Food Processors

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Barry
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Food Processors

Post by Barry »

Any thoughts on the Breville Sous Chef or the MagiMix?
ShadowsDad
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Re: Food Processors

Post by ShadowsDad »

I'd check Americas Test Kitchen, but I can't remember them getting memorable reviews. If they were winners I'd remember that.
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
Barry
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Re: Food Processors

Post by Barry »

ShadowsDad wrote:I'd check Americas Test Kitchen, but I can't remember them getting memorable reviews. If they were winners I'd remember that.
I heard back from a friend of mine who is an excellent cook. I'm going to get the Cuisinart 14cup. IT's $200 less than those other two.
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Squire
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Re: Food Processors

Post by Squire »

I'm reminded of a comment by a retired chef who served in the White House and didn't allow the use of any contraptions like a food processor. When asked what he did use he said, "kitchen knives and my own two hands".

Don't recall the guy's name, believe here was there during the Nixon, Ford, Carter and early Regan years.
Regards,
Squire
ShadowsDad
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Re: Food Processors

Post by ShadowsDad »

Squire, That works and is many times faster than bringing out the machine for small jobs.

Barry, I'm going to give some information, do with it what you want. Bear with me I'll get to the meat in a bit.

A few years ago I was given a Kitchen Aid mixer. I used it for a month and then it pooped itself. I sent it back to KA for repairs and they had it all down like a military operation. Over $100 later it was returned in working order. I realized that it wasn't going to work for me and began looking for a new mixer.

Long story made short I ultimately bought an Ankarsrum Assistent (not misspelled). I used it for a time for mixing only and realized how good it was so then began ordering it's attachments that actually make it an assistant in the kitchen. Since getting it I haven't touched our Cuisinart. My wife always hated cleaning it, especially the lid. It simply can't get clean. But not the Assistent does everything that the Cuisinart did and cleanup is super easy.

The Assistent is continuous discharge, not fill the bowl and dump. There are some jobs that I use it for where the continuous operation is a huge plus. The Assistent is expensive but if it'll be used, and you need a mixer, it might be worth looking into. I don't know if I'd have bought it just to get the attachments. But since I make so much of our bread I have never once regretted the purchase. Americas Test Kitchen hates it, but that's because they don't know how to use it and (I think) they use it like a KA mixer. I have offered to drive down and show them how to use it. So far that offer hasn't been accepted.

Gotta run.
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
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kaptain_zero
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Re: Food Processors

Post by kaptain_zero »

I'll second the comments on the KA. I went with a Bosch Universal around 15 years ago. The stock bowl with beaters will whip a single egg white into stiff foam. I can also mix enough dough in the same bowl for 8 1.5lb loaves of bread. Our oven could only bake 6 x 1.5lb loaves of bread at a time, and that amount was a breeze to kneed in the Bosch. The best part is that it is a bottom drive, so the top of the bowl is completely open to dump ingredients into.

Those Ankarsrum machines look really nice, but while not in the same league as green bananas, it's very likely I wouldn't get my moneys worth out of it... and besides, the Bosch is still running strong.


Regards

Christian
Previously lost, on the way to the pasture. Now pasteurized.
Barry
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Re: Food Processors

Post by Barry »

ShadowsDad wrote:Squire, That works and is many times faster than bringing out the machine for small jobs.


The Assistent is continuous discharge, not fill the bowl and dump. There are some jobs that I use it for where the continuous operation is a huge plus. The Assistent is expensive but if it'll be used, and you need a mixer, it might be worth looking into. I don't know if I'd have bought it just to get the attachments. But since I make so much of our bread I have never once regretted the purchase. Americas Test Kitchen hates it, but that's because they don't know how to use it and (I think) they use it like a KA mixer. I have offered to drive down and show them how to use it. So far that offer hasn't been accepted.

Gotta run.
How is the Assistent for small batches of dough? I've read that it isn't the greatest if you just want to make one loaf. Maybe the people who wrote that don't know how to use it properly though. The food processing attachment for the Assistent looks pretty cool.

Based on this video it might be worth it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne_X-WRVCb4

It would be helpful for a lot of tasks... How easy would it be to make hummus with this machine? Which attachment would I use?

The fact that it can make pasta and grind with the other attachments would be a big plus!
ShadowsDad
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Re: Food Processors

Post by ShadowsDad »

I have no problems making one loaf of bread or one batch of dinner rolls. I ran into a lot of BS when I was researching my purchase. Unless I'm trying a new recipe or just making a batch of dinner rolls I pretty much never make one loaf of bread anymore. It's much easier to make 2 or more loaves and the machine can easily handle that also. I've been making 2 loaves of bread lately and freezing one for a few days later. But I'm going to start making at least 4 loaves. I'll bake 2 and freeze one of those. The other 2 I'll form into loaves and wrap in buttered wrap and freeze them. Then 2 weeks later I'll just unwrap, put in a loaf pan and in the refrigerator to thaw. Then when I want bread put them on the countertop to rise and bake. Of course the Ank' can handle more than 4 loaves at a time. It's a 22 cup mixer. So far the most I've made in mine is 10# of pasta dough and it was at possibly 1/2 capacity. That was with the dough hook seen in the video. Most times I use the roller.

That was a decent video but it left a bit out. But be careful with other well meaning folks and Youtube. That's where I ran into most of the BS. Folks who just get theirs have to immediately post a video showing that the machine works but that they don't know how to use it.

IMO, the best pasta is made with the pasta rollers and the video didn't show that. It'll make sheets, fine spaghetti, and 1/4" wide. I only have the sheet maker and not the cutting rollers. I do have the extruder disk for pasta but haven't used it yet. When I have a small blending job is when I pull out it's blender. One note... DO NOT blend on high rpms. I made that mistake initially. To do so will trip the internal breaker in the machine and you'll pull your hair out thinking you bought a POS. It's no big deal as it instantly resets, but full rpm isn't required. It's a hammermill grinder and does it's work with absolutely blunt "blades". It tears and hits rather than cuts things. It's what you'd use for any nut butter including hummus. I find that when I make peanut butter it actually makes it too liquid, so I put 1/2 of the peanuts in the blender and make them "liquid". The other 1/2 go into the shredder that fits onto the end of the meat grinder. That gives me a dry shred. I mix the 2 together and I have exactly what I want. By changing the ratio one can get either wetter or drier peanut butter.

The meat grinder was actually a huge surprise. I expected it to grind, but I never thought that it would be as fast as it is. I timed it for a short run and it's capable of 300# of meat per hour. I ground at that rate for about 20# of 1/2 frozen pork. The wife and I were hustling to keep the machine fed and the ground meat trays changed. 3 people would be best to sustain that rate.

It's a very nicely designed and executed machine and I'm a tough grader.

As Christian wrote, having a completely open bowl is very nice. There is no fighting with the overhead motor and gearbox, and no dripping of gear oil into the mix. One other advantage, there is no whizzing beater to get anything caught in. I can, and have in testing, put my hand between the roller and the bowl while it was kneading. You know what happened? Nothing. I just pulled my hand back out, undamaged and with absolutely no pain or anything, and the kneading continued. That's because the mixer isn't powered in the same way that a geared mixer is powered.
Last edited by ShadowsDad on Wed Jan 13, 2016 10:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
brothers
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Re: Food Processors

Post by brothers »

I thoroughly enjoy being able to read these informative posts. Thx.
Gary

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