It's possible that I've used the my hand-crank meat grinder for compostable materials when it happened to be out anyway, though I can't say for certain. I can attest that what it does to vegetables will make some good quick-composting stuff. Like lazygardens said, though, you really don't need to cut things up at all if you don't want to, because everything will compost eventually. I pretty much only cut up things if I have a large quantity of large-ish stuff that won't compost quickly. For instance, if I've just juiced several oranges (food processor), or if I've just pulled all of the squash vines out of the garden at the end of the season (lawn mower), or long-stemmed cut flowers (scissors). Otherwise, I don't bother. However, if you're really committed to grinding up your stuff before you compost it, I think a hand-crank meat grinder would do the job nicely. You'll develop some nice biceps while you're at it, too. :-)

Interesting post. I have a meat grinder - but it is a "stand-alone" type, that I purchased a few years ago. Can't recall the name, but only paid $99 for it. I do use mine quite a bit, as I buy large sizes of pork and beef for grinding into 1 lb. size packs, then freeze in styrofoam cartons. No freezer burn so far. However, my reason for posting is that I recently noted that some grinders can be used for grinding pulp - such as whole apples, in making apple juice. Something that I haven't tried as yet, but in case I get a windfall of apples this year, I intend to give it a whirl. The only use now is as I mentioned, mainly for making pork and beef sausage. After grinding the pork, I add lots of garlic, salt, pepper and fennel - for some nice Italian-type sausage. Great for breakfast or in spaghetti sauce. Can't comment on attachments tho - Just my 2 c's. Bejay

Wash it well. Do not oil it, the oil will eventually go rancid and leave you with one hell of a stinky mess. Make sure that it is very very dry, (putting it in a low oven is one way of making sure it won't rust), and store in a heavy zip lock plastic bag. One trick I have for helping keep moisture at bay is to add a 1 pound bag of rice to the bag, just pour it in. If you do it during humid times, dry the rice in the oven first. Another trick is to put about half a dozen mothballs in a cloth bag and put them in the bag. As the mothballs sublimate, they slightly pressurize the bag, which prevents moist air from entering. Do NOT do that if you keep your grinder in a cabinet with food products, especially not those that will absorb odors.

Food processors are useful for chopping, grating, and slicing larger quantities of food very quickly. For small quantities or very precise cutting, a knife is better. They are also useful for making emulsions like mayonnaise or aioli, though again if you are only making a small quantity, a whisk works fine. Some people use them to knead dough, I've never tried that. For turning cuts of meat into ground meat (e.g. hamburger), the food processor works fine but you have be careful not to over-process, or the meat will be cut too finely and become paste, without texture. For pate, perhaps a paste is what you'd want? Many companies make food processors today. Testing by Cook's Illustrated concludes that KitchenAid and Cuisinart are the best ones, by quite a margin. Ideally, you want a model where the bowl is located over the motor base and driven directly off the motor's shaft, rather than the type where the bowl is located next to the motor and driven via a belt that can slip. The lower chopper blade should be very close (In case you run across a used Cuisinart, here is a little history. The food processor was invented by Robot Coupe in France, and that company still makes the best food processors for commercial (restaurant) use, but they are bulky and very expensive. In the US, home food processors were popularized in the 1970's by Cuisinart, who started out importing scaled-down Robot Coupes. The 1970's Cuisinarts, the "CFP" models, say "Made by Robot Coupe" on the bottom. In the UK, the early home food processors were badged Magmix, but were also made by Robot Coupe. In the 1980's, Cuisinart moved production to Japan with the "DLC" models. I'm told the Japanese-made DLC Cusinarts are the best. These are easily available on eBay in the US, and the accessories are plentiful and not expensive. Sometime in the 1990's, Cuisinart moved production to China. Where are you located? Is it practical for you to buy a used Cuisinart DLC from eBay and have it shipped?