Best Cuisinart Food Processors In 2021
“On” is good for grinding meat and puréeing ingredients for soups and dressings. You can use the “Off-Pulse” button to pulse the food processor — perfect for very quick meat slicing or vegetable chopping. There are safety mechanisms hidden all over the Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup. If the groove of the pusher doesn’t feed into the feed tube, the food processor simply won’t turn on. From the top feed tube down to the 18-pound base, the Cuisinart Custom is a workhorse appliance for any kitchen.
This has two speeds plus a pulse option, so you’ll always get the results you want. The proprietary drizzle basin on the lid lets you add oil slowly to make emulsified dressings with ease. Not too big, and not too small, the 13-cup Elemental from Cuisinart comes equipped with two cuisinart griddler elite size work bowls to handle any size job—small or large. The design is mid-size, so it doesn’t take up as much room as slightly larger processors. It comes with three different size work bowls, including an impressive extra-large 16-cup capacity, that nest for compact storage.
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.
For small chopping tasks, the inexpensive KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper offers the best value and performance we’ve found in a mini processor. It evenly chops a range of ingredients, including tough jumbo carrots. This machine is a good supplement to a full-size model, or it’s a great alternative, if you don’t want to spend a lot.
When it’s time to chop vegetables into perfect pieces, the Cuisinart Custom is my go-to appliance. Not only does it save time, it makes the food look like it was professionally prepared. The large 14-cup mixing bowl is simple and easy to use, but I’ve been surprised cuisinart pots and pans set with how quickly I’ve filled it up. Now that I know how quickly the 14-cup bowl fills, I would never buy smaller than 14-cups if I had to re-buy. I returned to my Google search and was met next with The Sweethome’s guide to the best food processor.
If you do have room to keep it out, you’ll appreciate the thoughtful design—for instance, built-in storage is available for the food processor’s many accessories and slicing and chopping disks. A true kitchen workhorse, this doesn’t have a lot of fancy frills, but it will get the job done easily. This brushed stainless steel food processor has two large paddle cuisinart soup maker buttons, one for “on” and one for “off/pulse,” and that’s all you need for the machine to perform all of its functions. With a 14-cup capacity bowl, extra-large feed tube, and easy to operate paddle controls, this is a classic kitchen workhorse. To use the attachments, place the disc upside-down on the counter and click the plastic post into place.
It also comes with a reversible shredder and dough blade, and has an auto-off safety feature for when the lid is unexpectedly opened during use. Incorporating a food processor into your kitchen can save you tons of hands-on prep time so you can get to the good stuff–cooking and eating–faster. They can also be used to mince herbs, puree baby food, and emulsify dressings. To make tasks even easier, the food processor has a wide-mouth feed tube that can accommodate whole fruits and vegetables. Plus, the machine is outfitted with convenient rubberized controls, including high, low, off, and pulse. We evaluate each model’s ability to chop almonds and onions uniformly, grate Parmesan cheese, and purée peas and carrots into a smooth mixture.
In the modern kitchen, there are appliances for all the heavy kneading, quick chopping, and endless stirring. I reviewed the Kitchenaid Pro 450 Mixer for Tools & Toys and noted how you could walk away from the Kitchenaid while performing other tasks in the kitchen and come back to a perfectly mixed batter or dough. However, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t like putting good quality dishes or appliance accessories into the dishwasher. If I don’t want to dirty a bunch of accessories, I’ll opt to hand-chop a cucumber instead. Once the “On” button is locked into place, you have to hit “Off-Pulse” to stop the processor.
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.