How To Use A Cuisinart Food Processor
You can use a food processor for pureeing dips and sauces too, but it will yield coarser textures than a high-powered blender—it’s best for things like hummus and pesto. You’ll need a blender if you want to make silky smoothies or to puree liquids like soup, which can splatter and leak cuisinart pots and pans set out of a food processor’s doughnut-shaped bowl. 2- or 4-cup models are for very basic small tasks like chopping herbs, making hummus pureeing baby food, and whipping up dressing or mayo. Thanks to a super powerful motor, Breville’s Sous Chef is the MVP when it comes to performance.
However, according to several critical reviews, the Mini-Prep Plus series is apparently not up for grinding. To be more specific, the ground results from the process is likely to escape the unsealed cups. The auto-reversing SmartPower blade with sharp edges to chop/mix/ puree soft produce and blunt ones on the other side to grind will get all the actions done without replacement of the blade.
A food processor purees, slices, grates, shreds, dices, kneads, and more. The Cuisinart DFP-14BCNY 14-Cup Food Processor is our top pick because of its versatility and comparable performance next to best-in-class competitors—at a fraction of the price. If you have a bigger budget and the kitchen space, go for the Magimix 5200 XL 16-Cup Food Processor, ideal for more seasoned cooks. If possible, carve out a space on a countertop or shelf, so it’s at the ready when you are. If you opt to stash it in the back of a cabinet, chances are it won’t get used. The bowl is just over 3 cups, so you can make plenty of hummus for a party, or seasoned bread crumbs for breaded cutlets for dinner.
And Cuisinart’s food processors have a solid reputation for overall durability—anecdotally, we know of some that have lasted for decades. The Cuisinart has a strong motor and a heavy base that keeps it stable. Though its 750-watt motor is less powerful than those on some other models we tested, such as the 1,200-watt Breville Sous Chef , this didn’t negatively affect the Cuisinart’s performance. Making pizza dough was our most motor-intensive test, and the Custom 14 kneaded it effortlessly, without wiggling across the counter like some other processors we tried. They’re versatile and large enough to handle bread dough, and often come with a a second small work bowl for smaller tasks and an assortment of accessories, too.
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 cuisinart soup maker 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.
A swanky yet affordable option is the Cuisinart FP-8SV Elemental 8-Cup Food Processor, whose price has been slashed by 46% on Amazon. Prep is a breeze thanks to the processor’s 350 watts of power and sharp blades, which make quick work of chopping nuts, puréeing soups, shredding cheese, and blending pesto. The 8-cup work bowl is decked out with handy measurement markings, and the bowl can be fitted with a stainless steel blade, adjustable slicing disc, or reversible shredding disc. It also includes a cleaning tool to help clean the nooks and crannies of the cutting accessories and a storage case to keep everything contained instead of rolling around a drawer. The Cuisinart Custom 14 Food Processor has been our top pick since 2013 because it does everything a great food processor should do, without any unnecessary extras.
Avoid abrasive scrubbers that can scratch the plastic and always dry the pieces thoroughly. The shredding disc does just what you’d expect — it instantly turns hard cheeses, fresh vegetables and more into uniform shreds. With a food processor, you can skip the hard-to-clean box grater or hand-crank cheese grater. With a slicing blade, there’s no doubt that every slice is exactly uniform. Fix the bowl onto the motor base by lining up the handle with the front of the machine, then place the blade on the center post until it locks into place.
We also take note of how quickly each model performed these tasks and how much food was left unprocessed. The blender jar is made from glass and holds 6 cups while the food processor bowl is 5 cups. The food processor includes a reversible slicing and shredding blade as well as a chopping blade. The processor includes a reversible shredding/slicing disk and cuisinart pots and pans set a stainless steel blade for chopping, blending, pureeing, and more. When you’re done prepping dinner, the work bowl, lid, and blades are all dishwasher safe, so cleanup is easy. This includes one shredding disc, one slicing disc, and a removable disc stem that fits both of them, along with a metal blade for chopping, mixing, blending, and emulsifying.