Best Cuisinart Food Processor
The Food Chopper also minced parsley cleanly, whereas the Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus tore it, causing it to oxidize faster. One task this processor doesn’t excel at is chopping whole almonds evenly, but that’s typical of most mini choppers. Some processors, such as the Magimix by Robot-Coupe 14-Cup Food cuisinart griddler elite Processor , have a wide gap between the shredding disk and the bowl lid, which allows large pieces of food to slip into the bowl. This mini, 3.5-cup processor is too small for making bread dough or coleslaw, but it’s the ideal size for chopping one onion or making small batches of mayo or vinaigrette.
The unit of discussing has two operating modes, one for chopping/mixing soft ingredients and one for grinding nuts and such. When you want to use the discs, the bulkier cover with feed chute is required. Thus, in scenarios of only chopping, mixing, pureeing, the compact flat cover of the 11-cup unit will prove to be much handier. When you switch between them or put them in/out of your dishwasher,always hold the discs by their edges and the blade by its hub. So rest assured that it won’t take long to take the unit apart to clean and store it.
Thanks to Cuisinart’s squat shape and large blades, more of the bowl’s contents come into contact with the blades during blending. Blenders use gravity to move food in a circular motion within the pitcher, so food on the bottom has to be fully broken down before making room for food at the top to drop down toward the blades. On the other hand, a food processor can more uniformly chop, puree or shred its contents. Depending on how much food you plan to prepare at one time, Cuisinart offers food processors in a variety of sizes, starting with their Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor, which can handle up to three cups.
Our tester found that this was really convenient, as she was able to simultaneously “pulse oats into powder, crush almonds into a creamy butter, and mash bananas to a pulp” without skipping a beat. When you’re done, the bowls nest inside the machine, so you don’t need to find space to store them. Best yet, the bowl, lid, and blade are dishwasher safe, so it’s easy to clean when you’re done with the cooking, and the cord wraps around for storage. This model is Breville’s most expensive because it has the most features. Currently, there are three others from the brand, the most basic of which is called the Breville Sous Chef 12. Equipped with a micro-serrated S-blade, it has a 12-cup bowl, three chute options (5, 2.75, and 1.5 inches), two settings , and a variable slicing disc with 24 options ranging from 0.3 to 8 millimeters.
And given that this processor is huge—more than 18 inches tall and nearly 20 pounds—you’ll need a big counter to keep it on. We recommend the inexpensive KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper for anyone who wants to make small batches of dips, spreads, or mirepoix. It chopped vegetables more evenly than the other mini models we tested. On top of that, its handled jar with push-button activation was the most convenient to use. And this KitchenAid is a great option for people who don’t want to invest in a $200 machine. You can’t knead dough or shred ingredients in it, but you can grind or chop small portions of vegetables or nuts, which is more tedious to do by hand.