to scrape off any food. Then carefully lift the
blade out of the work bowl. Or insert your
fi nger through the hole in the bottom of the
work bowl, gripping the blade from the bot-
tom, and grip the outside of the work bowl
with your thumb. Or hold the blade in place
with your fi nger or spatula while pouring out
food.
TECHNIQUES FOR CHOP-
PING AND PURÉEING
WITH THE METAL BLADE
To chop raw fruits and vegetables:
First cut the food into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces.
You get a more even chop when all pieces
are about the same size.
Put no more than the recommended amount
of food into the work bowl (see table inside
front cover). Lock the cover in place. Press
the PULSE button at the rate of 1 second
on, 1 second off, until the food is coarsely
chopped. For more fi nely chopped results,
hold the PULSE button, letting the machine
run continuously until the desired consis-
tency is reached. Check frequently to avoid
overprocessing. Use the spatula to scrape
down the sides of the work bowl if necessary
To purée fruits and cooked vegetables:
First, cut the food into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces.
You get a smoother purée faster when all
pieces are about equal in size.
Put no more than the recommended amount
of food in the work bowl (see table inside
front cover). Lock the cover in place. PULSE
to chop coarsely, then press the ON but-
ton and process continuously until food is
puréed. (NOTE: Cooked potatoes are an
exception to this procedure. They develop a
gluey texture when processed with the metal
blade.)
When making soup, you will want to purée
vegetables that have been cooked in liquid.
Don’t add the liquid to the work bowl, just
the cooked vegetables; remove vegetables
with a slotted spoon. They will purée faster
and smoother without liquid. Then add just
enough liquid to make the purée pourable,
return to the soup liquid and stir to combine.
To dislodge food:
Occasionally, a piece of food may become
wedged between the blade and the work
bowl. If this happens, unplug the machine,
remove the cover, lift the blade out carefully
and remove the wedged piece. Empty the
bowl, reinsert the blade and lock the cover
and pusher in place. Press the ON button
and drop the food pieces through the small
feed tube opening while the machine is run-
ning. After adding a cupful this way, add the
remaining food to the bowl and process in
the usual manner.
To chop hard foods:
To chop hard food like garlic and hard
cheese, assemble the unit, remove the small
pusher, press the ON button and drop the
food through the small feed tube while the
machine is running.
Small foods like garlic can be dropped in
whole. Large foods like hard cheese should
be cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces. This
method of processing minces garlic, shallots
and onions. Hard cheese and coconut will
have the same texture as if they had been
hand grated.
IMPORTANT: Never try to process cheese
that is too hard to cut with a knife. You may
damage the blade or the machine.
To chop parsley and other fresh herbs:
The herbs, the work bowl and the metal
chopping blade must all be thoroughly clean
and dry. Remove stems from herbs. Add
leaves to bowl and process, using the PULSE
button until chopped as fi ne as desired. The
more herbs you chop at a time, the fi ner
chop you can obtain. If completely dry when
chopped, parsley and other herbs will keep
for at least 4-5 days, stored in an airtight
bag in the refrigerator. They may be frozen
for months, stored in an airtight container or
bag.
To chop peel from citrus fruit or to chop
sticky fruit like dates or raisins :
For citrus, remove only the peel with a
vegetable peeler, not the white pith which is
bitter tasting.
Cut the peel into lengths of 2 inches (5 cm)
or less and process with 1/2 cup (125 ml) of
granulated sugar until fi nely chopped. This
may take 2 minutes or longer.
For sticky fruit like dates, raisins, prunes and
candied fruit, fi rst freeze the fruit for about
10 minutes. Add some of the fl our called for
in the recipe to the fruit. Use no more than 1
cup (250 ml) of fl our for each cup of fruit.
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