A food processor is something that I have been wanting for a very long time now, possibly two years or more. I have a juicer, I have a hand blender, a mixer and numerous other kitchen gadgets but I wanted something powerful that was going to be effective and simple to switch between gadgets if I was working on a meal with lots of different ingredients or even batch cooking for my freezer. Kenwood is a name that I know as offering reliable brands (generally) and when I spotted this food processor down from £129.99 to just £44.99 in my local Sainsburys several months back I just couldn't turn it down (despite being skint!). The model that I am reviewing is the FP580 and mine is in white and the dimensions are 39cm high, 29cm deep and 25cm wide. This makes this food processor quite a substantial size and means that it does take up a small portion of worktop space (as I leave mine out), however, I feel that this is a worthwhile addition to my kitchen and therefore I have no grumbles really about it taking up worktop space (as I have plenty).

When I purchased this food processor it came in a very large box that I had to struggle home with. There were numerous attachments and blades within and I was a little disappointed to find that the spatula was not in the box as advertised on the contents leaflet. There was a number on a leaflet advising me that if any items were not present to call the number listed, which I did and within 10 days I received my Kenwood spatula (despite already having one from a different purchase years ago!).

Provided within the box I received the following:

The base of the food processor: This is the large white contraption and all of the attachments (spice mill, blender etc) fit on to this with ease. There is a pulse button which is a grey colour and you can press this down to just lightly blitz or mix something. There is also a speed control button which you just flick to the right (it clicks each time) to put on setting 1 or 2. It is simple to use and this food processor will only ever operate if all parts are assembled as required and once the lid is in place where applicable. This is a fantastic feature, particularly where sharp blades are involved. In addition to the base there was the drive shaft which is a large white pole that you need to use underneath (through a hole) of the item that you want to use. This powers the blade, dough hook or other attachment to spin around and work as required. This also must be in place to use this machine (although you can turn it on without it in place - as I once learnt when nothing was mixing and I thought I had broken the machine!).

Instruction Booklet: There is an instruction booklet within the box that is used to see which blades work for what and how to connect each item. I only really refer to this when using the blades so I can check which ones are which but it is very handy and really should be kept unlike most instructions that I just tend to throw in the bin. This is a thin paper booklet but it works well with its pictures and instructions and I have found it very useful, particularly when I first used each of the attachments and blades.

Main mixing blade: This is a curved set of two blades on the white attachment that fits on the drive shaft. This obviously mixes around the chops up items. Now this came provided within a plastic protector and I have kept this for the occasions that I need to remove this from the plastic jug as the blades are incredibly sharp. Now it may sound obvious for blades to be very sharp but the first time I washed them I managed to cut three of my fingers quite badly! There is a warning on the packaging but as ever I didn't take this too seriously and suffered because of it!

Dough tool: This fits on to the drive shaft in the same manner as the mixing blade and this is obviously for use with dough! This works very well, particularly if I add the dry ingredients first and then add the liquid via the feeding tube while the machine is in use. It only takes around 60-90 seconds to make a perfect ball of dough and I have once again begun baking bread and rolls thanks to this machine. I can make up several batches in just 10 minutes and then all I have to do is roll them out and they're ready for the oven (after proofing). This is a fantastic tool and works very well. I initially thought it would not be very good but have been incredibly pleased with the quality and how it works.

Twin beater geared whisk: This fits on to the drive shaft also and is very simple to use. I use this for beating egg whites, cream and even for making light cakes and sponge puddings. This fits on to the drive shaft easily and the twin heads can be removed (they are plastic) for easy hand washing. This whole whisk moves around as well as the heads so this makes for very easy whisking but this attachment should only be used for light ingredients as flour and fats could easily damage this (it does state this in the instructions).

Three cutting blades: The first two blades are the reversible slicing/shredding discs, one thick and one thin. There discs have blades on both sides (meaning less blades needed) and therefore I have to remember to check which side I have it up once I locate the right blade. The food should be dropped through the feeding tube as the blade sits very high and so the side you have facing upwards is the side you want to use not the underneath. These particular blades are great for grating/slicing cheese, carrots, potatoes (uncooked), cabbage, cucumber, courgette, beetroot, onions and almost any other reasonable hardness of vegetable or fruit, the third blade (a chipper blade) is ideal for making thin chips and for preparing salads or even ingredients for stir fries. These blades are absolutely fantastic and by cutting a block of cheese in to 6 long thin blocks I am able to grate it in less than a minute. This is fantastic as I can even have a bag of grated cheese on hand in my fridge any time I need some. These blades alone save me an incredible amount of time most days when it comes to preparation before cooking and they are probably the gadgets that I use the most. It is important to remember that these can still spin for a few seconds when you have stopped the power or taken your finger off the pulse button and therefore the lid should not be removed until the blades have stopped moving completely as they are incredibly fast and sharp (just like the mixing blades).

Citrus Press: This is a two part attachment as you have the sieve bowl which catches any pips, seeds or skin and then the cone which fits on the sieve bowl and then on the drive shaft, this then rotates and you can press your fruit on and see it juiced. This takes just a few seconds to juice each half of orange but I'm always amazed at the little amount of juice that comes out of an orange despite the machine literally just leaving you holding the skin in your hand. The cone part is plastic, as is the sieve, so you need not worry about hurting yourself while juicing as this attachment works without the lid being fitted (completely safely).

Spice Mill: This is a four part attachment and when I first saw it I was worried about using it but it's very simple to put together and take apart. The four parts are the blade unit, the jar, the sealing ring and the sprinkler lid. This is a little more complex to put together than any other attachment but the instructions are very clear anyway. Put your ingredients in to the jar, fill no more than half full, fit the sealing ring into the blade unit, turn the blade unit upside down, lower it into the jar, blades down, screw the blade unit onto the jar until it is tight, place the mill onto your power unit and lock in to place (by turning it until you reach the right point), then use the number 2 speed setting or the pulse setting. It is recommended that when using you only use for 30 seconds at a maximum to preserver the life of the mill. I have used this for both nuts and coffee beans and have to say that 30 seconds is more than ample time if you have not overloaded this. One the milling is finished the blade unit can be replaced with the sprinkle lid and then you can shake ingredients direct as required, I have only used this once with nuts and it works fine.

Spatula: I did not get this at the time but this is a very simple white plastic spatula. I don't use this very often as I have several spatulas in my drawer so just use whichever one is to hand. It is a great spatula and works very well at removing ingredients from the side and letting me put them back in the mixing bowl.

Mixing bowl: This is a large plastic bowl with a mixing capacity of 800ml of liquid. This can be increased to 1litre using the maxi-blend canopy. This is a plastic insert that you put in to the top of the mixing bowl and it fits on to a specially designed ledge by the top of the mixing bowl. This canopy prevents spillages and leaking and improves the performance of the blade. I don't use this very often to be honest but it does definitely increase the liquid capacity when I am blending soups or other liquid ingredients. The mixing bowl is large and it fits on to the drive shaft. There is a light tinge to the plastic but not sure if this is for a specific reason. It is very simple to see how everything is mixing or blending in the bowl and this is the main item that I use the most. The size is reasonable and chopping the ingredients for a main meal or salad leaves lots of space if I wanted to do multiple portions.

Blade holder: There is a white plastic blade holder. This is an angled item with a fold up plastic lid. This is very simple to use and holds the three blades with no worries about cutting my fingers or hurting myself. I leave the blades in the plastic wrappers I received them in and this helps me to keep from cutting myself as well as the plastic white circle holders on the blades themselves. This holder is very useful and means I can store the blades in a cupboard with the other attachments.

Feeding tubes: There are two feeding tubes. One sits in to the opening on the mixing bowl and is a rounded rectangle shape and the other fits in to this and is a cylinder that I use to push foods down when I am grating them.

Liquidiser: The blades, the sealing ring and the jug all have to be fitted together. The blades go in first followed by the sealing ring and this is very simple to fit in to the jug. This is what I use for crushing ice when I want to make cocktails or frosted drinks. This works very well and I tend to pulse about 4 - 6 ice cubes at a time. It takes just a few seconds and works very well.

As you'll see there are a great many attachments. All of these are very handy and despite my initial worry that I might not use them much I have been considering surprised with how useful these attachments are. My preparation time in the kitchen has been greatly reduced and this means that I am able to try more complex and time consuming dishes on a regular basis now rather than just when I have a day off to partake in the preparation.

I have found the instructions incredibly simple to use and once I have seen how to attach each attachment I have not needed to refer back to this again, besides to check the blades, as I said above.

All parts of this food processor should be hand washed and while we have a dishwasher we have not used this to wash them for fear of damaging any parts. The sharpness of the blades seems to be just as good as ever. The holder is ideal for the blades and I tend to store the whisk attachments inside the liquidiser jug and keep the drive shaft, mixing bowl, blade and feeding tubes on to the main base power unit at all times when not in use and so I do not feel that the attachments use an overly large amount of space in my kitchen despite being large in size. The original box that these attachments came in was very large but obviously would be ideal for storing the loose items should you want a way to store them easily.

Most importantly of course is how well this food processor works. Food is chopped efficiently, grated quickly and in uniform shapes and sizes (generally) and I am able to juice, liquidize, crush and knead with ease. I have no criticisms at all with this food processor and the quality of its work. It helps me to produce far better results when making pizza dough or bread dough and for this I am extremely grateful!

The flex on this unit is not the longest at around 2/3 of a metre but it is more than ample for my workspace, where I have several plug sockets within easy reach. The flex length might be an issue for people who have lots of workspace and limited plug sockets.

The main feature that I love about this food processor, besides the time I save, is the safety features. The items all either click or slide in to place and the power will not work until the lid is firmly clicked in properly. On one or two occasions I have tried to use this without the lid clicked in place securely and it's not worked, that is just fantastic for me and ensures that should anyone else use it (ie my husband) that I need not worry about maiming!

My top tip also when using a food processor is always ensure that you have the blade or mixing attachment fitted before you add any ingredients otherwise it can be almost impossible to fit the blade in place - trust me I've tried!

Despite the short flex and cutting myself on the blade I would have to give this 5/5 definitely! I am thoroughly enjoying using a food processor and would recommend them to anyone who is a fan of cooking or baking.

Should my review have swayed you in to buying one or reminded you that you were looking for one then you can currently find this food processor for just £46.99 from Amazon. This is a fantastic price and includes free super saver delivery.