say the least. Use a soft, damp cloth, being sure to rinse it frequently. Soap most likely isn't necessary, but for extra freshness, you can use a mixture of vinegar and water. For stubborn stains, you might try a baking soda and vinegar paste.

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