This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...
To find out more...
It's spinning too fast!
When you need to grate or slice vegetables, you generally use an electric machine that does all the work: a food processor, a mixer with a "slicer" extension or similar.
Are these machines really suitable? Generally speaking, yes of course, but there's one criterion that often poses a problem, and that's speed.
Are these machines really suitable? Generally speaking, yes of course, but there's one criterion that often poses a problem, and that's speed.
11 K 5/5 (2 reviews)
Keywords for this post:EquipmentGratingBeatingKneadingSpeedRotationLast modified on: November 12th 2023
It's spinning too fast!
It happens very, very often in the kitchen, when you need to grate, julienne or slice vegetables for one of your recipes.
You wash them, peel them, and then run them through one of your machines using the right disc or grater.
We all do this, and it's only natural, after all: it's super-fast, super-convenient and relatively efficient.
Many of us use what in France is called a "robot-coupe", or equivalent, a food processor with a simple electric motor and cutting discs of various sizes.
Granted, it works very fast - it takes 2 or 3 seconds to grate a carrot, for example - but it has an annoying tendency to sometimes rough up the vegetables, and to make carrot purée and juice at the same time as it grates - you'll find a bit of this at the bottom of the machine's bowl. This is even more pronounced with tender vegetables such as zucchinis or cucumbers.
This isn't too bad for a simple carrot salad, you may say, but you have to admit that what is grated with this tool is necessarily in very, very small, very fine pieces, and sometimes this isn't great for the recipe and its texture.
The problem is that the food processor runs too fast, much too fast for this job, and therefore produces this "purée" effect, which is a bit painful.
It's almost impossible to reduce the speed of the machine (I've tried using a variable speed drive on mine), it starts to work badly, so what can you do?
Well, you "still" have to buy a new electric machine, which takes up a lot of space, but it's a good option.
To sum up: conventional food processors run too fast when cutting or grating vegetables, and are far less efficient than a dedicated vegetable grater that "spins" much more slowly, or even better, a simple and economical hand grater.
You wash them, peel them, and then run them through one of your machines using the right disc or grater.
We all do this, and it's only natural, after all: it's super-fast, super-convenient and relatively efficient.
Many of us use what in France is called a "robot-coupe", or equivalent, a food processor with a simple electric motor and cutting discs of various sizes.
Granted, it works very fast - it takes 2 or 3 seconds to grate a carrot, for example - but it has an annoying tendency to sometimes rough up the vegetables, and to make carrot purée and juice at the same time as it grates - you'll find a bit of this at the bottom of the machine's bowl. This is even more pronounced with tender vegetables such as zucchinis or cucumbers.
This isn't too bad for a simple carrot salad, you may say, but you have to admit that what is grated with this tool is necessarily in very, very small, very fine pieces, and sometimes this isn't great for the recipe and its texture.
The problem is that the food processor runs too fast, much too fast for this job, and therefore produces this "purée" effect, which is a bit painful.
It's almost impossible to reduce the speed of the machine (I've tried using a variable speed drive on mine), it starts to work badly, so what can you do?
The alternatives
Well, you "still" have to buy a new electric machine, which takes up a lot of space, but it's a good option.
To sum up: conventional food processors run too fast when cutting or grating vegetables, and are far less efficient than a dedicated vegetable grater that "spins" much more slowly, or even better, a simple and economical hand grater.
Lasts posts
XO Cognac Explained: Meaning, Aging, and Flavor Profile
XO Cognac always goes beyond the labels on the bottle: it is often associated with tradition and quality. You get to appreciate the artistry, character and ageing process when you understand what defines this smooth Cognac. The section below tackles everything about XO Cognac, from complex flavour...January 28th 2026620 Sponsored article
Butter vs. grease
We often read in a recipe where a pastry is put into a mould that, just before pouring, the mould should be buttered or greased. But what's the difference between these 2 terms?December 1st 20252,4715
Getting out of the fridge early
Very often when you're cooking, you need to take food or preparations out of the fridge, to use them in the recipe in progress. There's nothing tricky about this: you just take them out of the fridge and use them, usually immediately, in the recipe. But is this really a good method?November 24th 20251,6235
Who's making the croissants?
When you look at a bakery from the outside, you naturally think that in the bakery, the bakers make the bread, and in the laboratory, the pastry chefs make the cakes. It's very often like that, with each of these professions having quite different ways of working, but sometimes there's also one...November 23th 20251,463
Oven height
When we put a dish or cake in the oven, we naturally tend to put it on the middle shelf, and that's what we usually do. But in some cases, this position and height can be a little tricky, so let's find out why.October 8th 20254,7825
Other pages you may also like
For well opened (puffed) cakes
It's always nice to have a well puffed up cake after baking, not only will it taste good but it looks great too. Let's see how to get this beautiful shape almost every time.January 23th 201935 K4.2
The bitterness of endives
As I write these lines, we are entering the endive season, and if you like it, it's time to enjoy it, if possible with your local producers. Endive is good, but the reproach that is often made of it, and children in particular, is: "It's bitter! And it is (somewhat) true of course, endives...February 9th 201915 K4.9
The so-called "nervous" meats
You've probably heard this before, we're talking about "nervous" meat, or meat with nerves, to describe what is indicated by the blue arrow on the left. This is a piece of beef, and what we call a nerve is not a nerve, it is in fact collagen (chemists sometimes call it a "collagen sink"), a...April 16th 202138 K4.5
Maillard reactions
This subject cropped up recently in a discussion with my three charming nieces; do you know what Maillard reactions are? With a name like that, they could well be some principle in mechanics, but in fact the term applies to something much closer to all of us: it's what gives food more flavour...January 28th 201538 K4
Artichoke stalks
When preparing artichokes for cooking, you may well already know that we often need to remove the first round of leaves, if they are tatty or dirty, as well as the inedible stalk. The operative word here is “remove” , rather than “cut off”.October 25th 201654 K4.3
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.