How to Use a Food Processor

It Should Be Easier
It is easy enough to use a food processor, regardless of the model you have. Unfortunately, it is also quite easy to make a magnificent mess if you aren't careful. Below we'll outline a handful of good tips and safety precautions so you can enjoy the use of your food processor for years to come.

Loading the Bowl
Many food processors have an open cylinder where the driving mechanism can reach the chopping attachment. The attachment will have a flat side or some other kind of rivet so that it fits on top of the driving mechanism and spins with it. With this in mind, you must keep the bowl attached to the machine, with your intended attachment installed properly. Then you fill the bowl. Filling the bowl elsewhere will raise the possibility of lifting the attachment off the cylinder, leaving room for the contents to spill out of the bottom.

Never overload your bowl. This comes with practice. Just because your new Kitchen Aid food processor says "12-cup capacity" doesn't mean you should chuck a few quarts of soup in there. You'll have a mess at least, and at worst, a nasty burn.

Cuisinart DLC-2A 3-Cup Mini-Prep Plus Processor-Brushed Chrome

Mind the Loading Tube

At the top of manufacturers' lists of food processor features is the loading access. The bigger this gets, the easier it is for stuff to fly out. Always test whatever you have in the KitchenAid food processor with the loading access well blocked before you remove it.

Try a Dry Run
Don't assume that since you paid a bunch of money for something, it is self-explanatory. Try a run with nothing in your food processor to make sure you understand its safety mechanisms and requirements for starting. All food processors have locking features that disable the motor until everything is properly installed. You don't want to be learning this stuff when you've got a quart of boiling hot soup in the work bowl.