Cuisinart DLC-5 manual To dislodge food, To chop hard foods, To chop parsley and other fresh herbs

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 button 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 into place. Press the ON button and drop the food pieces through the feed tube opening while the machine is running. 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 pusher, press the ON button and drop the food through the 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 (2.5cm) 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 chop- ping 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 fine as desired. The more herbs you chop at a time, the finer 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 (5cm) or less and process with 1/2 cup (125 ml) of granulated sugar until finely chopped. This may take 2 minutes or longer.

For sticky fruit like dates, raisins, prunes and candied fruit, first freeze the fruit for about 10 minutes. Add some of the flour called for in the recipe to the fruit. Use no more than

1 cup (250 ml) of flour for each cup of fruit.

To chop meat, poultry, fish and seafood:

The food should be very cold, but not frozen. Cut it into 1-inch (2.5cm) pieces to ensure an even chop. Using the ON button, process no more than the recommended amount at one time (see table inside front cover). Press the PULSE button 3 or 4 times at a rate of

1 second on, 1 second off. If the food is not chopped finely enough, let the processor run continuously for a few seconds. Check the texture often to avoid overprocessing. Use a spatula to scrape food from the sides of the bowl as necessary.

To purée meat, poultry, fish and seafood:

Prepare the food as described above. Press the PULSE button until evenly chopped, then process continuously to the desired texture. Scrape the bowl with a spatula as needed.

Leave the purée in the work bowl and add eggs, cream and seasonings as called for by the recipe. Process to combine thoroughly.

Remember, you control texture by the length of time you process. By varying the processing time, you can get a range of textures suitable for hamburgers, hash, stuffed peppers, or smooth mousses.

To chop nuts:

Chop no more than the recommended amount at one time. Press and release the PULSE but- ton and check frequently to avoid nuts clump- ing together in a nut butter. When a recipe calls for flour or sugar, add some to the nuts before you chop, about 1/2 cup for each cup of nuts. This allows you to chop the nuts as fine as you want without turning them into a nut butter. You can also chop nuts with a shredding or slicing disc. The optional Fine Shredding Disc is particularly good.

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