Can you make a smoothie in a food processor?

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Well everyone who keeps a food processor in their home search answers to one simple question: what if they can make smoothies using their food processor? The answer is very simple, yes. But there are certain conditions which you need to look after are the key ingredients which you’ve chosen and the kind of smoothie being made by you in a food processor. Apart from this, there are various limitations of a food processor in dealing with smoothies making. Because the food processor doesn’t work like that of a common blender. That is why you need to follow certain steps in making smoothies in your food processors. 

1. Sharpen the blades of your food processor :

The first step in making a smoothie in a food processor is to sharpen its blades. This is done to ensure that at the end you get liquid type consistency of your processed food. If blades aren’t sharpened enough before making your smoothie then rest be assured you’ll get huge pieces of vegetables and fruits floating in the poorly processed smoothie. You can get help by purchasing a blade sharpener from the market. Various varieties and types are available within different price ranges. Choose the best sharpener as per your requirements. These can make your work easier. All you need is to sharp the blade enough which can carry out your basic task of slicing the fruits and vegetables in the food processor. One thing which you need to remember is that there is a huge difference between blenders and food processors. The former is used to liquefy the different food items whereas a food processor is used to make smoothies and slice the ingredients. 

2.Liquefy your ingredients :

One more key difference that distinguishes blenders from food processors is the amount of liquid which is added while processing the ingredients. The general rule is not to add liquid more than a set limit in the blender because this will ultimately turn your smoothies into a thin liquid product at the end. But the same is not true about a food processor. Here you are ought to add more than the usual quantity of liquid to make sure that your end products are mixed well and are blended adequately, so are drinkable at the end. Generally, food processors were invented to make thicker but liquefied foods kike butter, thick pastes, and sauces. But if you want to make smoothies in a food processor then you need to make sure it is closer to liquid. Hence more liquid of any type as per recommendation is added to make smoothies more thinner than usual pastes. One more benefit of adding some extra quantity of liquids like water, juices, or milk will ensure proper slicing of fruits and vegetables by blades hence preventing thick smoothie formation. 

3. Defrosting of frozen ingredients: 

The third step in making a smoothie in your food processor is to defrost your ingredients like fruits and vegetables. Again this is a key difference between a food processor and blender as blenders can easily handle frosted items but food processors can’t perform optimal function if ingredients are frozen. So you need to soften the fruits and vegetables after you’ve taken them out of the freezer. You can Defrost items in a defroster oven. If you want some cold smoothie at the end then you will be required to add some ice as ingredients. But here you must add small pieces of ice cubes that can be easily sliced in a food processor. Alternatively, refrigerated cold liquid can be used for this purpose.

4.Softening the food properly :

The last tip and step in making your food by using a food processor is that you need to soften your foods and all such ingredients before making a  mixture of these items. This step can be carried out by running a bucket of warm water over your ingredients. If ingredients are frozen then you can keep these in open air for a few minutes. Soaking in simple clean water can also help in this step. In this way, you can soften most of the common ingredients like fruits and vegetables before putting into a food processor. By doing this you’ll get soft and well-sliced ingredients in the processor. Mixing ingredients with water can turn these into fine-textured foods which will help in blending and processing later.

What are things which should be looked at before buying a food processor?

There are plenty of things which you need to look at before making a final deal with your food processor from the market or an online shop. 

  • First thing is that you must know the difference between a blender and a food processor. Because both look the same but carry out different functions. So getting the right machine for the right job should be your first priority before buying a food processor. 
  • One more thing that is important is the wattage of a processor, which will affect the end product of your ingredients. Different processors make smoothies of different consistency, so choose your processor accordingly.
  • Another thing that needs to be considered are the ingredients which you’ll be using frequently for smoothie making in your kitchen. So a perfect food processor must meet your criteria of food items.

Wattage of food processor :

Wattage of a food processor is the main feature which will affect your processed smoothie at the end. So choose a food processor that fits your needs. Most people perform dual functions of blending and mixing together in a food processor. So such types obviously need more power and wattage than ordinary one. Hence you should prefer a food processor that has wattage equal or greater than 700 watts. If you buy a processor with low voltage then it may affect the quality and texture of your smoothies. 

Conclusion :

Making a long story short, you can make different types of smoothies in a food processor provided that you have some basic know how of a processor, from its buying to its handling and finally making your favorite smoothie by using it. You can enjoy freshly made smoothies from your food processor in any meal from breakfast to late night dinners. These are great additions to our regular food items on the dining table. Only a few things that you need to remember before making it in a food processor are the above mentioned key steps which should be followed so that you get a fine textured smoothie in your meal.

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