Food Processor recommendations?

[airportlobby]

I have a food processor coming my way, but have to decide which full size model to choose. Jesus, there are a million seemingly identical machines. Cuisinart alone seems to produce a thousand models in each size.


Any informed opinions out there? Kitchen Aid or Cuisinart? One model over another? I will mostly be using it to make dough, do quick chops, a bit of blending, grating, etc. After grating beets yesterday for a borscht, I'm definitely understanding the appeal.

 

[Rambo]

You interested in the Consumer Reports ratings?

 

[airportlobby]

Originally Posted by Rambo

You interested in the Consumer Reports ratings?

Sure, anything that might help my decision. As it is, they all look pretty much the same. Too busy/apathetic to parse all the info out there.

 

[rahimlee54]

I cook rather often and I have a kitchen aid processor, blender, and mixer. They have all held up pretty well and the containers are pretty high quality plastic. I got most of them on really good rebates so I am not sure they the best of the best but for what I paid I plan on keeping them around for quit some time.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by airportlobby

Sure, anything that might help my decision. As it is, they all look pretty much the same. Too busy/apathetic to parse all the info out there.
Ask and ye shall receive:

 

[random-adam]

My mother owns a Cuisinart that's been used at least twice weekly for over 40 years now. Dad got her a new one for Christmas and she doesn't understand why, since the old one still works just fine. As a result whenever someone says "food processor," I hear "Cuisinart" (in much the same way "stand mixer" = "KitchenAid").

That's my background on the topic. I purchased this model three years ago and am quite pleased with it. It's on the lower end of capacities, but it's all I need.

 

[foodguy]

i've got a 30-year-old cuisinart at home and a 15-year-old kitchenaid in the test kitchen. they're both good. my only advice will be to avoid the "mini choppers" ... just don't do nearly enough to warrant the cost or the hassle.

 

[ChicagoRon]

I have a cheapie - but I've been planning to upgrade to a Bosch 3 in 1 that has a kitchen-aid style stand mixer in addition to blender/processor. It's got mad horse-power.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Thermomix.

 

[airportlobby]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Thermomix.
That would definitely test the generosity, or level of endearment, of the the gift giver. It's my mom, so I probably don't want to know the answer to that one. Thanks for jpeg, Rambo.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by airportlobby

That would definitely test the generosity, or level of endearment, of the the gift giver. It's my mom, so I probably don't want to know the answer to that one. Thanks for jpeg, Rambo.
No problem. 2 things for what they're worth: -CR has been having a hard on for Cuisinart products lately. In reality, they aren't quite that good, at least not all of them so take it with a grain of salt. -After finding out about their ****** warranty on their blenders the hard way, I won't ever buy another KitchenAid electronic product for as long as I live.

 

[impolyt_one]

the 22lb Kitchenaid sounds pretty good if you're gonna be doing dough in it. To me, a food processor is all about stability of the base.

 

[foodguy]

Originally Posted by Rambo

-CR has been having a hard on for Cuisinart products lately. In reality, they aren't quite that good, at least not all of them so take it with a grain of salt.

-After finding out about their ****** warranty on their blenders the hard way, I won't ever buy another KitchenAid electronic product for as long as I live.

most cuisinart products are pretty disappointing. the amazing thing about a food processor is that essentially, it's a pretty simple piece of machinery. Just a fairly low-rev electric motor, a plastic box and a blade. even a blender is more complicated because it's got different speeds and a much higher rev. in fact, iirc, there was a business school case study several years ago that used cuisinart as an example because they built a perfect product that never broke down ... but once they'd saturated the market for that product, what next?
as for blenders, i had bad lunch with my kitchenaid, too. but to be honest, i've never had a blender that i was totally happy with. and no, matt, i'm not going to buy a thermo-mix.

 

[jobro]

15 year old version of the Braun Multiquick 7 still going strong here. Highly recommended. I see it comes with a stainless steal mixing bowl now, thats neat.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by jobro

15 year old version of the Braun Multiquick 7 still going strong here. Highly recommended. I see it comes with a stainless steal mixing bowl now, thats neat.
Why would you want a stainless bowl? How would you see how the pulsing/chopping was coming along? Seems like it would be more of a hassle than anything else.