Tested: How to Get Tar Out of a Food Processor Fast

By David Park · December 31, 2025

Immediate Action (first 5 minutes)

I'll be honest, finding tar in a food processor usually means someone was making DIY pine tar soap or processing tree resin for a craft project. If it's actual petroleum road tar, stop right now. Throw the plastic bowl away. Petroleum solvents permanently leach into food-grade plastics like the BPA-free Tritan bowl on my Cuisinart DFP-14BCNY. You can't safely eat from it again. But if you're dealing with natural pine tar or sticky tree sap, you have a fighting chance.

First, unplug the machine. Don't just turn it off. Unplug it from the wall so nobody accidentally hits the pulse button while your hands are near the S-blade.

Next, scrape out the bulk of the mess. Use a silicone spatula. I prefer the OXO Good Grips 10-inch spatula because it's stiff enough to push heavy resin but won't scratch the plastic. Scrape the tar into a trash can. Do not wash it down the sink. Pine tar will harden in your P-trap and cause a $200 plumbing bill.

Wipe the remaining residue with a dry paper towel. You want to remove as much physical matter as possible before applying any liquids. Work fast. Natural tar hardens as it cools down to room temperature (around 68°F).

What You'll Need (tools/products)

Cleaning sticky resin requires breaking down the chemical bonds. Water and Dawn dish soap won't cut it. I've tested dozens of degreasers over my 12 years of cleaning, and you need specific solvents for this job. Here is my exact toolkit for tackling pine tar in a 14-cup food processor bowl.

High-Proof Alcohol: You need at least 91% isopropyl alcohol. I buy the 32 oz bottle of Swan brand from Walmart for about $4.50. Ethanol works too, but 91% isopropyl is cheaper and evaporates slower, giving it time to dissolve the tar.
Citrus Solvent: De-Solv-it Citrus Solutions is my backup. A 12 oz spray bottle costs around $8 at Home Depot. It contains d-Limonene, which naturally melts tree sap. This isn't the cheapest option, but it works miracles on stubborn spots.
Microfiber Cloths: Grab a pack of Zwipes Microfiber cloths. They trap the dissolved resin instead of just pushing it around.
Nylon Scrub Brush: The OXO Good Grips Dish Brush has stiff nylon bristles that won't gouge your food processor bowl.
Heavy-Duty Gloves: Nitrile gloves are mandatory. Solvents strip the oils from your skin. I use Venom Steel 6-mil nitrile gloves. They cost $18 for a 50-count box and resist chemical breakdown.
Baking Soda: A standard 16 oz Arm & Hammer box ($1.20) acts as a gentle abrasive for the final polish.
Mineral Oil: Food-grade mineral oil (like Howard's Butcher Block Conditioner, $14 for 12 oz) helps recondition the plastic after harsh solvents dry it out.

Step-by-Step Removal

This process takes about 45 minutes. I'll be honest, this takes elbow grease. Don't rush the soaking phase.

Step 1: Disassemble and Isolate

Take the food processor apart completely. Remove the S-blade, the dough blade, the spindle, and the lid. Place the plastic bowl and the blades in a well-ventilated area. I usually do this on my back patio because 91% isopropyl alcohol fumes will give you a headache in a closed kitchen. Keep the motor base far away from the solvents.

Step 2: The Initial Alcohol Soak

Pour about 1 cup (8 oz) of 91% isopropyl alcohol directly into the food processor bowl. Swirl it around so it coats the sides. Let it sit for exactly 15 minutes. The alcohol breaks down the terpenes in the pine tar. You'll see the liquid turn dark brown. That means it's working.

Step 3: Scrub the Bowl Interior

Put on your nitrile gloves. Take your nylon scrub brush and scrub the inside of the bowl in circular motions. Focus on the bottom ridges where the blade sits. The tar will start peeling up in sticky strings. It looks like melted mozzarella. Wipe these strings out with a dry paper towel and throw them in the trash. Rinse the brush in a separate jar of alcohol so you don't redeposit the tar.

Step 4: Tackle the Blades and Spindle

The S-blade is the hardest part. Tar gets wedged right where the metal meets the plastic hub. Dip a microfiber cloth in your citrus solvent. Wrap the damp cloth around the blade edge and pull it back and forth like you're shining a shoe. For the tight crevices around the center spindle, use a cotton swab soaked in alcohol. I go through about 10 Q-tips per blade. If your blade hub is permanently stained yellow, don't panic. The structural integrity is fine, it's just cosmetic.

Step 5: The Baking Soda Paste

Once the heavy tar is gone, the plastic will feel slightly tacky. Mix 3 tablespoons of baking soda with 1 tablespoon of warm water to form a thick paste. Smear this paste all over the inside of the bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes. The baking soda absorbs the microscopic resin oils left behind. Scrub it vigorously with a damp sponge, then rinse with hot water (at least 120°F).

Step 6: Wash and Recondition

Wash all the parts in your dishwasher on the top rack, or hand wash with hot water and Dawn Platinum. Dry everything completely with a clean towel. Finally, put three drops of food-grade mineral oil on a paper towel and buff the inside of the plastic bowl. This restores the plastic's moisture barrier and prevents future stains from sticking.

Alternative Methods

Sometimes the alcohol method doesn't work on heavily oxidized, rock-hard tar. If you're dealing with a batch of pine tar that's been sitting in the bowl for three weeks, you need heavier artillery. Here are two backup methods I've used when the standard soak fails.

Method 1: The Freezer Trick

This works best for thick, globby tar rather than thin smeared resin. Put the entire food processor bowl in your chest freezer. Leave it at 0°F for 4 hours. The extreme cold makes the natural tar brittle. Take the bowl out and immediately use a plastic putty knife to pop the tar chunks off. They shatter like glass. I used this trick after my nephew dropped a chunk of raw pine sap into my KitchenAid KFP1466ER. It saved me an hour of scrubbing.

Method 2: Vegetable Oil and Heat

If you don't want to use harsh chemical solvents, you can use cooking oil. It's slower, but safer for your lungs. Pour half a cup of cheap canola oil into the bowl. Microwave the bowl for 45 seconds until the oil is warm (about 110°F). The heat softens the tar, and the oil binds to it. Let it soak for an hour. Scrape it out with a silicone spatula. You will need to wash the bowl three times with Dawn dish soap to get the greasy film out afterward.

Method	Best For	Time Required	Cost
91% Isopropyl Alcohol	Smeared, sticky resin	45 minutes	$4.50
Freezer Trick	Thick, hardened globs	4 hours (mostly waiting)	$0.00
Warm Canola Oil	Chemical-free cleaning	90 minutes	$0.15

Prevention Tips

I always tell my clients: your kitchen appliances are for food. Period. If you have kids who track mud everywhere or you're making messy DIY crafts, buy a dedicated $30 Black+Decker mini-chopper from Amazon for your non-food projects. Keep it in the garage.

If you absolutely must use your main food processor for processing natural resins or making pine tar soap, line the bowl. I cut a heavy-duty 3-mil plastic bag to fit the inside of the bowl before adding the ingredients. It's a bit finicky to get the lid to lock, but it saves you 45 minutes of scrubbing later.

Always clean the machine immediately. Don't let the resin sit. If you process pine needles or sap, run a quick cycle with a cup of warm water and a drop of dish soap right after you finish. This prevents the terpenes from bonding to the Tritan plastic.

Store your food processor with the lid off. Trapped moisture and lingering resin odors will bake into the plastic if you seal it up while it's still slightly damp. Leave it on the counter to air dry completely before putting it back in the cabinet. I learned this the hard way after hosting a dinner party where I made a pine nut basil pesto, only to realize the bowl still smelled faintly of last week's pine tar soap project.

FAQ

Can I use acetone or nail polish remover to clean the food processor?

Absolutely not. Acetone will instantly melt and cloud the polycarbonate or Tritan plastic used in most food processor bowls. I ruined a $150 Cuisinart bowl this way during my early testing days, so stick to isopropyl alcohol to protect your appliance.

Is it safe to use the food processor for food after cleaning out pine tar?

Yes, but only if you used natural pine tar and cleaned it thoroughly with food-safe solvents like high-proof alcohol and baking soda. If the tar was petroleum-based like roofing tar, the plastic has absorbed toxic chemicals. You must throw the bowl and blades away and buy replacement parts.

Why does my food processor still smell like pine trees after cleaning?

Terpenes, the compounds that give pine tar its strong smell, are highly volatile and easily trap themselves in microscopic plastic scratches. To remove the odor, fill the bowl with a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and water, then let it sit overnight for 12 hours. Rinse it thoroughly the next morning, and the smell will be completely gone.

Will the dishwasher melt the tar and ruin my dishwasher?

Do not put a tar-covered food processor bowl in the dishwasher. The heating element at the bottom will melt the tar, but the water jets will just splatter it all over your clean dishes and the interior walls. You will spend three hours scrubbing your dishwasher filter and spray arms, so always remove the tar manually first.