I use an old #3 "Universal" brand manual grinder that my grandmother used. It has stood up for well over 60 years and still works great. I can grind about 75 pounds per hour with it. It's produces a coarse grind like you would use for chili meat. You may want to see some "up close" so you can choose the one that produces the size of grind you desire. I also have a smaller #2 that has 3 changeable blades for different size grinds. The larger ones may also have changeable blades and mine were just lost over the years before I got it. Check them out.

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

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?

Islay, OT: I never have issues with pasta on my hand crank machine, this is my go-to recipe: 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (or flour and semolina as per preference) - amount is not exact, see below 1 egg 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 tablespoon olive oil (you can omit the oil, but I prefer it) 1/4 tablespoon lukewarm water I use my food processor with the dough blade to mix the dough. I start with all the eggs (room temperature), the salt, oil and enough flour to make a wet slurry. I keep adding flour(s) until the dough gathers together to form a single cohesive ball/blob, then continue adding flour - a little at a time - until the ball starts to crumble. When it does, I stop and pinch some of the them together to test the consistency - at first the crumbles are large and pinch together in a wet, sticky dough. I keep processing in more flour, again and again, until the crumbles get smaller and start resembling coarse meal - a little smaller than the size of peas. When I can finally pinch the crumbles and they hold together without being remotely sticky, I gather and pinch it all together by hand forming a somewhat shaggy looking ball. (If I add too much flour while the dough is in the food processor, I process in a few drops of room temperature water to correct it.) Whether you make your dough by hand, in a stand mixer, or any other method, this is the consistency the dough ball should be before resting it. Wrap balls of dough in plastic wrap, rest on counter (never fridge) and rest 20-30 minutes. Dry, never wet, before resting. I don't knead mine, I just run a portion it through the first setting a few times, folding, the continue on until I get the thinness I want. I typically double or quadruple the above recipe for the food processor. I never have to add flour, water, anything. It runs through the hand crank Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine like butter. No sticking, no messes. No cleanup other than wiping down with a cotton cloth. Back on topic: I've not got a KA, but rather an Ankersrum assistant, and am considering the meat grinder attachment for it, at a later date.