The Food Processor Topic

[paulraphael]

I'd like some advice on whether I should get the 7 or 11 cup Cuisinart? Any real world insight would be appreciated. I would be using it for meals for 4-6 people.

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Definitely the 11.

Keep in mind that you're never going to have the thing filled up to the top, so it doesn't actually hold 11 cups of anything. And if what you're processing includes a lot of liquid, you can use a much smaller portion of its capacity. Otherwise it will leak.

I've had an 11 cup Cuisinart for fifteen years and it's been a good size for one to a dozen people.

Number one use is making pastry dough. It's the grand poobah of pastry dough. Infrequent uses include thick purees, making oat flour and nut butters, and industrial-size grating tasks.

I used it for making bread and pizza dough before getting a stand mixer. The processor did an excellent job, but didn't have much capacity, and I could tell it was straining. I made sure to work in short bursts and give it time to cool off. This is a case where the 11 cup was adequate, and the 7 cup likely wouldn't be.

I never use it for chopping anymore (knives just do a better job) and i don't think I've ever used the slicing disk or the silly plastic dough blade.

Edited March 4, 2008 by paulraphael (log)

[sygyzy]

Hi,

Thanks for the info. I will get the 11 cup. Now my followup question is, do you know the difference between the Cuisinart lines? For example, they have like 3-5 different 7 cup versions all different price points. I was looking at the Pro Custom 11-Cup. Is that a good one?

[Batard]

Sygyzy, I received a Cuisinart Custom Pro 11-Cup Stainless Steel Food Processor for Christmas, the one you are looking at. It was a nice gift, and the motor had a ten year warranty, but the plastic components looked flimsy and easily breakable. There is one piece of plastic that has to be in place for the processor to run, and it looked like it could just snap off easily during washing. Also it was not very well reviewed so, many people are deploring the quality of recently-produced Cuisinart products, so I ended up returning it. (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?ProdID=11026804)

So I did a little homework, and recently ordered the KitchenAid KFP750CR 700-Watt 12-Cup Food Processor (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002MH3NS) because it was well reviewed. I hastily unpacked and. after reading the book, tried experimenting around with it. The motor was quite a bit noisier than the smooth Cuisinart, but I didn't think much of it. First thing I tried to do was chop an red onion using the chopping blade. A piece of onion got caught between the blade and the top of the bowl cover, causing the machine to vibrate almost off my table. The same thing happened with a piece of carrot. I wasn’t that worried about it, because I didn’t buy it to chop veggies, but was surprised that it had such a tough job on such a simple task.

I had soaked some dried pasilla chilies in warm broth, and then added this to the food processor with the multipurpose blade when the chilies were soft and cool. I did not overfill, it was about a cup and a half of volume. As soon as I started pulsing, my chili puree started leaking like crazy, from the center stem where the bowl connects to the base.

The main reason I purchased it is to making pesto, mayonnaise, and pizza dough, but now I am thinking that I should put it back in the box and ship it back. Are my expectations too high? Are the machines I am buying too "cheap"?

Edited March 5, 2008 by Batard (log)

[sygyzy]

Man, I don't know what to do now. I've read the same things as you. That Cuisinart FP's are not made the way they used to be. That the quality suffered and I should get a Kitchen Aid. But now you say your KA sucks too!

[Carole]

Well, last week I got the KA 750 in black (on sale - only that color - at Amazon for $129). I use it a lot for slicing (I think that's what Batard meant when they said chopping). I've done cabbage for slaw using the 2mm slicing blade and it has started to vibrate. It happens when it gets to the very end of what you're slicing and you're not pushing hard enough with the pusher. It seems to leave a piece that barely fits between the blade and the top. If you just add more ingredients or switch to pulse it stops immediately (or push harder). No doubt, this is annoying but not a showstopper for me. It makes the most beautiful shreds of cabbage ... my husband said it was worth getting it just for that. I've not had the vibration happen at all with the grater blade.

I've made hummus using the small bowl and it works just fine. It actually holds quite a bit. Instead of tahini I roast sesame seeds and first grind them in the food processor, then add the rest of the ingredients – 1 can chickpeas, one roasted red pepper, olive oil, bit of water, garlic, hot pepper flakes, lime or lemon juice. It held all this just fine. And it didn't cause a mess in the larger bowl as some people have reported.

I'm not likely to make soup or anything like that in it as I have an immersion blender that I prefer. I also use my immersion blender to make mayonaise (takes 15 seconds, is fool-proof, and I make it in the jar I'm going to store it in).

I've made the cheese whole wheat cracker recipe KA has online. If you go to the KA website, look up your food processor, then go to the pdf of the manual, you will find it contains pages of recipes that are not in the manual that comes with your machine. And some are interesting. The crackers were very tasty and quickly disappeared.

The plastic seems pretty sturdy and I love the simple food pusher system. Much better than my older Cuisinart (which became too small). And I think I'll like the food pusher style better than the one on the more expensive model KA.

I definitely plan on keeping it.

[sygyzy]

Carole,

I was looking at that model too. Unfortuatenly, I am 5 days late for the $20 rebate so I want to wait til it comes around again.

Do you think the wide mouth opening of the next model up (760) is worth the upgrade (cost)?

Do you think your problems would be a non-issue had you bought a Cuisinart?

[Carole]

Do you think the wide mouth opening of the next model up (760) is worth the upgrade (cost)?

Do you think your problems would be a non-issue had you bought a Cuisinart?

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Hi sygyzy,

I didn't really like the wide mouth opening of the next model up. It seemed more fussy. And the one on the 750 isn't all that small. With the 750 all you do is engage the bowl, engage the lid (both by turning them to point towards you) and hit On or Pulse. You don't need the feed tube pusher in at all. You can easily drop things in. In my view, simple is better.

This one replaced a wonderful Braun that just gave up the ghost after over 15 years of hard use. Before that I had a 9-cup Cuisinart (too small) and before that the original Cuisinart made by Robot Coupe (way way too small). I always hated the feed tubes on the Cuisinart so especially after all the negative reviews on the Cuisinart I knew I wasn't going to go that route.

So even if the Cuisinart didn't do the vibration bit (which doesn't happen every time you slice), I still wouldn't have gotten the Cuisinart. I probably would have had to spend tons more money and gotten a Viking or something else .... and I sure didn't want to spend more than I had to.

It's hard to beat the price for what you get ($129). But of course, you do have to be happy with it overall. Different things bother different people.

[prasantrin]

It's hard to beat the price for what you get ($129). But of course, you do have to be happy with it overall. Different things bother different people.

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I think this is key--no matter what other people say, which brand or model you're going to be happy depends entirely on you, sygyzy. You may as well buy one, try it out, and return it if you're not happy with it (or buy both and return the one you like least). Because despite all the questions and helpful answers, you're not going to know which is right for you until you try them.

I have a Cuisinart, and I'm fine with it. I don't find the plastic bit Batard mentioned all that fragile, and I'm pretty careless with mine. The only thing I don't like about the Cuisinart is that the tube part doesn't come apart, so it takes a bit more care to clean.

[Darcie B]

I recently purchased a KA 750 and my initial experience has not been promising. I thought I could do a double batch of cookie dough (3 cups flour), but it choked. Plus the durn thing doesn't fit under my cabinets. It's a 12-cup capacity (I was upgrading from a DLC10 7-cup Cuisinart). The blade seems very flimsy compared to my old Cuisinart blade, too. Much thinner and seemingly just press-fit, not riveted.

Edit to add: I just hate the buttons, too, and much prefer the paddles on the Cuisinarts. This may factor into my decision, because I was constantly fumbling with the KA last night. Of course, experience will help, but paddles seem much easier and more intuitive.

So I just ordered a 14-cup Cuisinart and am going to do a side-by-side test this weekend for the normal tasks I do in a fp, which may not be the same as the tests run by CI and others. I can post some photos and and descriptions if anyone's interested.

Edited March 12, 2008 by Darcie B (log)

[kbjesq]

I recently purchased a KA 750 and my initial experience has not been promising. I thought I could do a double batch of cookie dough (3 cups flour), but it choked. Plus the durn thing doesn't fit under my cabinets. It's a 12-cup capacity (I was upgrading from a DLC10 7-cup Cuisinart). The blade seems very flimsy compared to my old Cuisinart blade, too. Much thinner and seemingly just press-fit, not riveted.

Edit to add: I just hate the buttons, too, and much prefer the paddles on the Cuisinarts. This may factor into my decision, because I was constantly fumbling with the KA last night. Of course, experience will help, but paddles seem much easier and more intuitive.

So I just ordered a 14-cup Cuisinart and am going to do a side-by-side test this weekend for the normal tasks I do in a fp, which may not be the same as the tests run by CI and others. I can post some photos and and descriptions if anyone's interested.

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I'm definitely interested, Darcie. I've been thinking about replacing my 7-cup Cuisinart for some time, and with all the good things that I've heard/read about the KA 750, I was strongly considering it. However, like you, I'm familiar with the paddles and I think that I would have a hard time getting used to buttons. I'll be curious to see your side-by-side comparison. Also, if you shopped around, where did you find the best prices? I seem to recall that Amazon had a big sale awhile back on the KA processors.

[Darcie B]

Also, if you shopped around, where did you find the best prices?  I seem to recall that Amazon had a big sale awhile back on the KA processors.

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I'm an Amazon kind of gal. I seem to have better luck there than anywhere else. Plus I signed up for the free trial of Amazon Prime, so I'm getting free 2-day shipments. I usually get the stuff next day if it ships from their (I think) Louisville center. Anyway, it's somewhere in KY and even though they don't guarantee it, I usually get it next day. Plus their return policy is good. I hope so anyway because I can't afford two fps!

The KA 750 (black) was $129.99. The 14-cup Cuisinart is $199. So I was hoping the cheaper one would do the job. Based on the reviews, it seemed that was possible. But maybe not.

[Darcie B]

The results of my testing, including photos and detailed explanation, are on my blog. Here is a summary of KA 750FP vs. Cuisinart DFP-14:

Looks: in the eye of the beholder

Size of unit: Cuisinart (it fits under my cabinets)

Dry ingredient capacity: Cuisinart

Liquid ingredient capacity: Tie

Smooth puree: KitchenAid

Grating: Cuisinart

Slicing: KitchenAid (two slicing blades)

Accessories: KitchenAid (extra slicing blade; mini bowl/blade)

Sturdiness (perceived): Cuisinart

Noise: Tie (I don't have a decibel meter to measure precisely)

Ease of use: Cuisinart (caveat - I was a previous Cuisinart user)

Neither of these units clearly outshone the other, so I can't say one is a much better product. It depends on the criteria that are important to you. If you want an all around machine and don't care if it fits under your cabinets, I'd choose the KitchenAid because it has more accessories and, if you like black, it's cheaper. If capacity and sturdiness are what you're after, choose the Cuisinart.

Edit to fix subject/verb agreement.

Edited March 18, 2008 by Darcie B (log)

[paulraphael]

I finally found a way to turn my old Cuisinart 11 cup processor (DLC 8, I think?) into a great machine, by disabling its most annoying safety feature. Please don't do this, or cut off your hand, or sue cuisinart, or sue me.

The lid assembly has a white piece of plastic that gets pushed down by the feeding tube insert. This in turn pushes a rod that's part of the work bowl, which pushes a button in the base, which lets the processor turn on. The idea is that the mixer can't operate unless the insert is in place. The insert keeps you from sticking your hand through the feeding tube and into the blades. It also makes it completely inconvenient to add food.

I found some open cell foam and stuffed it under the white piece of plastic in the lid. It now acts like a spring, keeping the plastic piece permanently pushed down. The result is that simply securing the lid to the work bowl allows the mixer to work. I don't need the annoying feeding tube insert.

The only catch is that I have to resist that urge to stick my whole arm through the feeding tube and turn on the machine (an urge I've so far managed to resist with my blender and stand mixer and toaster, which similarly lack anti-suicide features).

I know this description sounds confusing, but I bet if you hold the parts in front of you, you'll see what I mean. If not, ask and I'll try to clarify.

[Sony]

Oh my gosh, you might be my hero paulraphael! I bought a Cuisinart secondhand and have been baffled as to why the unit won't run without the narrower feed tube insert! Now I know that it's an anti-suicide feature.....and that maybe I can work around it!

I can't wait to get home and check it out. That insert can come in handy, but sometimes it just irritates the heck out of me.....

[prasantrin]

I know this description sounds confusing, but I bet if you hold the parts in front of you, you'll see what I mean. If not, ask and I'll try to clarify.

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Pictures!! Do you have pictures? I'm a very visual learner.

[paulraphael]

Pictures!!  Do you have pictures?  I'm a very visual learner.

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I'm having computer problems at home ... I'll try to post a picture soon.

[paulraphael]

Ok, here's what it looks like:

The black, cancerous looking blob is just a wad of open cell foam. It just pushes the white plastic doodad down. This is what depresses the lever that pushes the button that lets the machine run.

Normally the white plastic doodad doodad would get pushed down by the plunger assembly. The foam lets you use the machine without the plunger blocking the food chute.

I was planning to use closed cell foam (easier to keep clean) but this was all I had.

[Alexis]

Bump to ask a question. I currently have a UK Magimix 5100. I have all the discs for it. Will these work with the US Magimix 5150 currently sold by Chef's Catalog? (I'm moving back to the USA in July and will need to buy a new FP.) The 5150 was never sold here so I don't have any way to check. thanks!

[jgm]

I have a problem. I need to get rid of my very first food processor, a Cuisinart CFP 5A, but I just can't.

I don't want to use it any more. Like me, it's old and stiff and has to be coaxed into doing things. Its motor is still strong, but its workbowl is a major PITA. Even a second-hand store wouldn't want it; its parts have to be held just right to get it to work. The Cuisinart company once offered to buy it from me, and allow me to apply the proceeds to the purchase of a younger, sleeker model, but I would not sell. When the lady on the phone started laughing, I accused her of being the kind of person who'd sell her own children.

So it and its accessories have been lovingly packed away, and will probably stay that way until after I'm dead, and someone else gets rid of it.

It represents my first step into the world of Serious Cooking...the world of learning to make food myself, from raw ingredients, instead of getting it out of a can or a box. I used it to make my first batch of mayonnaise. It was there through thick and thin, through kitchen triumphs and tragedies. Two days after I brought it home, every bit of food in my kitchen was chopped, sliced, or pulverized to one degree or another. It sat and challenged me; my friend Mark, who had actually taken cooking lessons in France, told me the French chefs were sniffing about it, insisting that it didn't do anything a good knife in the right hands couldn't do. Eventually, because of that conversation with Mark, I bought a good knife and began practicing. Although I now own 3 food processors (all more than 15 years old), I rarely use them because of my greatly improved knife skills.

So now it's time to retire my old friend. Practicality dictates that I should just put it in the trash and be done with it, already, but I just can't. Maybe I'll have it buried with me. Except I really would rather be cremated, and its metal base will likely not melt down enough to get stuffed into an urn with the other remains. And I doubt I'll be able to talk anyone into storing my remains in it, although I certainly think that would be appropriate. It would just look strange on a mantel, you know?

Some people can't part with their first car. I can't part with my first Cuisinart. So it will sit in a box in my garage or basement, until I'm gone and my nieces and nephews shake their heads, wonder why I would keep such a thing, and put it in the garage sale.

Anybody have any words of wisdom that can change my mind?

[tsquare]

Right there with you - but mine was handed down to me from my dearly departed Mom - just to make it even more difficult to part with. It sits on a nice shelf in the basement, in need of a new metal blade. Like yours, the workbowl has seen better, and easier days. It has no pulse, just an on or off option.

I don't have the metal base, so it probably isn't the exact model, but a similar sentiment.

[Dave the Cook]

Three words: Goodwill. Tax deduction.

Someone else will benefit from your hand-me-down, and you can claim -- what? $25? $50? -- as a charitable deduction. Win-win.

[pax]

People save the oddest things. Why can't you save it, if you love it? My first Kitchen Aid mixer was cleaned up, adorned with Sharpie love messages for good memories of bread and pizza past, and it lives in my pantry. Technically, it's there in case I need a smaller mixer.

[Kerry Beal]

Send me a picture - I might have a newer (not new) bowl to go on it. I have accumulated a whole lot of old cuisinart parts over time and love to find homes for them. That way you can haul it back out of the basement!

[Mayhaw Man]

I have a DLC-8E that is, for sure, 25 years old (it was a wedding gift-the machine lasted longer than the marriage, so I'm hanging on to it with both hands), that I love. I have replaced every part on the thing, excepting the motor, several times over the years. Happily, they are mostly available still, but last time I needed a bowl top, I had to buy it off of e-bay, though I now understand that they are still making them.

I'm with you. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'll run it til it dies. Used it last night, as a matter of fact. I especially like the way that the buttons are set up and also the fact that the motor seems to be completely indestructible.

[onehsancare]

I've replaced the workbowl on my (28 yr old?) DLC-7, but got to worrying about what I'd do when the motor eventually gives out--how would I run that most glorious of accessories . . . the power strainer? (It's spectacular for seeding raspberries. I really do not know what I would do without it.)

So--I started looking on Craig's list and got a back-up! Mr. Care says it's obsessive to think about getting a second back-up, but I'm contemplating doing so while they're still available!