No appliance can beat the food processor when it comes to multipurpose utility in the kitchen. Food Processor can perform almost every activity concerning your food except cooking it. This article discusses the different types of food processor blades and their uses.
The advantage of a food processor is that you can use the appliance to prepare multiple dishes.
| Type of Blade | Use |
|---|---|
| Finger chip blade | Preparing potato finger chips and French fries |
| Juicer blade | Making fruit juices from soft and hard fruits and vegetables |
| Shredding blade | Preparing carrot and beetroot halwa |
| Slicer blade | Slicing potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots, radishes, etc., for sandwiches and salads |
| Mincer | Mincing vegetables and meat |
| Grater | Extracting coconut pulp and milk and preparing vegetable toppings like carrots, onions, and garlic |
| Atta kneader | Kneading chapati dough |
| Chopper | Regular chopping of vegetables for preparing vegetable dishes, biriyani, etc. |
| Chutney blade | Grinding pepper, chill, gram, groundnuts, coconuts, tomatoes, coriander, etc., for making different kinds of chutneys and purees. |
| Dry grinding blade | Preparing masala powder like garam masala, rasam powder, coriander powder, jeera powder, etc. |
| Wet grinding blade | Idli and dosa batter preparation |
| Whipper disc | Whipping up cream, buttermilk, and milkshakes |
Depending on their utility, we can classify the blades into various types.
Cutting and Mincing Blades
Finger Chip Blade
Who doesn’t love potato finger chips? Instead of purchasing readymade finger chips from restaurants or local shops, using the microprocessor at home would be a fantastic idea for preparing hygienic finger chips in good-quality oil. The finger chip blade is the most loved attachment in any food processor.
Juicer Blade
The multipurpose food processor does not require you to have a specialized juicer in the kitchen. The juicer blade can extract juice from soft fruits beautifully and provide your family with fresh fruit or vegetable juice whenever you want. These blades are round attachments with perforations at specific locations.
Shredding Blade
Shredding your vegetables to prepare delicious dishes like carrot or beetroot halwa is no longer challenging. The shredding blade in your food processor can shred these vegetables beautifully without much effort.
Some multipurpose food processors offer a coconut shredded-cum-knife attachment that can grate your coconuts into fine pieces. You can add shredded coconut to your vegetables and enhance their taste.
Slicer Blade
Salads require slicing vegetables like carrots, radishes, potatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The slider blade is an ideal cutter blade that can help you cut these vegetables into perfectly thin slices.
If required, you can adjust the blade position to suit your preferences and have thicker slices. The slicer blades are also excellent for preparing potato chips and bajjis.
Mincing Blade
Cutting your vegetables into small pieces before cooking is possible using the mincing blade. This blade is available in various types with different sizes of holes, allowing you to cut different vegetables like ginger, garlic, peppers, and other vegetables. The mincing blade is also the perfect kitchen accessory for cutting your meat into small pieces.
Grating Blade
The grating blade is similar to a shredder but has smaller perforations. This blade is perfect for grating cheese and butter. You can also use it for cutting coriander leaves and other vegetables if you require smaller pieces.
This blade is also excellent for grating fruits like raw mangoes to prepare pickles. The grating and shredding blades are similar, except for the size of the cut vegetables. Shredding gives you long strips, whereas grating lets you chop your vegetables into smaller fragments.
Chopping Blades
Atta Blade
Kneading chapati atta is a cumbersome job for anyone. Your hands can get messy, and the atta might not get kneaded perfectly, especially if you are not an expert. However, the atta blade available in almost all food processors removes your physical exertion.
The atta blades knead your chapati dough beautifully within no time. These blades are not sharp but are durable to withstand heavy loads. Usually, these blades are made of high-quality food-grade ABS plastic.
Chopper Blade
The S-blade, or the chopper blade, is one of a food processor’s most frequently used blades. These blades have sharp edges and are ideally suited for chopping vegetables into small pieces. They resemble the atta kneading blade but are made of stainless steel. Since they have sharp edges, one must be extremely careful when handling them.
Hand Chopper Blade
The hand chopper blade variant provides the effect of chopping vegetables by hand. This blade is generally used for chopping vegetables like beans, carrots, beetroot, and others.
Plain Chopper Blade
The plain chopper blade is another variant used in some food processors. It differs from the S-blade because the plain chopper blade is usually available as a single blade, whereas the S-blade is a double blade.
Tooth Profile Blade
The tooth profile blade is another chopper blade variant. The primary difference is that the blade has serrated edges instead of a thin sharp edge.
Mixer Blades
Chutney Blade
Food processors are multipurpose appliances that can double up as a mixer grinder whenever necessary. So you can prepare your favorite chutneys using these attachments. Chutney blades are available in different sizes and shapes.
The four-edged chutney blade is more suited for preparing coconut and gram chutneys, whereas the two-edged serrated chutney blades are suitable for preparing coriander and other pastes.
Dry Grinding Blade
The dry grinding blade is another commonly used blade to grind masala powder and spices. These blades are not as sharp as the cutter or mincing blades. However, the blunt edges allow perfect dry grinding and give your masalas the ideal pounding effect. Usually, the dry grinding blades have four edges. However, some food processors and mixer grinders offer two-edge dry grinding blades.
Wet Grinding Blade
The wet grinding blades are best for preparing liquid or semi-solid pastes. You can also use these blades for preparing idli and dosa batter. The wet grinding blades have four or even six edges. The wet grinding blades are smaller and sharper than the dry grinding blades.
The blades do not spread out as wide as the dry grinding blades. It allows the appliance to concentrate on the grinding process at the center rather than at the edges. Thus, it gives a centrifugal effect and ensures better wet grinding performance. These blades can double up as juicer blades, allowing you to extract juice from hard fruits like apples and papayas.
Multipurpose Blade
Some food processors offer multipurpose blades that can be used for multiple purposes like preparing chutneys, dry grinding, and wet grinding. They have all the qualities of the grinding and chutney blades discussed above.
Whipping disc blade
The whipping discs are perfect for preparing milkshakes, lassis, and whipping up cream. These disc-shaped attachments rotate at high speed to churn the milk and other food products, separate the cream, and allow it to float at the top. For example, you can prepare banana milkshakes using these discs to ensure the complete mixing of the fruits in the milk. It also ensures the sugar mixes well without forming any residue at the bottom.
Other blades
Besides the blades discussed above, some food processors offer specialized blades like Gaufrette blades for cutting the bread into small pieces, Brunoise blades for dicing ice cubes, and French Fry cone-shaped blades for making French fries and other spiraled foods. But, usually, the Indian kitchen does not require these blades. So they are generally not found in Indian food processors.
Usually, food processors offer citrus juicer attachments. These attachments are not blades but allow perfect juicing of citrus fruits like oranges and sweet limes. In addition, these attachments do not allow the seeds to mix with the juice. So the taste does not get affected.
Food Processor Blade Maintenance
We have discussed the different food processor blades available in food processors made in India. These stainless steel blades require proper maintenance to last long. Hence, cleaning them after every use and storing them carefully is essential. Let us discuss how to clean these food processor blades conveniently.
Using the dishwasher
Generally, all food processor blades are dishwasher-safe. You can remove the blades from the food processor by disassembling the appliance and placing them inside the dishwasher to clean them. At the same time, we advise you to be careful when handling these blades because the sharp edges can cause injuries to your hands.
Under the kitchen sink
The kitchen sink is the right place to clean these food processor blades if you do not have a dishwasher. However, we advise you to run the machine with half a cup of soap water before removing the blades to wash them. It ensures that the food particles stuck to the blades fall off comfortably, simplifying the washing process. But this process requires extreme care because the sharp blades can cause injuries.
Storing the food processor blades
Usually, food processors do not have any provisions for storing these blades. Hence, you must have a separate box to cater to these blades. It enables them to remain safely together. Besides, loose food processor blades on the kitchen shelf can get damaged. They can even cause injuries. The Usha FP 3811 food processor is perhaps the only food processor in India that offers a unique storage arrangement for keeping the food processor blades safe.
Sharpening the blades
The food processor blades work best when they are sharp. However, you must ensure that food particles are not stuck in the perforations or edges that can blunt them. The best way to know whether your blades require sharpening or replacement is when you notice that the vegetables do not get cut finely.
Instead, they get chopped into big chunks. Under such circumstances, you can replace the blades. However, we advise you to select replacements manufactured by the same brand because other blades might not fit properly.
