Food Processor

• A food processor is a motorized countertop appliance that is composed of a lidded container and blades that shred, chop or slice foods. It essentially takes the place of a kitchen knife, a food chopper and a hand grater. It is usually equipped with two speeds and a pulse button that gives more control over the rate at which the food is being processed.The blade turns at a very high speed that can be controlled by using the pulse function, delivering small bursts of centrifugal energy as opposed to long continuous processing that can quickly take a particular food beyond the proper consistency. A food processor makes short work of shredding hard cheeses, making dried bread crumbs or chopping vegetables, and some units are equipped with a chute that ejects the food into a separate container. A food processor also blends certain foods, such as the ingredients for pie crust, bread dough, sauces and salad dressings.
  
  

Stand Mixer

• A stand mixer offers more control over how gently ingredients are blended.Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  A stand mixer is a countertop version of a motorized beater and is used primarily to combine ingredients for baked goods. It streamlines tasks usually done with a mixing spoon and a wire whisk. Most models feature a removable bowl and a base that turns the bowl during mixing. Beater attachments usually include a paddle for mixing thick batter, a balloon whisk for whipping egg whites and cream, and a dough hook for blending and kneading bread dough. Some models feature a rotating beater rather than a turntable, and a locking head to keep the unit from bouncing during use. Stand mixers feature a range of speeds from very low, used for gentle blending of ingredients, to the high setting necessary for making meringues and whipping cream.
  
  

Differences

• A food processor's main function is to transform foods into the consistency that is called for in a particular recipe. It shreds cabbage and carrots for slaw, chops onions and peppers for stir-fries, and purees fresh tomatoes for sauces, none of which a stand mixer is capable of. Unlike a stand mixer, however, the food processor does not incorporate air into a mixture, making it unsuitable for mixing batters or mashing potatoes. Rather than change an ingredient's basic consistency, a stand mixer's primary job is to successfully combine it with the other ingredients called for in a recipe.
  
  

Considerations

• To put it simply, a food processor blade slices rapidly through food, while a stand mixer paddle moves foods around and gently weds them to each other. In a stand mixer, the contact between the beater and the ingredients is more greatly distributed, whereas the food processor blade connects with the food in just one area. Both appliances can be used for some tasks with equally good results. While both can be used to knead bread dough, the food processor achieves this more quickly. Bowl capacity might also be a concern, as a food processor bowl normally handles less food than a stand mixer bowl.