-4

Should I expect that the whisking/dough-kneading abilities of a multi-purpose appliance that appears to more of a food processor, such as the following...

enter image description here

Be comparable to those of a multi-purpose appliance that appears to be more of a stand-mixer (and the other way around)? Does it just come down to the wattage of the motor, or are there other ways of evaluating which might serve the majority of uses best?

enter image description here

rackandboneman
  • 15,249
  • 3
  • 37
  • 54
ryanjdillon
  • 221
  • 1
  • 2
  • 11
  • Most ideal for *what*? Someone might be able to tell you which extensions or gadgets are important if you explain what your goals are (i.e. what kinds of meals you intend on cooking), but we don't permit shopping questions in the vein of "review this product" or "which product/brand is best". Evidently you're aware of what the attachments are and what they do, so what are you actually looking for help with? – Aaronut Jan 11 '14 at 14:46
  • 1
    I suppose I was hoping to hear things like, "the wisking abilities of food processors are an advertising gimick"/"work just well as a stand mixer meant for that sort of thing". I don't have a menu planned for the device, but I do expect to want the food processor function more often. If this is such an unpopular question, should somebody just flag it for removal? – ryanjdillon Jan 12 '14 at 16:13
  • It's not a question of popularity, it's simply [too open-ended](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/help/dont-ask). I'm suggesting how can you could potentially phrase this question to get useful answers and have it remain open. – Aaronut Jan 12 '14 at 20:38
  • 2
    @shootingstars : I'm of the opinion that the really vague title makes the edit worse overall. Maybe about the disadvantages of the all-in-one food prep appliances? – Joe Jan 13 '14 at 16:21
  • The vague title appears to have been an editing mistake on my part. – ryanjdillon Jan 15 '14 at 13:26
  • I am finally closing this question. Frankly, I don't think it can have an answer: nothing stops one manufacturer to make a device which is perfect at both whisking and cutting, and another to make something which is junk at one of them or both. And this is not correlated to shape. – rumtscho Feb 19 '14 at 18:35
  • Strongly disagree. "nothing stops one manufacturer to make a device" would be kind of a valid answer even - but if you take into account that 90% of devices that "look the same" as a popular style tend to be equal-or-worse copies of another with some randomness thrown in, if you say a "typical model in form factor XY is gonna suck at kneading and a typical model in form factor AB is gonna knead at sucking" you will usually be right. – rackandboneman Apr 19 '17 at 13:31

1 Answers1

5

Your ideal multipurpose appliance is a set of four items:

  • A paring knife
  • A chef's knife
  • A bread knife
  • A food mill

With skill and these four items, you can perform nearly any kitchen task, with greater precision and accuracy than the expensive electrics. They also take very little space. It takes practice, and is more work, but I went years before I had a food processor or other electric.

Truthfully, this question cannot be answered directly. Every device has its strengths and weaknesses, and is ideal for different tasks.

See also:

Blender vs food processor vs juicer

Community
  • 1
SAJ14SAJ
  • 72,735
  • 13
  • 153
  • 231
  • Food mill is definitely a good suggestion. I had a food processor once and loved it, then broke it. I've been missing it lately, and thought I might figure out the most I could get out of a device if I did add one to the kitchen. Thanks! – ryanjdillon Jan 12 '14 at 16:15