shop-n-surf: which is the best food processor?
Ok. I have a confession to make. I don’t own a food processor. The mini one I bought about ten years finally died, and since I’ve been making due with either my Wusthof Chef’s knife or the blender. But there have been many occasions when I knew I was missing a vital piece of equipment (like the other night when I was trying to make pesto out of hazelnuts!). I’m ready to invest in a food processor, but in quick trip to Bed & Bath Beyond I learned there are more choices than I thought. And they can be really expensive! Here’s a few I’m considering. Any advice? — Angela M.
Cuisinart’s 7-cup version, $150, seems pretty basic but perhaps it’s all I need. The eleven-cup is a bit bigger, but then I wonder, should I go with the Stainless Steel 14-cup, above?
Cuisnart really seems to hold monopoly in this category — but is there another brand that’s just as good? This one from KitchenAid, also looks good for $120.
Another appealing option is a blender/food processor combo (we have a blender, but’s it’s pretty lame). Here’s one at from Cuisnart that I like, but the workbowl for the processor only holds three-cups. Will that help me make pie crust? Help! Please share your food processing knowledge! — Angela M.
I have the cuisinart combo blender and food processor, and I think it’s great, especially when you have a kitchen the size of a tespoon, as I do. I’ve had very good luck with mine, and haven’t felt constricted by the size of the bowl too much (especially since I had a mini processor before, too).
good luck!
I have the stainless 14 cup and I looooooove it, though I admit I used it more when I lived in Seattle than I do now in New York (hello, counter space is at a premium here! I have to keep mine on some shelves in the hallway). I would definitely recommend sticking with Cuisinart for the processor — I’ve heard bad things about the KitchenAid motors burning out.
You’re such a prime candidate for a membership at the Cook’s Illustrated website. They do incredible kitchen equipment reviews. I’m pretty sure they have KitchenAid and Cuisinart running neck-and-neck lately in terms of quality.
A three cup machine is really for chopping prep help and won’t have enough power or size to help with a pie crust. 7 to 11 cups would be better. Obviously if you have the room and the budget for bigger it can’t hurt ;)
I have the Cusinart processor/blender combo and it’s fantastic. But it is a bit small. It’s not worth buying if you generally make big portions.
I’ve got the eleven cup Kitchenaid that looks like it has been replaced with a 12 cup model. I like mine, I’ve had it for a while and it does everything I need it to. It has a 4 cup mini bowl that is nice when you just have a small amount to do. As mentioned, get the bigger if you can, I think it will be more versatile.
The Cuisinart has (I think) a larger diameter feed tube on some models so you can use it slice wider vegetables.
I’ve been doing a lot of research on this too, before registering for wedding gifts. My dad’s had his cuisinart for over twenty years but I have read on Amazon from many new Cuisinart owners that they aren’t as well made as they used to be. Alton Brown, in his Gear book, reccommends the Kitchenaid over the Cuisinart now because the quality is excellent and the bowl is actually easier to clean because it is rounded.
I’ll have to check out the Cook’s Illustrated reccommendation above. Fantastic.
One last thing, don’t go over 11 unless you cook a lot, it actually makes it harder for the processor to work well on smaller foods.
I have the cuisinart 11 cupper and I l-l-l-love it. I too considered the 14-cup version, I’m glad I went with the comfortable medium (i.e., I agree with gragegirl). It’s never been too small for me, and I cook a great deal for a lot of people.
7 cup models aren’t for anything other than… wait… they don’t have a purpose.
So you are chosing between the 11/12 cup version or the 14.
11/12 cup versions in my personal experience, don’t QUITE hold what I want them to, and you end up with overflow ozzing in places that shouldn’t ooze.
Financially, it isn’t that large of jump price wise to be completely satisfied, especially when you want to make a double recipe of bread dough.
Get the square bodied ones and not the round ones, they last longer for whatever reason, read the comments on amazon, they will tell you the same. All the pros on tv use the square version as well, why pay more for a round one when square works better in the end. The machine is also more stable on the counter when you are rocking a large load in the bowl.
Kitchenaid motors aren’t as up to speed, and haven’t been tested as extensively as Cuisinarts.
And last but not least, my mother has had the same one for 26 years, and it hasn’t had the slightest problem, and has used it atelast 4 times a week!
Happy shopping!
I have the Euro Pro quad blade food processor (the price has also come down a lot). It works also like a blender, and has an attachment for bread dough, and you can buy another one to whip cream. I love it and use it often. My Mom also has this one and she loves it.
I have the Euro Pro quad blade food processor (the price has also come down a lot). It works also like a blender, and has an attachment for bread dough, and you can buy another one to whip cream. I love it and use it often. My Mom also has this one and she loves it and she is a perfessional cook.
So glad you guys are talking about this; I’m trying to figure out which food processor to put on my wedding registry. I love Cook’s Illustrated’s cookbooks (The New Best Recipe is amazing), but they are generally written with the assumption that you own a food processor. And I don’t, except for a miniature one that seems to have been lost-ish in my last move (that is, I’m sure it’s around here somewhere, I just don’t know where!).
Here in Europe everything is smaller. We have the Magimix 3100 which holds a max of 3 cups. It’s a great machine though – does everything I need it to and the literature says its perfect for a family of four, which we are. I like the fact that it has three bowls and that you can do pretty much everything in it (except whip egg whites satisfactorily but I have a hand mixer for that).
The best part is that the whole lot goes in the dishwasher – not the base obviously, but all the bowls and attachments.
Oh, and about the three cup thing – I make pie crust perfectly in mine, and bread, and pasta dough, and cookies.
Delia Smith has a good checklist for foodprocessors:
http://www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/equipment/food-processors-and-blenders,115,AR.html
Hope that helps!
Based on Cook’s recommendation, I got the 11-cup Kitchenaid. I am nothing but happy with it. Cuisinart’s quality has gone down substantially over the years.
And anything less than 11/12 cups is worthless as a processor.
i used to work at a crate and barrel and i would never ever buy the dual machine! too many returns before they finally stopped carrying it. granted that was two years ago and there could be some changes…. also, when i was shopping for a blender that would be used daily, i bought a kitchenaid. so much easier to clean AND was told by the salesperson that the cuisinart company was sold and now the parts/motor are really inferior. my mom has had the same one for @ 20 years, but they were made differently then!
Great machine, I own one myself. I’ve always loved the Cuisinart products and I used to work at a restaurant supply store. Their products were just as good as the commercial models from Robot-coupe and other mfgs.