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Product Help | KitchenAid

Food Processor Tips

Preparing Food with KitchenAid Food Processor:

Long and small diameter foods: To slice or shred fruits or vegetables such as carrots and bananas:

  • Cut food to fit feed tube vertically and pack feed tube securely to keep food positioned properly.
  • Process using even pressure with the food pusher. Or use the small feed tube in the two-piece food pusher.
  • Position food vertically in the tube and use the small food pusher to process food.

Slice or shred tall items.jpg


Round foods:  to slice or shred fruits and vegetables such as onions, and apples:

  • Peel, core, and remove seeds.
  • Cut in halves or quarters to fit feed tube.
  • Position in feed tube. Process using even pressure with the food pusher.

To slice or shred fruits and vegetables that are small:

  • Position food vertically or horizontally in layers within the feed tube. Fill feed tube in order to keep food positioned properly.
  • Process using even pressure with the food pusher. Or use the small feed tube in the two-piece food pusher.
  • Position food vertically in the tube and use the small food pusher to process food.

To slice cooked meat or poultry, such as pepperoni:

  • Food should be very cold.
  • Cut in pieces to fit the feed tube.
  • Process food using firm, even pressure with the food pusher.

To slice uncooked meat or poultry,such as stir-fry meats:

Cut or roll food to fit feed tube. Wrap and freeze food until hard to the touch, 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on thickness of food. Check to be sure you can still pierce food with the tip of a sharp knife. If not, allow to thaw slightly. Process using even pressure with the food pusher.

To shred spinach and other leaves:

  • Stack leaves. Roll up and stand up in the feed tube.
  • Process using even pressure with the food pusher.

Spinach leaves.jpg

Shredding firm or soft cheese:

Shredding disc.jpg

  • Firm cheese should be very cold.
  • For best results, thoroughly freeze soft cheeses, such as mozzarella, before processing.
  • This may take several hours to achieve proper firmness for the best processing.

Additional hints:

  • To avoid damage to the blade or motor, do not process food that is so hard or firmly frozen that it cannot be pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.
  • If a piece of hard food, such as a carrot, becomes wedged or stuck on the blade, stop the mixer and remove the blade. Gently remove food from the blade.
  • Position slicing discs so the cutting surface is just to the right of the feed tube. This allows the blade a full rotation before contacting the food.
  • To capitalize on the speed of the processor, drop ingredients to be chopped through the feed tube while the food processor is running.
  • Soft and medium-hard cheese may spread out or roll up on the shredding disc. To avoid this, shred only well-chilled cheese.
  • A few larger pieces of food may remain on top of the disc after slicing or shredding.
    • If desired, cut these by hand and add to mixture.
  • Slender foods, such as carrots or celery,  may fall over in the feed tube, resulting in an uneven slice.
    • To minimize this, cut food in several pieces and pack the feed tube with the food.
    • The smaller tube in the 2-piece food pusher should be used for slender single items.
  • For best results, cut a small amount off the end to create a flat surface when processing a single carrot or celery stalk.

Carrot.jpeg

 

  • Different foods require varying degrees of pressure and speed for optimal results.
    • In general, use light pressure and low speed for soft, delicate foods (soft fruits and vegetables like kiwi, ripened tomatoes, soft cheeses), and firmer pressure with high speed for harder foods (hard vegetables like potatoes and carrots, hard cheeses and meats like pepperoni).
  • After removing the lid, place it upside down on the counter. This will help keep the counter clean.
  • Do not overfill work bowl. For thin mixtures, fill work bowl up to 1/2 to 2/3 full. For thicker mixtures, fill work bowl up to 3/4 full. For liquids, the work bowl should be no more than 2/3 full. When chopping, the work bowl should be no more than 1/3 to 1/2 full.
  • When preparing a cake or cookie batter or quick bread, use the multipurpose blade to cream fat and sugar first. Add dry ingredients last. Place nuts and fruit on top of flour mixture to prevent overchopping. Process nuts and fruits, using short pulses, until blended with other ingredients. Do not overprocess.
  • When shredded or sliced food piles up on one side of the bowl, stop the processor and redistribute the food using a spatula.

Not suited to:

  • Grind coffee beans, grains, or hard spices
  • Grind bones or other inedible parts of food
  • Liquefy raw fruits or vegetables
  • Slice hard-cooked eggs or unchilled meats

Removing stains:

If any plastic parts should discolor due to the types of food processed, clean them with lemon juice.

Quickly rinse the liner between foods to eliminate the cross-contamination of foods.

If you would like to download or view product literature for your appliance, please visit our Manuals and Literature page.

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