Cook Without a Food Processor
Food processors are great modern conveniences. Yet, for the times you need to cook a recipe and there's no electricity, you're in a kitchen without a processor, or your own device has just broken down, you need to be able to cook effectively without one.
While many of the solutions provided in this article are straightforward, some require knowing how to use ordinary tools in different ways. All of these methods combined should be able to replicate a food processor, and while these are slower, more labour-intensive methods, they are an excellent experience for learning to cook from scratch. They also use no electricity--good for nostalgia or slow-cooking type meals.
Steps
- Shred using a grater. For shredded foods, most foods can be grated using a manual Clean a Kitchen Grater.
- You can also use the grater for making fresh breadcrumbs.
- Try to obtain a commercial grade food grater, as these are less likely to rust.
- Grate or slice using a mandolin. Take care using mandolins; always use the slicing handle they come with.
- Grate by slicing into fine slices. Then slice again to make julienne like cuts on a smaller scale.
- For very fine slices or shavings, use a vegetable peeler.
- Use a zester for making small thin strips for garnish, or for small quantity needs.
- Use the following as suitable crushing methods:
- Crush fresh ingredients (for example, to make a pesto or paste), place the food into a sealed bag and crush with a rolling pin or meat mallet.
- For crushing items such as biscuits or dry, stale bread for crumbs, use the same method, then sieve the crumbs through a colander or sieve to filter the fine crumbs, then crush the remaining coarse ones again.
- An electric coffee mill can also be used to pulverize dry ingredients, such as herbs or grains. It should be Clean an Electric Coffee Mill Thoroughly, and and also after.
- For harder items like nuts, spices or garlic, crush them in a mortar and pestle.
- For pureed foods, use a Moulinex food processor. Alternatively, press the foods through a clean fine mesh or sieve to make food like pâté.
- Find a dough hook alternative. For making a dough such as pasta, pastry or bread, use a stiff whisk, table knife or fork. These can be used to combine ingredients to keep your hands clean. You will still need to knead by hand, however, for quickest results.
- For pulsing Make Cream Soups or other similar products, use the following solutions:
- To make between a smooth/chunky consistency, use a potato masher.
- For a very smooth soup, mash until no visible chunks remain, then pour through a sieve, and press the remainder through the sieve using a spoon.
- For quick chopping where an even consistency is not always needed, use a mezzaluna type knife. This will enable quick chopping. A standard knife and board will suffice for most vegetables and fruits.
- For whipping, use a whisk. This is the easiest, but you could also use a bunch of thin bamboo kebab sticks to simulate a whisk.
- For churning, such as butter or ice cream, use a rotary whisk if you have one.
- For grinding or mincing, use a mechanical mincer if there is one. This will give a unique mincemeat like consistency which is very hard to replicate by hand.
- If such an item is still not available, then slice thinly, finely chop and crush with a pestle, potato masher, or knead it by hand until you reach a mince consistency.
- Semi frozen meat can be grated to make a good mince like product. Take all suitable hygiene precautions.
Tips
- A strong wooden spoon can be useful for kneading bread dough.
- Experiment using different tools to make similar results.
Warnings
- The downside is that these methods can be slower, so maintaining top hygiene is important, to avoid food poisoning.
Things You'll Need
- Grater
- Moulinex
- Mortar and pestle
- Plastic bag and rolling pin/meat mallet
- Potato masher
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