Shreds, juices, and grates - but not fingers! (Breville Food Processor)

Member Name: sersha

Product:	Breville Food Processor
Date:	26/03/05 (505 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lots of attachments with neat storage, safe, easy to clean

Disadvantages: a few additional attachments which need separate storage

After being delighted with my Antony Worrall Thompson (AWT) breadmaker by Breville, my other half also bought me the AWT Breville food processor, and I was good and didn’t once moan about what a boring present a food processor is. (My mother was once given a toilet seat from my father, in all seriousness, so I am grateful for most things.)

I haven’t grown up surrounded by kitchen gadgets, in fact the opposite. My mother still refuses to have anything to do with microwaves and dishwashers, and when my aunt asked where the mixer was on a recent visit, she was handed a wooden spoon. A little of it has rubbed off on me: I guess quantities in recipes, much to my husband’s horror, and I’m forever using the “wrong” knife (my mother uses one knife for every purpose, and it has always served her well!) So he was pleased to buy me a gadget of any description. It might not be the most exciting gadget, but it’s one I use day in day out and it’s been a valuable addition to the kitchen, as well as being nice and shiny and stylish and silver - These things are important considerations too, after all!

When looking at different food processors, safety was an important consideration for my husband. I am notoriously bad with all things electrical and not to be trusted – I’ve left gas on for hours at a time and then lit matches to see if it really was on (oops), set fire to my dressing gown from the gas hob, set fire to the washing machine (best not to ask how), and accidentally inflicted numerous burns and cuts on myself over the years. So he checked the specifications of the Breville carefully to see if it was a wise move, and thankfully it was. It has neat clips for cord storage meaning I am less likely to send it flying across the room than the other appliances in our kitchen, and it has a safety cap which sits on the blender when the jug is not in use. It’s impossible to accidentally start either jug or bowl: everything has to be locked into place safely and correctly before any actual processing can be done, so I won’t be grating my fingers into my soup in the near future. There is even a flashing neon light which tells you when the safety cap is off, or if the jug is not correctly fitted. The processor has rubber feet, which means it won’t slide about when you are using it and you can be reassured that it isn’t going to fly off your worktop when it’s vibrating at the maximum setting.

There are two basic parts to the processor as you can see in the picture – the blender which holds 1.5 litres (jug bit) and the processor (bowl bit) which can take up to 1.75 litres. The bowl has a feed tube, so that you can add ingredients to the processing bowl while the unit is in use. The 700 watt motor starts slowly and has 10 speeds/positions. The really clever bit lies in all the attachments that come with the processor. There are a total of 11 attachments which are as follows: A set of six blades which are 1) thick slicing blade, 2) thin slicing blade, 3) chipping blade, 4) course grating blade, 5) fine grating blade, 6) grating blade which can all be stored within a compartment attached to the processor itself (very clever). No more raking through drawers trying to find the missing or lost attachment, or throwing them away after years of wondering what gadget they belong to.

Then there is a dough blade, a processing blade and a whisk, which need to be placed elsewhere while you are using the bowl attachment, although they can be stored inside it when it isn’t in use. The only parts which need totally separate storage are the spatula and citrus juicer. It’s a shame there isn’t another magic compartment to keep those in too! All the parts are very easy to fit and clip into place, and again nothing will operate unless correctly fitted, so they are very safe.

With all these attachments, there suddenly opens up a whole host of things this processor can do that you might never have considered: not only can you do all the normal things like shred or slice vegetables, whisk cream or puree things, but you can also mix dough and batter, chop up raw meats, turn nuts into paste, chocolate into crumbs, crush ice cubes, and juice citrus fruits without getting pips in your juice! I mainly use mine to make soup and coleslaw, but I can see that it would be a fantastic time-saver for making baby food as well.

Importantly, all the parts and attachments are easy to clean as – they are easily removable and easy to wash (and dishwasher safe, if you have such a magical appliance.) You can also wash the base with a damp cloth. This really is the mother of all food processors: it doesn’t take up a huge amount of space and it’s incredibly versatile, easy to use and importantly, safe, even for kitchen dummies like me.

It comes with a users guide and a recipe book by Antony Worrall Thompson (it’s almost worth buying the whole thing for his yogurt and mango fool recipe.)

Best price I can find: £74.50 at electricshopping.com

Summary: