hi there,

I was given a Moulinex Odacio 3 food processor recently. I've always
wanted one, but now I'm a bit daunted by it and the couple of times
I've used it it hasn't done quite what I expected. Before I go back
to my stab blender and big knife :-) can I ask if there is anyone here
who is a virtuoso food processor user who can offer me a few tips?

Things like... grating: I'm left almost instantly with a slice that
won't grate (slips between the holder and the spinning blade. Is it
me or is it supposed to be like this?

Even with teh blender. I tried to puree some cooked
chickpeas/garbanzos in the blender (there's a blender as well as a
food processor bit) and it was really hard! They kept kind of
avoiding the blade. Then there's the tiny little blender for small
quantities- that didn't work for the garbanzos either. I'm sure that
it's me that's the problem. I feel like a new computer user saying "I
can't get it to do anything!" about a new PC.

Anyone who can help I'd be really grateful.


Hope

Hope wrote:
> hi there,
>
> I was given a Moulinex Odacio 3 food processor recently. I've always
> wanted one, but now I'm a bit daunted by it and the couple of times
> I've used it it hasn't done quite what I expected. Before I go back
> to my stab blender and big knife :-) can I ask if there is anyone here
> who is a virtuoso food processor user who can offer me a few tips?
>
> Things like... grating: I'm left almost instantly with a slice that
> won't grate (slips between the holder and the spinning blade. Is it
> me or is it supposed to be like this?
>
> Even with teh blender. I tried to puree some cooked
> chickpeas/garbanzos in the blender (there's a blender as well as a
> food processor bit) and it was really hard! They kept kind of
> avoiding the blade. Then there's the tiny little blender for small
> quantities- that didn't work for the garbanzos either. I'm sure that
> it's me that's the problem. I feel like a new computer user saying "I
> can't get it to do anything!" about a new PC.
>
> Anyone who can help I'd be really grateful.
>
>
> Hope
>

Your results will vary based on the food processor you get. I have the
11 cup kitchenaid, which is normally overkill for food for 2 people; but
I am a nutcase and just like to cook. It dims the kitchen lights when
it's running!

That being said, even something as automatic as the food processor can
give different results based on human intervention. I haven't figured
out what to do for stuff that sticks and spins around after everything
else is done. Generally, I'm grinding up such a volume of food that I
just keep adding it in -- ultimately all the stuff spinning around gets
stuck against the newly-added food and begins to break down.

As for the puree blade, consider the following:

#1 Use the pulse setting. Quick pulses will send the food airborne
inside, instead of throwing it to the sides. The full setting is kind
of what you do last.

#2 Add liquid. The liquid will motivate the food to work its way down
towards the blade from the sides.

#3 Prepare a larger volume. I can't puree half a cup of something in my
main tub. Most of it gets under the blade and cannot be brought back
up. With more food, this isn't a problem.

"Adam Preble" > wrote in message
...
> Hope wrote:
> > hi there,
> >
> > I was given a Moulinex Odacio 3 food processor recently. I've always
> > wanted one, but now I'm a bit daunted by it and the couple of times
> > I've used it it hasn't done quite what I expected. Before I go back
> > to my stab blender and big knife :-) can I ask if there is anyone here
> > who is a virtuoso food processor user who can offer me a few tips?
> >
> > Things like... grating: I'm left almost instantly with a slice that
> > won't grate (slips between the holder and the spinning blade. Is it
> > me or is it supposed to be like this?
> >
> > Even with teh blender. I tried to puree some cooked
> > chickpeas/garbanzos in the blender (there's a blender as well as a
> > food processor bit) and it was really hard! They kept kind of
> > avoiding the blade. Then there's the tiny little blender for small
> > quantities- that didn't work for the garbanzos either. I'm sure that
> > it's me that's the problem. I feel like a new computer user saying "I
> > can't get it to do anything!" about a new PC.
> >
> > Anyone who can help I'd be really grateful.
> >
> >
> > Hope
> >
>
> Your results will vary based on the food processor you get. I have the
> 11 cup kitchenaid, which is normally overkill for food for 2 people; but
> I am a nutcase and just like to cook. It dims the kitchen lights when
> it's running!
>
> That being said, even something as automatic as the food processor can
> give different results based on human intervention. I haven't figured
> out what to do for stuff that sticks and spins around after everything
> else is done. Generally, I'm grinding up such a volume of food that I
> just keep adding it in -- ultimately all the stuff spinning around gets
> stuck against the newly-added food and begins to break down.
>
> As for the puree blade, consider the following:
>
> #1 Use the pulse setting. Quick pulses will send the food airborne
> inside, instead of throwing it to the sides. The full setting is kind
> of what you do last.
>
> #2 Add liquid. The liquid will motivate the food to work its way down
> towards the blade from the sides.
>
> #3 Prepare a larger volume. I can't puree half a cup of something in my
> main tub. Most of it gets under the blade and cannot be brought back
> up. With more food, this isn't a problem.

If mine starts being stubbornly awkward, I pick it up, and shake the hell
outa the thing, up and down. Works for me!







Shaun aRe

Adam Preble wrote:
> Your results will vary based on the food processor you get. I have the
> 11 cup kitchenaid, which is normally overkill for food for 2 people; but
> I am a nutcase and just like to cook. It dims the kitchen lights when
> it's running!
>
> That being said, even something as automatic as the food processor can
> give different results based on human intervention. I haven't figured
> out what to do for stuff that sticks and spins around after everything
> else is done. Generally, I'm grinding up such a volume of food that I
> just keep adding it in -- ultimately all the stuff spinning around gets
> stuck against the newly-added food and begins to break down.
>
> As for the puree blade, consider the following:
>
> #1 Use the pulse setting. Quick pulses will send the food airborne
> inside, instead of throwing it to the sides. The full setting is kind
> of what you do last.
>
> #2 Add liquid. The liquid will motivate the food to work its way down
> towards the blade from the sides.
>
> #3 Prepare a larger volume. I can't puree half a cup of something in my
> main tub. Most of it gets under the blade and cannot be brought back
> up. With more food, this isn't a problem.

I have some more to add. For the slicing blades, you will get different
results depending on if you push on the food. You will get thicker
slices if you shove it through the blades (with the attachment!). If
you want very thing stuff, let the food casually fall into the blade.
You will want to still hold on to the very top of the food; it will
bounce and be inconsistent otherwise.

There is probably a pastry blade available too. This is a quick way of
mixing butter and flour together to make good pastries. Since your hand
it completely out of the way, you won't be warming it up. Since it's so
quick, it won't have a chance to warm up.

Hope wrote:
> hi there,
>
> I was given a Moulinex Odacio 3 food processor recently. I've always
> wanted one, but now I'm a bit daunted by it and the couple of times
> I've used it it hasn't done quite what I expected. Before I go back
> to my stab blender and big knife :-) can I ask if there is anyone here
> who is a virtuoso food processor user who can offer me a few tips?

I can't offer you any tips. I have just managed to destroy
my 20 year old one by accident. I will not be replacing it
and the space it occupied will be useful.

The only things I used it for where making pastry and
slicing potatoes for Dauphinoise Potatoes. Now I discover
that the potatoes are better cut thicker by hand and
learning to make pastry properly will be good for the soul.

If you are interested I destroyed it by putting the bowl
(complete with blades) containing flour and fat into the
microwave to soften the fat for making pastry. New
microwave. Accidentally set 20 min rather than 20 sec. I
busied myself doing something else and then thought 'very
long 20 sec'. I had been about 3 min. Oh dear. Thing with
the blades reduced to gloop. La-De-Da.

Noises Off

Noises Off wrote:
>
> If you are interested I destroyed it by putting the bowl
> (complete with blades) containing flour and fat into the
> microwave to soften the fat for making pastry.

Why would you want softened fat to make pastry... imagine, you need a
$300 machine to make shit pastry.

Sheldon

Sheldon wrote:

> Noises Off wrote:
>
>>If you are interested I destroyed it by putting the bowl
>>(complete with blades) containing flour and fat into the
>>microwave to soften the fat for making pastry.
>
>
> Why would you want softened fat to make pastry... imagine, you need a
> $300 machine to make shit pastry.
>
> Sheldon

Oh dear! Sheldon, Is this the best you can do? Feeble.
Really 2/10 must try harder. You don't worry you are turning
into a rationale human being do you?

Time for you to crawl back under your rock, the sun will be
coming up and you know what the rays will do to you.

Noises Off

Sheldon wrote:
> Noises Off wrote:
> >
> > If you are interested I destroyed it by putting the bowl
> > (complete with blades) containing flour and fat into the
> > microwave to soften the fat for making pastry.
>
> Why would you want softened fat to make pastry... imagine, you need a
> $300 machine to make shit pastry.

As the poster said, Sheldon: Learning to make pastry properly will be good
for the soul... emphasis on *properly.*

Hope wrote:

> I was given a Moulinex Odacio 3 food processor recently. I've always
> wanted one, but now I'm a bit daunted by it and the couple of times
> I've used it it hasn't done quite what I expected. Before I go back
> to my stab blender and big knife :-) can I ask if there is anyone here
> who is a virtuoso food processor user who can offer me a few tips?

Food processors are one of those appliances that most people can live
without, but once in a while there are things for which they are quite
handy. I use mine for making bread crumbs out of stale bread. If I didn't
already have the FP I would probably just buy them and give the stale
bread to the birds.

I also use my FP for slicing Seville orange peels to make marmalade. That
saves me a lot of time when I look after than annual chore. I have also
used the pulse on the FP for chopping fruit for jam.

If you have a lot of cheese to grate it may be worth getting the FP out
and cleaning it. For small amounts of grating a hand grater is much
easier. My wife likes to make meat loaf in the FP. She likes the finer
texture that she gets. Besides, she has arthritis and doesn't like dealing
with the cold meat in her bare hands.

> Even with teh blender. I tried to puree some cooked
> chickpeas/garbanzos in the blender (there's a blender as well as a
> food processor bit) and it was really hard! They kept kind of
> avoiding the blade. Then there's the tiny little blender for small
> quantities- that didn't work for the garbanzos either. I'm sure that
> it's me that's the problem. I feel like a new computer user saying "I
> can't get it to do anything!" about a new PC.

Try pulsing it. Sometimes when the blades are running they are slicing
through without stirring the stuff around. When you use the pulse mode the
initial jolt stirs things up a bit more.

I use my food processor for making hummus which means I use it to puree
chickpeas. I've never tried to puree chickpeas in a blender. I can't
imagine it would work very well at all. I pulse the chick peas until
they are well pureed then add tahini, garlic, and lemon juice
(sometimes cumin and a bit of red pepper). It doesn't take long and
it's easy to do as something to take to a party, etc.

I also use it to grate large amounts of cheese and, yes, you will have
a thin slice that doesn't grate. I either up end it with a new chunk
of cheese or snack on it.

I've also used it to grate carrots for carrot cake and cabbage (for
coleslaw or stir fry). I imagine you could use it to grate potatoes for
hash browns, too.

The first one I had was a La Machine. It lasted many years but the
motor finally broke. I have a Cuisinart on "permanent loan" from a
friend who wasn't using it. Mine broke right before my daughter's
graduation last year and I needed it to make hummus for the graduation
party.

Heidi

On Wed, 04 May 2005 03:13:48 GMT, Hope >
wrote:

>Even with teh blender. I tried to puree some cooked
>chickpeas/garbanzos in the blender (there's a blender as well as a
>food processor bit) and it was really hard! They kept kind of
>avoiding the blade. Then there's the tiny little blender for small
>quantities- that didn't work for the garbanzos either. I'm sure that
>it's me that's the problem. I feel like a new computer user saying "I
>can't get it to do anything!" about a new PC.
>
>Anyone who can help I'd be really grateful.

With a blender, you need liquid. It's a different beast than a food
processor; something has to drag the blended stuff down to the blades.
So add some water and oil to the garbanzos and you can puree them in
the blender. Same thing goes for making pesto in the blender. It
will do a finer job than the food processor (which is great for
chopping leaves) but you need the liquid.



Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

On Wed, 04 May 2005 21:46:56 GMT, (Curly
Sue) wrote:

>On Wed, 04 May 2005 03:13:48 GMT, Hope >
>wrote:
>
>>Even with teh blender. I tried to puree some cooked
>>chickpeas/garbanzos in the blender (there's a blender as well as a
>>food processor bit) and it was really hard! They kept kind of
>>avoiding the blade. Then there's the tiny little blender for small
>>quantities- that didn't work for the garbanzos either. I'm sure that
>>it's me that's the problem. I feel like a new computer user saying "I
>>can't get it to do anything!" about a new PC.
>>
>>Anyone who can help I'd be really grateful.
>
>With a blender, you need liquid. It's a different beast than a food
>processor; something has to drag the blended stuff down to the blades.
>So add some water and oil to the garbanzos and you can puree them in
>the blender. Same thing goes for making pesto in the blender. It
>will do a finer job than the food processor (which is great for
>chopping leaves) but you need the liquid.
>
>
>
>Sue(tm)
>Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!


Thanks for all the replies. I think part of the problem is that I
didn't know that a blender was functionally different to a food
processor! I just thought the blender was smaller (at least around
the bottom). Silly me. I think the day I tried to make hommus, I
ended up dirtying all three of the bowls, and at least 2 of the sets
of blades. I thought "labour saving?!" :-) and felt *really* stupid..

SO what do you do in the blender besides smoothies? Would you do
batter like pancake batter in there? What about cake batter? Or
would the food processor part be better? It has a whisk looking
attachment which I haven't decoded yet.

Thanks to those who confirmed that the left-over slice of whatever was
normal when grating. That made sense since I guess usually you'd
only haul the FP out if doing large quantities.

Thanks again

Hope

On Thu, 05 May 2005 04:50:19 GMT, Hope >
wrote:

>On Wed, 04 May 2005 21:46:56 GMT, (Curly
>Sue) wrote:
<snip>
>>With a blender, you need liquid. It's a different beast than a food
>>processor; something has to drag the blended stuff down to the blades.
>>So add some water and oil to the garbanzos and you can puree them in
>>the blender. Same thing goes for making pesto in the blender. It
>>will do a finer job than the food processor (which is great for
>>chopping leaves) but you need the liquid.
>>
>>Sue(tm)
>>Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
>
>
>Thanks for all the replies. I think part of the problem is that I
>didn't know that a blender was functionally different to a food
>processor! I just thought the blender was smaller (at least around
>the bottom). Silly me. I think the day I tried to make hommus, I
>ended up dirtying all three of the bowls, and at least 2 of the sets
>of blades. I thought "labour saving?!" :-) and felt *really* stupid..
>
>SO what do you do in the blender besides smoothies? Would you do
>batter like pancake batter in there?

For sure. I also do hummus as well as the final step in pesto.
Frozen drinks of course :> I make up the custard base for quiche in a
blender: blend, then pour over the solid stuff in the crust.

> What about cake batter?

Quick breads (eg. banana bread, etc.), for sure. For example, when I
make banana bread, I don't bother to mash the bananas, just put the
big chunks in the blender with the eggs, oil, etc. blend, then add
that to the dry ingredients in a bowl.

OTOH, some cakes require particular structure (eg. cream the butter,
then add the eggs... or separate the eggs and whip the whites...
etc.). Then the blender wouldn't work.

Or
>would the food processor part be better? It has a whisk looking
>attachment which I haven't decoded yet.

Huh! I've never seen that for a food processor. Cool.

>Thanks to those who confirmed that the left-over slice of whatever was
>normal when grating. That made sense since I guess usually you'd
>only haul the FP out if doing large quantities.
>
My FP/blender is a small one, 3-cup capacity so I leave it on the
counter and use it quite a bit to chop onions, cheese (that will be
added to recipes), apples, bread (for crumbs), meat (eg ham for ham
salad sandwiches), eggs (for egg salad), etc.

It only has the chopper blade and one disk, but in my case the
benefits of leaving it on the counter outweigh the benefits of having
flexibility with extra attachments. If I had enough space to store a
full-size FP, I'd get one of those too :>

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Curly Sue wrote:
> after somebody else wrote:
> Or
> >would the food processor part be better? It has a whisk looking
> >attachment which I haven't decoded yet.
>
> Huh! I've never seen that for a food processor. Cool.
>
> Sue(tm)
> Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

My 7 year old Cuisinart has a whisk attachment with its own motor
inside. It's a bit tricky to fit it in but following directions helps
(!!). I don't use it often but it is useful to have it, mostly when the
Kitchen aid is already in use and I need an extra beater. Some people
say it doesn't give you as much volume in egg whites as a hand mixer,
hand whisk or stand mixer would. Don't know.

What I use my FP for: bread and pizza dough. Mark Bittman gives the
recipe in How to Cook EVerything, and I may have posted it here in the
past. You use less flour than in a by hand or stand mixer version. You
also DON'T use the "dough blade" - use the steel regular blade. I think
the mix time is 2 minutes. Works like a dream - but you must be careful
not to over mix - the dough heats up rapidly and could get hot enough
to kill the yeast! Peter Reinhart discusses FP bread dough with
approval, although he's more of a stand mixer kind of guy.

I also use the FP for hummous, baba ghanoush and kibbeh. It's terrific
for kibbeh - you can grind your own meat, then incorporate the bulghur
wheat for a smooth lovely texture. Again, it's crucial not to over mix.

Another Lebanese/Arab/Sephardic recipe I use the FP for is mjaddarah,
lentils and rice with caramelized onions. You have to chop something
like six onions. If I only have to chop one or two, I use my knife, but
when it's six, I get out the FP. Yes there are thick slivers left over
and I finish those off by hand.

Middle Easterners love the FP for all these dishes and sauces that used
to be prepared by hand in large mortars.

Once upon a time my MIL had a James Beard food processor cookbook. She
has lost track of it and I miss it. Beard describes how to make kibbeh
from scratch. MIL's collection of food processor cookbooks helped me a
great deal when I was learning to use my appliance - I picked and chose
what techniques were worth it to try. Chopping lettuce in the FP for a
"greek salad" is not my idea of worth it. But grating two pounds of
cheese - sure.

Lebanese auntie arrived yesterday for a weeklong visit, bringing two
giant jars of za'atar - I think I'll whip up some bread dough now, to
make za'atar focaccia. (manaqeesh)

Leila

On 5 May 2005 10:30:47 -0700, Leila wrote:

> My 7 year old Cuisinart has a whisk attachment with its own motor
> inside.

Whisk attachment? Are "we" a member of the the LaTeeDah group today"?

LOL

On Thu 05 May 2005 10:30:47a, Leila wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> My 7 year old Cuisinart has a whisk attachment with its own motor
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> inside. It's a bit tricky to fit it in but following directions helps
^^^^^^
> (!!).

Are you sure this is used in the kitchen and not in the bedroom?

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

On 5 May 2005 10:30:47 -0700, "Leila" >
wrote:
>
>What I use my FP for: bread and pizza dough.

hey thanks that's a great tip.


>
>I also use the FP for hummous, baba ghanoush and kibbeh. ...
>
>Middle Easterners love the FP for all these dishes and sauces that used
>to be prepared by hand in large mortars.


aggghhh you're making me drool. I love love LOVE Middle Eastern food.

>
>Once upon a time my MIL had a James Beard food processor cookbook.

That would have been awesome, I might start looking on ebay.

> Chopping lettuce in the FP for a
>"greek salad" is not my idea of worth it. But grating two pounds of
>cheese - sure.

Right, same here.
>
>Lebanese auntie arrived yesterday for a weeklong visit, bringing two
>giant jars of za'atar - I think I'll whip up some bread dough now, to
>make za'atar focaccia. (manaqeesh)

oh I'm coming over!!


Hope

On Thu, 05 May 2005 13:20:54 GMT, (Curly
Sue) wrote:

>Quick breads (eg. banana bread, etc.), for sure. For example, when I
>make banana bread, I don't bother to mash the bananas, just put the
>big chunks in the blender with the eggs, oil, etc. blend, then add
>that to the dry ingredients in a bowl.

yeah ok, I see... now is that different (in result) to my normal
method of throwing it all in a mixing bowl and hitting it with my hand
held electric mixer?

> It has a whisk looking
>>attachment which I haven't decoded yet.
>
>Huh! I've never seen that for a food processor. Cool.

uh huh! The machine has a really good pictorial 'how to assemble each
bit' book, but it's not about when you USE each bit. So thanks for
the tips.
>
>It only has the chopper blade and one disk, but in my case the
>benefits of leaving it on the counter outweigh the benefits of having
>flexibility with extra attachments. If I had enough space to store a
>full-size FP, I'd get one of those too :>

I cleared a space on the bench for it because I knew I'd never use it
if it wasn't right THERE. It really is a monster tho, I had better
learn how to make it earn its keep.

I made a salad the other night with grated carrots and a grated raw
beet tossed together with an avocado and a buncha mung bean sprouts,
with a dressing of tahini and other stuff, and some toasted almonds,
it was YUMMY and grating all that stuff would NOT have happened if I
had to do it by hand.
thanks again


Hope