Food processor
Electric kitchen appliance for chopping, slicing, and blending food.
A food processor is a kitchen tool that speeds up repetitive food prep tasks like blending, chopping, dicing, and slicing. While the term usually refers to an electric model, some manual versions also exist. Unlike a blender, which needs liquid to work properly and produces a more fluid result, a food processor can operate with little to no liquid, and even finely chopped items keep some texture.
The first electric food processor was the Starmix, launched by German company Electrostar in 1946. It looked like a basic blender but came with extras like a bread slicer, milk centrifuge, and ice cream bowl. Because electric motors were costly at the time, Electrostar also made the piccolo, whose base could power a vacuum cleaner. In the 1960s, Albrecht von Goertz designed the Starmix MX3 model. In France, the idea for a food-processing machine came from Pierre Verdon, a catering salesman who noticed how much time clients spent chopping and shredding. He created a simple bowl with a revolving blade at the bottom. By 1960, this led to Robot-Coupe, a company making commercial food processors for the catering industry. In the late 1960s, a commercial model with a powerful induction motor appeared. Robot-Coupe’s Magimix arrived in the UK in 1974, starting with the Model 1800. In 1979, UK company Kenwood Limited released its own food processor, the ‘processor de-luxe.’
Disability research was ongoing because the first food processors weren’t easy for everyone to use. In 1978, Marc Harrison, a professor of industrial design at the Rhode Island School of Design, was hired by American company Cuisinart to update the food processor. He focused on making it usable for people with limited fine motor skills or eyesight, which also made it simpler for all users. Changes included larger writing on the base and bigger handles and buttons. In 1980, the USSR began producing the Mriya food processor, which came with an electric motor, a gearbox, and six attachments: a meat grinder, coffee grinder, mixer, juicer, and vegetable chopper.
Food processors typically offer several functions depending on the blade or attachment used. Tough jobs like kneading stiff doughs, chopping raw carrots, or shredding hard cheese may need a more powerful motor. The standard chopping tool is the knife blade. Shredding and slicing blades are also common. With add-ons like a blender or juicer attachment, a food processor can take on tasks usually done by other appliances.
- key_innovation
- Accessibility updates for users with limited fine motor skills and eyesight
- common_functions
- Blend, chop, dice, slice, knead dough, shred cheese
Lore & Background
Although the basic unit resembled a simple blender, numerous accessories were available, including attachments for slicing bread, milk centrifuges and ice cream bowls. In a time when electric motors were expensive, they also developed the piccolo, where the food processor's base unit could drive a vacuum cleaner. In the 1960s, Albrecht von Goertz designed the Starmix MX3 food processor. In France, the concept of a machine to process food began when a catering company salesman, Pierre Verdon, observed the large amount of time his clients spent in the kitchen chopping, shredding and mixing. He produced a simple but effective solution, a bowl with a revolving blade in the base. In the late 1960s, a commercial food processor driven by a powerful commercial induction motor was produced. Harrison focused on making the machine usable for those with limited abilities with fine motor skills and eyesight, which in turn made it easier for any user to operate. These updates included larger writing on the base and larger handles and buttons.
Reader's Guide
The food processor has significantly changed home and commercial food preparation by automating repetitive tasks such as chopping, slicing, and kneading. The food processor's ability to perform multiple functions with interchangeable attachments, such as shredding and slicing blades or juicer and blender attachments, has made it a versatile tool that can replace several other appliances. Its legacy is evident in its widespread adoption in both domestic and professional kitchens, where it continues to reduce meal preparation time while allowing users to retain control over food texture, as it requires little to no liquid during use.
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