A cooking and processing appliance includes a container having a lid and a stirring mechanism for rotating at least one processing attachment of a plurality of processing attachments, a housing having a receptacle for receiving the container and having a motor in communication with the stirring mechanism, a heating structure disposed within the housing and a wall of the container, a heating activation system included within the housing and the container, wherein the heating structure defines a heating-active state when the container is received within the receptacle, a mixing activation system, wherein the motor defines a mixing active state when the container is received within the receptacle and the lid is in a closed position and a control in communication with the heating structure and the stirring mechanism.