6
IMPORTANT:
Never try to process cheese that is too
hard to cut with a knife. You may damage the blade
or the machine.
To chop parsley and other fresh herbs
The herbs, the work bowl and the metal blade must
all be thoroughly clean and dry. Remove stems from
herbs. Add leaves to bowl and process until they are
chopped as fine as you want. The more herbs you
chop at a time, the finer chop you can obtain. If com-
pletely dry when chopped, parsley and other herbs
will keep for at least 10 days, stored in an airtight bag
in the refrigerator. They may be frozen for months,
stored in an airtight container or bag.
To chop peel from citrus fruit or to chop
sticky fruit like dates or raisins
For citrus, remove the peel with a vegetable peeler,
leaving on the white pith, which is bitter tasting. Cut
the peel into lengths of 2 inches or less and process
with 1/2 cup of granulated sugar until finely chopped.
This may take 2 minutes or longer.
For sticky fruit like dates, raisins, prunes and candied
fruit, first freeze the fruit for about 10 minutes. Add to
it some of the flour called for in the recipe. Use no
more than 1 cup of flour for each cup of fruit.
To chop meat, poultry, fish and seafood
The food should be very cold, but not frozen. Cut it
into 1-inch pieces to ensure an even chop. Process
no more than the recommended amount at a time
(see table inside front cover). Press the OFF/PULSE
lever 3 or 4 times at a rate of 1 second on, 1 second
off. If the food is not chopped fine enough, let the
processor run continuously for a few seconds. Check
the texture often to avoid overprocessing. Use a
spatula to scrape food from the sides of the bowl as
necessary.
To purée meat, poultry, fish and seafood
Prepare the food as described above. Pulse until it is
evenly chopped, then process continuously to the
desired texture. Scrape the bowl with a spatula as
needed.
Leave the purée in the work bowl and add eggs,
cream and seasonings as called for by the recipe.
Process to combine thoroughly.
Remember you control texture by the length of time
you process. By varying the processing time, you can
get a range of textures suitable for hamburgers,
hash, stuffed peppers, rough patés or smooth
mousses.
To chop nuts
Chop no more than the recommended amount at one
time. Press and release the OFF/PULSE lever and
check frequently to avoid letting powdered nuts
clump together in a nut butter.
When a recipe calls for flour or sugar, add some to
the nuts before you chop them – about 1/2 cup for
each cup of nuts. This allows you to chop the nuts
as tiny as you want without turning them into a
nut butter.
You can also chop nuts with a shredding disc. The
optional Fine Shredding Disc is particularly good.
To make peanut butter and other
nut butters
Process up to the recommended amount of nuts.
Let the machine run continuously. After 2 or 3 min-
utes, the ground nuts will form a ball that will gradual-
ly smooth out. Scrape the sides of the bowl and
continue processing until drops of oil are visible.
Taste for consistency. The longer you process, the
softer the butter will be. For chunk style, add a hand-
ful of nuts just after the ball of nut butter begins to
smooth out. To make cashew butter, add a little bland
vegetable oil. Processor nut butters contain no
preservatives. Store in the refrigerator to keep them
without separating.
To make flavored butters, spreads and dips
Cut room-temperature butter into tablespoon size
pieces. Chop flavoring ingredients – anchovies,
cheese, herbs, etc. – fine, then process. Be sure
the work bowl is clean and dry. Add small, hard
ingredients like garlic and hard cheese through the
feed tube while the machine is running. Next, add
the butter and process until smooth. Add any liquid
ingredients last, while the processor is running,
and process just long enough to blend. Process
ingredients for spreads and dips in the same way.
They should be at room temperature and cut into
1-inch cubes, or added by tablespoonfuls.
To make mayonnaise
The work bowl and metal blade must be clean and
dry. Use one whole large egg, or the yolks from two
large eggs. Mayonnaise made from yolks will be
almost as thick as butter. You should be able to
add 2/3 cup of oil for each yolk or 1-1/4 cups for a
whole egg.
Process the yolks or egg with with salt, mustard
and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil for at least
30 seconds. Then, while the machine is running,
pour 1/4 cup of oil into the small pusher. After it
dribbles through the pinhole at the bottom, remove
the small pusher and slowly add the remaining oil
while the machine runs. See the recipe at the back
of this book.
To beat egg whites
Use this method only for recipes that can be done
almost entirely by food processor.
The work bowl and metal blade must be absolutely
clean. Add 3 or more egg whites and press the ON
lever. Add about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar
for every egg white. Vinegar makes stiffer whites; its
flavor is hardly detectable in cakes, soufflés or ice
creams. Continue processing until the egg whites
hold their shape – about 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 minutes.
