Kitchen machines for processing food vary from the very large and impressive down to quite little doodads that fit out of sight on the countertop. However, it’s not just what you want to do with these clever machines; it’s how much you want to use them and whether it’s for a family of two or twenty two.

Technically food processors are the medium-sized machines that chop, slice and grate, and some will have a blender or other attachments. They can also mix cake dough and whip and whisk up cream or mayonnaise, but if you want to do a lot of cooking and baking then the larger kitchen mixer might be best.

Kitchen Machines or Food mixers have been around for a long time – my mother an early adopter, had one umptyum years ago and hers had, like now available a dough hook and beater, and also had a blender and food processor attachment. A mincer is also available for the dedicated cook and those who make large batches of stuff for the freezer. These are not particularly easy to clean but you can put them in a dish washer.

Mini-choppers are the little machines for everyday use that are good for chopping or pureeing small amounts of food. Mine also has two blades and one used for grinding. Useful as these little gadgets are they are not good for anything other than smallish amounts of food and are not useful for liquids.

You can get a Kenwood Food Processor from the Kenwood FP120 at around £35 to the Kenwood Multipro Kitchen Machine at £75, and a powerful Bosch at £140.

Mini-Choppers are available at any price from under £10 to top of the range at about £50, but it is worthwhile to compare facilities (for example, has it a grinder facility like mine?