blender or food processor?

Do you have either or both? What do you like and dislike? Can I shred cabbage and make smoothies in one machine? How much do I have to spend? Do I really need either or is it just my love of kitchen gadgets begging for a fix?

Opinions?

You can get food processors that will juice fruit so I would *think* you could make a smoothie in one. Can't say I've tried though but it seems to be it's the same principle!!

I make coleslaw with my food processor and love it - and I got it free from Freecycle! I had a blender but it was a crap one so rarely used it.

I say Food Processor, they have lots of attachments, and these days you can get the kid where you can also stick a blender into the motor. I have a Food Processor but I barely use it, I got a Magic Bullet Blender, and that is great.

My Kitchenaid Mixer is my #1 Kitchen Appliance though! Love it!

IMO, they are two different beasts.  Sure, you can make smoothies in a food processor and shred cabagge in a blender but would you brush your hair with your toothbrush and brush your teeth with your hairbrush?  Each of them is designed to do a job and while they may do the other job, it just wouldn't be the same.  Then again, I am a kitchen stuff whore collector!

June

I agree with JuneHawk, two very different appliances. 

I have both, don't know how I ever lived without my MagiMix!!   

Both although I like my food processor more than I thought I would.

I have both and love my Magimix too.

Both!  Almost gave up our blender.  Then thought . . . nah.  We have a Cuisinart food processor that gets used nearly every day - great if you're trying to increase your veg intake because chopping/slicing is so much easier.

Both!!

I get by with just my KitchenAid blender, but I wish I still had my Cuisinart (which I left in the US). One of these days, I hope to buy another one!

i agree that each has their own job to do... but if you could only buy one i'd go with food processor.  AND a small handheld wand mixer (for pureeing soups in the pot, etc).

i actually DON'T have a food processor... and the which best buy is magimix compact 3100.  you all seem to love your magimixs... any reviews on this particular model?

We have both, well a food processor and a smoothie maker.  The food processor is great for making curry but not so good for juicing.  We tried to make fresh orange juice in our Kenwood and it ended up being so thick you couldn't even pour it out.  I still say it is because he didn't read the directions right, but he makes wicked curries in it as well as great stir fries. 

Since we're not sure how long we'll be in the UK, I didn't want to load up on 240V kitchen appliances. I bought this as an all-in-one sort of option:


It's not your standard hand blender: 600W of power, baby! 

I'm surprised at the poor reviews on Amazon--I'm really happy with mine, and I've had it since before Christmas. It's used several times a week. It wouldn't shred cabbage, but then again, neither would my lousy old American food processor (I've never owned a decent food processor). I haven't tried making smoothies yet, but I bet it would work brilliantly. I use it mostly for grinding/chopping things, pureeing soups, and blender-type jobs like pureeing fruits and mixing crepe batter, plus the occasional whipped cream and beaten egg white. I am thinking about buying a cheap hand mixer, because the whisk attachment just isn't stout enough to handle things like creaming butter and sugar, and holding the button down for long enough to beat egg whites is hard on my hand. But for everything else, this little widget is great. 

ETA: I see this on cooking shows all the time!