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.

It's LIVE! Make Ahead Bread!

Well, how about that. My book, Make Ahead Bread is available for pre-order on Amazon!

To help me celebrate, my friends at Good Cook have a sweet (yeasty) offer for you.

If you pre-order the book by February 28 and fill out this Google Doc, Good Cook will send you a loaf pan.

Trust me, you're going to knead one. Er, I mean need ...

This is not a contest sort of giveaway - no winning required. Just order the book and fill out the form, and the pan is yours. It will take 8-10 weeks for delivery, so it will be ready and waiting when your book arrives.

Thanks so much to Carla at Good Cook for making this awesome offer!

Gadgets: Proof that Proofing Works

The first thing I have to say about the folding proofer ($148) from Brod and Taylor is "How have I survived so long without this?"


Okay, I'm in the midst of developing bread recipes for my upcoming cookbook, Make Ahead Bread, so I'm baking more bread than a normal person. But even when I'm back to my normal rate of bread production, this will be a handy thing to have. And, when it's not in use, it folds, for more compact storage. That's always a bonus.

When I first unpacked the proofer, I thought it might be a little too small - it looked like it might be too short to fit my stand mixer bowl. But, no, the bowl fit in the proofer, with a little headroom. The interior measures 12 1/2 x 15 inches, and about 8 1/5 high, so it's too small for a half-sheet pan, but it's fine for plenty of other pans and bowls.

This heats to a range of 70 - 120 degrees in one-degree increments, so besides proofing dough you can use it for fermenting yogurt or similar products.

I been using it pretty constantly for proofing dough, and I've made several batches of yogurt as well. Although I haven't done it, I suspect it would also be useful for keeping food warm if you're cooking in batches or if something is finished a little sooner than it should be.

Before I had this proofer to work with, my favorite place to proof dough was in my oven with the light on. But that's no use when I need the oven for something else, which is usually the case.

If you don't bake a lot of bread, obviously you won't need this. But if you make a lot of bread and you want consistent temperature for rising, this just might come in handy.

The product was supplied for the purpose of a review on Serious Eats; this was previously published on Serious Eats.