Thursday, January 30, 2014

Gadgets: Magimix Food Processor

Let's face it, food processors have been around since caveman days. Okay, maybe not that long, but they've been around long enough that they're no longer new and exciting. And in all those years, the function hasn't changed much, which is why I never felt the need to review one. We all know what they do.

But when I heard about the Magimix food processor and its juicer attachment, I thought it was worth a closer look.

When it comes to kitchen appliances, people will sometimes ask whether they need a blender, juicer, or food processor, as though they all do the same thing. A juicer is a completely different beast than the other two. It mashes or shreds the food and separates the pulp from the juice.

While blenders and food processors have similar spinning blades, if your goal is smoothies and milk shakes, you'll get much better results from a blender than from a food processor.

Carrot-orange juice made with the juicer attachment.
The Magimix I tested came with a plastic insert that was to be used for blender-like operations. I gave it a try, and basically it causes the liquid to get thrown around a bit, just like what happens inside a blender.

I blitzed some ice and made some smoothies and shakes, and the result was just like I'd get from my blender.

But the thing that really intrigued me was the add-on juicer attachment. It fits into the bowl of the food processor and works like a centrifugal juicer, shredding and separating juice from pulp.

The major difference between this and a standalone juicer is that the juice and pulp don't eject from the food processor - the juice remains in the bowl of the processor, and the pulp stays inside the juicer attachment.

So, if you're going to make vast quantities of juice, you'll need to stop occasionally and empty the food processor bowl.

And, depending on how fibrous or pulpy your fruits and vegetables are, you might also need to remove the pulp that accumulates.

If you already have a food processor, it wouldn’t make sense to buy this just for the juicing feature, but if you’re shopping for a food processor and you want to do some juicing as well, this will save you some counter real estate.

Bonus is that while some juicers are seriously noisy, this is only as loud as a typical food processor while it’s juicing.

I received this item from the manufacturer for review. Words and opinions are my own.
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