Food Processor Recommendations Please

[Janet H]

Yesterday my food processor died an untimely death and will need to be replaced.

I had a KitchenAide with a fairly small bowl that was dropped and badly broken. It's prolly not worth repairing as it's quite a few years old and the housing is completely smashed along with the bowl.

I use mine to shred hard cheese, mill up nuts, make hummus and puree assorted things. I store it under the counter and never use the slicing blades. Occasionally I think it would be nice to have a metal bowl or one that doesn't leak if you overfill...

Do you have a food processor you love? Have you seen any awesome holiday deals?

 

[Andy M.]

I've had a Cuisinart 11-cup for a dozen years. It does leak if you overfill it. I came with two tops, a basic one and one with a food chute. Also a dough blade, two slicing blades and a shredding blade.

From all I've read, Cuisinart and KA are two very good choices. The Cuisinart, at least, has various-sized bowls up to 14 cups (I think).

 

[Dawgluver]

I think I have your Kitchenaid, Janet. 4 cups? I like that it's really heavy. Have had mine for about 15 years, and probably use it at least once a week. I also have an 8 cup Krupps that I don't use as much, and it's not as heavy.

 

[gadzooks]

Cuis' DLC 8, 11 cup. I use it fairly often, and bought a continuous feed chute attachment for it. Have all the disks, including the later, made in China hard cheese grater disk. I like it better than the KA I tried. Probably the only thing it does that I don't use is the pastry blade. It makes too fine a pill. I cut by hand or use the pastry knife on my N50...bigger pill, flakier pastry.

 

[gadzooks]

I've had a Cuisinart 11-cup for a dozen years. It does leak if you overfill it. I came with two tops, a basic one and one with a food chute. Also a dough blade, two slicing blades and a shredding blade.

From all I've read, Cuisinart and KA are two very good choices. The Cuisinart, at least, has various-sized bowls up to 14 cups (I think).

Yup. I had a Cuis' 14 cup, DLC 7, and it was bigger than I needed, so I gave it to the church kitchen where I host the shelter, so I still get to use it at least once a week. Cuis' also makes a DLC X...20 cup. Big.

 

[Zereh]

I don't use mine a lot, but I sure wish I had purchased one larger than a five-cup. You can use a larger one for small things. But you can't do larger things in the small one.

 

[gadzooks]

I just saw another Cuis' 11 cup on Craigs List, complete and in nice shape, for $30. I'm thinking about snagging it in case mine dies.

 

[Addie]

I have a Robot Coupe from France. They were the first ones to make them. I don't know how old it is, but it has a large bowl. I have all the attachments and want to get the FF cutter. I also have a small Sunbeam Oskar that I use all the time for onions, celery, etc. That too is quite old, but has served me well. I make rye bread sometimes in the RC. My Classic KA mixer was obtained at an auction for only $60. It was brand new still in the sealed box. It came from an estate sale. I bought the bowl with the handle as I have small hands and found it hard to hold the bowl when removing contents. My son bought me the new glass bowl for it, and I love it. The down side is that it is heavy. I also have purchased over the years, the meat grinder and pasta maker for it. They both get a lot of use. If you are going to purchase a kitchen appliance that is going to be getting a lot of use, it pays to get the best you can afford. They no longer make the Robot Coupe for the home. And if mine goes, I will be heart broken. I have had my RC fp for a good 25 years. There is a company called "The Gourmet Depot Company". They have parts to every foreign and home made kitchen or small household appliance. Even ones that have gone out of business or companies that have been bought out and the name changed. Such as Black and Decker kitchen appliances. You can find them on line at thegourmetdepot.net or call them at 1-800-424-6783. RC has been out of business for eons, yet I can still buy parts for mine. You might want to save that info for when your appliances are out of warranty. Their parts prices are a lot cheaper than the manufacturer.

 

[Girl49]

FP Recommendations/New Kitchen Aid 13-Cup?

Am about to hunt for my first-ever food processor. I know Cooks Illustrated has liked the KA 12-cup....haven't they just introduced a new 13-cup? Would like to use it for pie crust, hummus, and much more.

Do food processors now come with instruction DVDs as well as booklets?

 

[muidaq]

We've had the Cuisinart 16 cup for about a year and couldn't be more pleased. It came with both booklet and DVD. It's a bit spendy, but it sure seems like we'll never need to replace this beast.

 

[MostlyWater]

As much as I love my Cuuisinart 11 cup that I got with coupons and holiday sales a few years back, if you don't use the slicing/shredding blades, you're better off with a blender or chopper.

For the record, an appliance generally works better when its full. The reason I didn't go 16 cups on my Cuisinart is because I usually make smaller items. If you make something quite small in a 16 cup, it doesn't process right.

 

[gadzooks]

As much as I love my Cuuisinart 11 cup that I got with coupons and holiday sales a few years back, if you don't use the slicing/shredding blades, you're better off with a blender or chopper.

For the record, an appliance generally works better when its full. The reason I didn't go 16 cups on my Cuisinart is because I usually make smaller items. If you make something quite small in a 16 cup, it doesn't process right.

I gave my 14 cup Cuis' to the church where I volunteer to host the homeless shelter. I have an older 11 cup Cuis' for home, with all the disks, which I use. I also have the (now discontinued) continuous feed chute for it for bigger jobs.

 

[gadzooks]

Just got home from the shelter where I host, and pushed 35 lbs. of scrap organic medium Jersey cheddar through my little Cuis 11 cup fp. I now have 35 lbs. of very nice shredded cheddar for the shelter, and the Cuis never missed a beat.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I wish I had seen this thread earlier.

I just bought a Cuisinart FP-14. It only arrived this morning, so my experience with it is limited to the last 3 hours.

The things I like (so far):

• It has 3 bowls: 14, 11, and 4.5 cups
• The smaller bowls nest within the larger one, but don't leak into any of the others. So, for example, if I only use the 4.5 cup bowl, I don't have to clean the 11 and 14 cup bowls, too.
• The cover has a rubber gasket that seals, meaning you can fill any of the bowl up to their capacity with liquid and it won't leak.
• Has an adjustable slicing blade, so you can vary the thickness of the cut. The reversible shredding blade has a medium shred on one side and coarse shred on the other.
• Comes with a dough blade and settings. Can handle dough made with up to 6 cups of flour.
• Comes with a lockable case that holds all of the included accessories.
• Is a very heavy duty unit. It feels solid and well built.
• Has a retractable cord.

The one down side I've seen so far is the weight. It weighs almost 30 pounds and is a beast to lug around. Mine is staying on the counter.

 

[Claire]

Steve, I think I'm going with your choice, just looking for the best source for it (I live in a small town). Since both of us are moving from the same system, it'll probably work for us as well. Husband saw it in a catalog (he swears it was Chef's, but I think he really saw it on a PBS cooking show). My selling point was the variable thickness slicer. If it weighs so much, I do have a free corner where it can live (I rarely let anything live on my counters!). Heavy is good. My food processor/blender could quite literally vibrate off the counter with a small batch (obviously, all I could do) of pesto.

I'm puzzled about what you said about the bowls. You leave all the bowls in even if you're only using the smallest one?

How do the slicing and grating blades do? they were my bugaboo with my two previous food processors (why I needed a "salad shooter"), they simply didn't cut the cheese, to make a tacky reference. Much of the cheese, even hard cheese, got caught between the blade and the lid. Is the fine grating blade pretty fine?

 

[Addie]

Steve, I think I'm going with your choice, just looking for the best source for it (I live in a small town). Since both of us are moving from the same system, it'll probably work for us as well. Husband saw it in a catalog (he swears it was Chef's, but I think he really saw it on a PBS cooking show). My selling point was the variable thickness slicer. If it weighs so much, I do have a free corner where it can live (I rarely let anything live on my counters!). Heavy is good. My food processor/blender could quite literally vibrate off the counter with a small batch (obviously, all I could do) of pesto.
I'm puzzled about what you said about the bowls. You leave all the bowls in even if you're only using the smallest one?
How do the slicing and grating blades do? they were my bugaboo with my two previous food processors (why I needed a "salad shooter"), they simply didn't cut the cheese, to make a tacky reference. Much of the cheese, even hard cheese, got caught between the blade and the lid. Is the fine grating blade pretty fine?

That little piece that never gets shredded is common with most FPs. No matter what the item is. Celery, onion, cheese. They all leave a small piece behind. Having watched so many of the TV cooks use their FP, even the KA one leaves a piece behind. I have tried to repostition the piece, turn it over, and press a little harder with the food pusher. Nothing helps. Eiyher remove it and chop by hand, use your microplane or toss it.

 

[salt and pepper]

My next one will be the Kitchen-Aid 13 cup ajustable slicer.

 

[Julio]

A few days ago I purchased the Cuisinart Custom 14 Cup FP from QVC on 4 easy payments. What I liked about it was the look (black color & brushed stainless steel), work bowl size, power of the motor & all the good reviews on different websites.

Cuisinart DFP-14BCN 14-Cup Food Processor - Stainless Steel - QVC.com

 

[Claire]

Oh, it isn't just a little piece, it's a big piece that gets in there early in the shredding/slicing process and gum the works up so that the rest of the food doesn't get sliced/shredded unless I remove the lid and remove the piece and start again. In other words, there's this chunk of cheese, or cabbage, or whatever, that blocks the rest that is in the feed tube from getting to the blade. It's as if with this model, there's too much room between the blade and the top. I had a truly el-cheapo food processor when I was young, when they first came out, and it did a far better job.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Steve, I think I'm going with your choice, just looking for the best source for it (I live in a small town). Since both of us are moving from the same system, it'll probably work for us as well. Husband saw it in a catalog (he swears it was Chef's, but I think he really saw it on a PBS cooking show). My selling point was the variable thickness slicer. If it weighs so much, I do have a free corner where it can live (I rarely let anything live on my counters!). Heavy is good. My food processor/blender could quite literally vibrate off the counter with a small batch (obviously, all I could do) of pesto.

I'm puzzled about what you said about the bowls. You leave all the bowls in even if you're only using the smallest one?

How do the slicing and grating blades do? they were my bugaboo with my two previous food processors (why I needed a "salad shooter"), they simply didn't cut the cheese, to make a tacky reference. Much of the cheese, even hard cheese, got caught between the blade and the lid. Is the fine grating blade pretty fine?

Claire, I bought mine on Amazon for... $230 I think it was. Since I posted this, I've had a chance to use it a little more. So here are my likes and dislikes (sorry, I'm a bullet list lover)...

LIKES

• Quiet. This is the quietest FP I have owned. The one it replaced screamed like a banshee. I swear the neighbors down the street could hear it running.
• Everything except the base goes in the dishwasher. Just don't run it through the dry setting, which can warp that type of plastic. Fortunately I haven't done that with any of the new FP pieces, but I remember having to replace one of the old parts because I had done that.
• The case it comes with is great and holds all of the accessories. The old unit I had (also Cuisinart) had no case and all of the pieces were scattered in a drawer.
• The bowl within bowl design works better than I expected, though if you are working with mostly liquids, there will inevitably be some glop that will transfer from one bowl to another. Otherwise it works pretty well at confining the contents to the bowl you are working with.
• The adjustable blade thing is cool. I haven't used the shredder yet, so I can't comment on that, but I made fried potatoes the other night, and it worked great for slicing them. I also used it to shred cabbage for sauerkraut. I'll never slice it by hand again.
• Retractable cord. Just unplug it, and the cord snaps back into the base. No ugly cord on the counter top.

DISLIKES

• The small bowl does not work well unless you have at least 1 cup of stuff in it. I don't know if this will make sense, but the space between the upper and lower blades is too far apart. So if you have less than a cup in the bowl, only the lower blade is doing the work. The upper blade doesn't even hit the food. For example, I tried to make mayo yesterday. With mayo you put the egg yolk, mustard, and lemon juice in the bowl, then add your oil a little at a time. Well, because I was making such a small amount, it just plain didn't work. For small amounts of mayo or salad dressing, I will probably just go back to using my hand blender.

Really, that's the only dislike I have so far. But again, I've only used it 5-6 times now.


By the way, I know exactly where Galena is. I lived just outside of Scales Mound, IL for 5 years back in the mid-eighties.