Small(ish) Food Processors
April 21, 2021 7:07 AM Subscribe
You have a small(ish) food processor, in the 6 - 9 cup range. You have had it for less than three years. You love it! Tell me about it, and why I should buy one.
Please hope me! The tiny Magic Chef food processor I had for almost 20 years just gave up the ghost. I used it lightly mostly due to its small size, so I want to get a new, somewhat larger one. Reviews are inconsistent and distressing.
I'm not interested in knowing that your 15-year-old food processor, whatever the brand, is still going strong. If I could go back in time and get one of those, I would. But sadly, those days are gone and the general consensus is that most new models are not as good as the older ones.
Do you have a newer 6 - 9 cup food processor that you are at least mostly happy with? Please tell me about it.
Please hope me! The tiny Magic Chef food processor I had for almost 20 years just gave up the ghost. I used it lightly mostly due to its small size, so I want to get a new, somewhat larger one. Reviews are inconsistent and distressing.
I'm not interested in knowing that your 15-year-old food processor, whatever the brand, is still going strong. If I could go back in time and get one of those, I would. But sadly, those days are gone and the general consensus is that most new models are not as good as the older ones.
Do you have a newer 6 - 9 cup food processor that you are at least mostly happy with? Please tell me about it.
If you need to get a new one for size/usability reasons, the Wirecutter likes a 14-cup Cuisinart. Their warranty taps out at 3yr (5yr for the motor) so that might not meet your longevity expectations either.
Consumer Reports has a list of blender/food processor hybrids they like, as well as just food processors themselves.
If the size you have does the trick, is there a local small appliance repair shop? I have had luck with blenders and small electronics getting repaired. My threshold is 10%---if a new one costs 10x what the repair will cost, I try the repair. If it works, great; if not, I didn't break the bank throwing good money after bad.
posted by adekllny at 7:53 AM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
Consumer Reports has a list of blender/food processor hybrids they like, as well as just food processors themselves.
If the size you have does the trick, is there a local small appliance repair shop? I have had luck with blenders and small electronics getting repaired. My threshold is 10%---if a new one costs 10x what the repair will cost, I try the repair. If it works, great; if not, I didn't break the bank throwing good money after bad.
posted by adekllny at 7:53 AM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
I have an Oster 10 cup. I use it to make salsa, pesto, hummus, shred meat, crush nuts, and it has dough hooks to make choux (Great British Baking Show FTW!) pastry. I use it often, I'd say more than once a week. It has several buttons, but I only use one: pulse. And it has a food chute but I just drop everything in, put on the lid and turn it on.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:02 AM on April 21, 2021
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:02 AM on April 21, 2021
FWIW, America's Test Kitchen (ATK) and Wirecutter recommend "Cuisinart Custom 14". aka "Classic Series 14 cup".
So you can probably go for something a little smaller in the same series.
posted by kschang at 8:06 AM on April 21, 2021
So you can probably go for something a little smaller in the same series.
posted by kschang at 8:06 AM on April 21, 2021
I have a 4-cup Braun food processor I bought on sale a couple of years ago. I am really happy with it. The design is a bit old-fashioned, but the engine is very strong and while the parts look dainty, they are sturdy and all parts go in the dishwasher with no scratching or discoloration. It isn't exactly this, but almost the same design (mine only has stop - go - pulse, no speed dial).
I've used it for doughs, for slicing, for grating and for pureeing stuff as one does. No problems with anything. I like the small size, mainly because I don't need a bigger one, and it takes up less space, both on the shelf and in the dishwasher. If I need to slice a kilo of potatoes or onions, I make two batches, so it is still far more efficient than the mini processor types, where I often feel it's easier to cut them by hand than to make many batches.
posted by mumimor at 8:57 AM on April 21, 2021
I've used it for doughs, for slicing, for grating and for pureeing stuff as one does. No problems with anything. I like the small size, mainly because I don't need a bigger one, and it takes up less space, both on the shelf and in the dishwasher. If I need to slice a kilo of potatoes or onions, I make two batches, so it is still far more efficient than the mini processor types, where I often feel it's easier to cut them by hand than to make many batches.
posted by mumimor at 8:57 AM on April 21, 2021
I've had this cheap 8 cup Cuisinart for the past year and have been happy with it. It uses a cheaper blade mechanism than the classic Cuisinart. It also comes with shred and slice discs. The main draw back is that I don't (as far as I can tell) have the option to purchase other types of blades the way you can with the classic design. Also the blades don't seem as sharp? I make things like hummus, cashew cheese and pesto. I've also used it to make a shredded carrot salad. It has been well worth the $80 it cost me.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 9:33 AM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 9:33 AM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is opposite but useful: I worked at a facility that had most of its kitchen equipment donated by KitchenAid. They make splendid stand mixers and a few decent other things, but the food processor was really badly designed-- lots of skinny little plastic bits always in danger of being snapped off when assembling/disassembling. The overall design wasn't very intuitive about what goes where, and the capacity was far below the stated size.
I've always liked Cuisinart and Braun for their sturdiness and simplicity.
posted by winesong at 9:35 AM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
I've always liked Cuisinart and Braun for their sturdiness and simplicity.
posted by winesong at 9:35 AM on April 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
We've had a medium-sized Cuisinart for about the last three years -- it replaced an old one that we sold in a garage sale during a move. It's been totally fine and seems about the same as older ones.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:49 AM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Dip Flash at 10:49 AM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
Ditto on KitchenAid being a bit of a disappointment. We've got a Breville one now that we love.
posted by briank at 10:52 AM on April 21, 2021
posted by briank at 10:52 AM on April 21, 2021
I moved into a small apartment with a very small kitchen, so I gave up my big Cuisinart Food Processor for the 7 cup model 10SYP1. At $136 I hope to have it a very long time, but the other one had already lasted nearly 25 years and was still going strong. It looks a lot like the 12-cup did, so nostalgia maybe?
It's basic. I use it to make cheese straws, salsas, and chop vegetables, and occasionally make a 2-crust pie dough, and it just powers along. Mind you, it still weighs about 12 pounds, so it's not exactly light when you're putting it on a higher shelf. Tape measure says it's seven inches wide, by 11.5 inches deep, and 12.5 or so tall.
This may be sacrilege, but it also makes great frozen margueritas. The consistency of the ice crystals is somehow more impressive than blender slush. More like tiny ice flakes? Anyway, they pile up in the glass nicely.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 12:37 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
It's basic. I use it to make cheese straws, salsas, and chop vegetables, and occasionally make a 2-crust pie dough, and it just powers along. Mind you, it still weighs about 12 pounds, so it's not exactly light when you're putting it on a higher shelf. Tape measure says it's seven inches wide, by 11.5 inches deep, and 12.5 or so tall.
This may be sacrilege, but it also makes great frozen margueritas. The consistency of the ice crystals is somehow more impressive than blender slush. More like tiny ice flakes? Anyway, they pile up in the glass nicely.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 12:37 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
I just bought a Cuisinart 7-cup DLC-10SYP1 food processor and am very happy with it. The motor is strong enough to do bread and pizza dough while being fairly quiet. One thing I like is that it comes also with a flat top, so if you're only using the chopping blade you don't have to clean the feeder tube top. I rarely use the shredding or slicing discs, so this makes cleanup easier for me.
posted by indexy at 1:12 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by indexy at 1:12 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
For several years I've had the Cuisinart DLC-10SY, aka Pro Classic, 7 cups. Very good for chopping and pureeing but can't handle more than about 3 cups of liquid. Still, I like it a lot and use it a few times a week. I mostly use it for chopping or pureeing vegetables and for shredding cheese. The bowl and its cover can be washed in the top rack of a dishwasher; the blades are fine in either rack.
posted by wryly at 3:47 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by wryly at 3:47 PM on April 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
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Many people think every new thing is crap and all old things were made to last. There were low quality things made back then too, but they all broke and only the good ones are still in use. This is called survivorship bias.
I have purchased a new breadmaker and convection oven from Cuisinart in the past year and have been satisfied with both. The company was started by the man that invented food processors, so I would suggest you look at their current models. I don't know if they sell directly to consumers, since both of my purchases were made through other online retailers.
posted by soelo at 7:43 AM on April 21, 2021 [4 favorites]