food processor advice on buying

[lil fairy z girl]

hi,
well i saved some food money and i want to buy a food processor. i didnt want to get one initially as we have so little space and i didnt want to buy one and then not ever use it, but now it seems a good idea as i want to carry on with raw. so my question is:
any tips on buying one? what things should it be able to do? i know Alissa said in her book that a cheap one will do, but what do i need to take into consideration?

thanks
sal

[rawpriestess]

Hi I have a Cuisinart 11 cup, but I think Alissa uses a black and decker, that you can buy at Kmart Walmart (all the marts) and they are about 40 or so.

You want one with a big enough opening to put in large fruits and veggies, so you don't have to cut them tiny to pop into the top, you want one with some attachements, like a shredder and slicer, (not necessary, but handy) and you want an easy clean up, so it should all pop apart easily, you also want one with a big enough bowl to hold your pate's and such 7 cup to 11 cup is ideal

the 2 cups are nice and small, but too small I think, and the 14 cups are great but only if making alot or in a commerical setting, otherwise they are just too big to use.

You also want one from a place that will take it back if it breaks, like Costsco will take things back for a whole year, so I buy most appliances there, that way I can really use the thing, wihtout worrying if the warrantee is up too quickly.

[shakti17]

I bought a cheap one too, i forgot the brand, i'll check tonight, and I have been so amazed at how well it works! I totally love it - use it all the time...

anyway, I have had it only about 4 months, and lately when i make smoothies - liquid goes everywhere!!!!! it is so so so frustrating, as now i just don't use it. very sad. has anyone had this experience?

:eek: it's like there is a plastic piece that you insert in the top so liquid doesn't come out the chute thing - well that piece is in place - but liquid still goes everywhere!

[ArcticMist]

I have the Oster brand. It is a blender with a food processor attachment. IT cost $40 at wal mart. I love this thing. i am really surprised how well it does. Very large top opening and easy to clean IMO.

[maraw]

I have an old two-cup Oscar that I bought in college (way back) that I use to mince herbs and make guac for one. I also have, and absolutely love a Cuisinart 14-cup - mostly because I have a very large family and I needed the capacity. I agree with RP that an 11-cup is ideal for most people.

All of the previously mentioned concerns should all be part of your selection process, but may I also add that the center column be resonably tall. If it is very short, then liquids may come out more easily. I know that Kitchen Aid makes one that has a slightly taller "tube column" (I don't know what to call that thing) in the middle.

But you know, I have a friend that bought the $34 Black and Decker at Walmart and she just loves it. It certainly does the job well for her.

[Leslie_L]

I just got a Black and Decker at Target for about $50.00 and it works great!!!

[RawTruth]

When I was at Alissa's in October being trained, she used and advocated using the Hamilton Beach food processor that sells at Target for $29.99. We were rather dumbfounded but she was adamant. That is what she uses -- it has a really strong motor and works terrifically!! You DO NOT need the big expensive ones. Cuisinart and the others don't do a better job. And ... if, at some point, you burn this one out making massive batches of date nut torte, what's $29.99? Just toss it and go get another.

I did it and I couldn't be happier. It's what I use in my raw food classes. Never has failed me.

Don't get the dual processor/blender. Don't get the teensy one.

Hamilton Beach - Target - $29.99.

[theresaann]

I too got the black and decker 11 cup. I think it was $39 at walmart. works great...i do use the vitamix for most nut recipes that need a "creamy" texture-like frostings or pudding-the vitamix seem to work better for those things....

[RawTruth]

Food processor = one thing.

Blender (even a high-speed blender like VitaMixx) = a different thing.

You need both. Don't confuse them.

I know you know this Theresaann; I just didn't want the newbies confused.

[Shivananda]

any tips on buying one?

Yes, several things that nobody has mentioned yet... and since I've sold several hundred food processors (and taken more than a few back), and own and regularly use 2 myself, I think I have a pretty good handle on what it actually takes to be happy with your purchase.

First factor is, what do you want to do with it? Food processors are essentially designed around two functions... 1) finely chopping dry to moist to wet ingredients with whirling knife blades and 2) slicing or shredding vegetables and fruits with whirling disks. A good one does the first task very well, and the second medium well.

People on average buy them expecting to use the second function a lot, but wind up using the first the most. The slice function is hard to control and has no finesse (I'd rather slice by hand), and the shred function is most useful for cheese. Though I do use it to shred apples for pie, and occasionally carrots to sprinkle over a salad.

But the chop finction, that is an entirely different matter. I use them constantly at home for making pates out of soaked sunflowers, blending coconut and dates and carob to make fudge balls, to chop carrots fine for making burgers, etc. The cheaper ones, like the Black&Decker, are fine for this if you don't do a lot at one time, although the better ones like KitchenAid give you more power, better blades, nicer design, etc. and can be used continuously for much longer periods of time. I have both a small high-end B&D (7 cup & 2 cup) and a large KichenAid (11 cup & 3 cup) and use them both constantly.

Which leads to a key point... what size? Too big a machine and you don't get the best chop, too small and you can quickly overtax the machine (although splitting the ingredients into two batches is viable for occasional use.) The optimum size seems to be what allows you to roughly half fill the container with whatever you do all the time. And the second mini chopper insert the better machines like the KA include give you a nice option for chopping up small quantities... like a cup of parsley. But if I could only have 1, I'd go with 11-12 cups capacity, as 4 - 8 cups of food is perfect for most things I make. (At the restaurant, 16 cups seems too small) :)

As far as brands go, KA is hands down best (until you get up to commercial machines like Hobart), and Cuisinart has unfortunately become about the worst. Although their name is synonymous with food processors, Cuisinart has seriously slipped in quality in this category, both in regards to design and manufacturing. Consumer's Union consistently ranks KA best, year after year. And I've noticed DiscountJuicers selling the $229 KA for $150. In the cheaper Target and Wal-Mart brands... B&D, Oster, Braun, and Hamilton Brach have all put out good ones, along with total dogs. So in this category it is most important that you check them out as much as you can personally, and buy from a store with good return policies, in case you can't stand how it works.

Hope this helps.

[lil fairy z girl]

thank you to all of you for your wisdom in food processor knowledge. i am going to make a note of all your comments and things to consider when checking out the ones available to buy.
thank you all,

best wishes
sal
~*~*~*~*

[Linda1970]

Hi everyone,

My name is Linda, from San Francisco Bay Area. This is my first post, although I've been reading most of the posts here in the last couple of weeks, since I discovered this wonderful forum.

I'm very new to raw food. I have Vitamix 5000 and Kitchenaid Chef's Chopper http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CF8X5/104-4734676-0146305?v=glance&n=284507. Do you think I should still get the food process? I mainly want to make desserts, and for 1 person most of the time. Thank you so much.

Linda

[stRAWberry fields forever]

Shivananda,

I was planning to buy a cuisinart food processor/blender combo this weekend as a starting out set -- at $80 for the two I found it very reasonable. Should I do so, what problems should I expect to encounter, since your position is that cuisinart is the worst brand available in the higher end category of food processors (or maybe you mean of all?). The blender is 500 watts and for now, just planning to use it for smoothies and dressings pretty much. The food processor I was planning to use for pates, to make crusts for desserts, maybe for salsas, slaws, or other veg. type salads.

[RawTruth]

Strawberry Fields - I know you didn't ask me, but I have found that the combinations are not good at all. It's better to get the $29.99 Hamilton Beach food processor (that Alissa uses) and then get a blender with the strongest motor possible (not an Oster!!).

Linda, you definitely still need a food processor. Again -- the one I mentioned above is great!!! Mine's still going strong after using it for really heavy batches of recipes in teaching classes.

Do you have Alissa's book yet? She explains in the equipment section why you need both a blender and a food processor. It's really simple - they do two different things.

How great that you have a Vitamix, by the way!!

[Crystl-jade]

The Hamilton Beach Big Mouth food processor. It's the best I've ever had and I have owned quite a few. It out beats the Cuisnart (sp?) by a long shot.

These are at Wall Mart for about 30.00. I just love mine.


Crytl-jade

[Shivananda]

I've posted on a number of threads about this topic, but just realized there are several things to be said FOR the better quality (and more expensive) food processors that really haven't been mentioned before...

And to be clear, I have made my recommendations for what I consider to be acceptable inexpensive food processors on my "Cheeeeeep" threads. If what you can afford is an under $50 food processor, then I do want you to get the best value for money, absolutely. No worries.

But what I think has been missed so far is the rationale of why the better quality machines are actually worth the extra money IF you can afford them (such as the outstanding 12-cup Kitchen Aid currently available online for $159) :

1) Noise. The cheap ones sound like chain saws. The better ones just quietly hum.

2) Power. The better ones have bigger, more durable motors, which can do far more work with far less effort, and do it faster. The cheap ones heat up , and can quickly run out of steam if you are doing a lot of tuff stuff. My big KA can chop dates & nuts & carob into truffle balls for hours, if I need to do that, as I sometimes have. The same task would quickly burn out a $30 B&D. Even a $50 one. :)

3) Quality & Workmanship - the parts on the better machines just fit together nicer, are thicker, more solidly made, and a pleasure to use. Cheaper machines are made of flimsy pieces, break more easily, and it just stands to reason they won't last as long. One user here recently talked about the blade housing cracking in her cheapie in under a year. My Sabattier blades for the KA are still in perfect shape after 5 years of heavy use.

Also the blade edge quality on the better machines is better. When I slice and shred food it is noticeably more cleanly cut than the pulverized bits cheaper ones sometimes produce.

4) Accessories and replacements - With the cheaper machines you pretty much get whatever is in the box, and that's it. With the better machines you have a wider variety of available accessories, and they and the replacement parts (additional containers and lids, spare blades, the part that someone accidentally threw out with the garbage, whateva) are readily available for many years time. I have 4 different sizes of shredding disks for mine, and each has useful place in my pallette of food prep techniques. If I lose something, I can order a replacement, 5 years after I bought the machine.

5) Versatility - the convertable design of my 11 cup/ 3 cup Kitchen Aid (and my 9 cup/ 3 cup KitchenTools) means I can run a small chopper for an onion or a bit of salsa off the same big motor without dirtying the big container. And the slip in Chef's bowl means I can prepare one thing, then immediately pull out the Chef's bowl and continue with another thing in the main bowl. So I can actually do three different components of a meal without having to stop and wash out a container. That's a level of sophistication in the kitchen that sometimes can be a lifesaver, especially when entertaining.

Anyhoozits, that's my opinion. I have them so you don't have to. :)

[JinxieKat]

Yeap Yeap! I had the houseing crack on my cheepo food processor. I got a 7 cup kitchenaid with the smaller bowl that sets into the middle. I love love love it. It makes pate's that are much smoother than my old one ever managed. The blades set lower in the bowl so I don't get a bunch of mashed up stuff lining the bottom of the bowl that I have to keep scraping into the main mix. It is much quieter and the thing weighs a ton compared to my old one. Even the bowl it self is sturdier.
Now, with all that said, Alissa has certianly been useing her one from Target longer than I had my cheepo black n decker one. I've never used the one that she has, so if budget is your top priority then I can see where that one would be the way to go. I looked at that one myself, but the blade housing was exactly the same as it was in the one I broke and I couldn't see buying something that was so similar to one I had already broken. But, that's just me!

Jinx

[EastCoastie]

Last year at this time, I bought the 7-cup GE food processor from Wal-Mart for less than $40. It worked great for everything, including all nuts.

This year I got the 11-cup Kitchen Aid from Bed Bath & Beyond for my birthday. Even with our discount, it cost 3+ times as much and it does not work even 1/2 as well on nuts. I must admit it the KA is more attractive and a little quieter but definitely not worth it. Since I gave my 7-cup away, I might have to go spend the money and buy another GE.

Good luck to you in finding the right one.

EC

[Shivananda]

it does not work even 1/2 as well on nuts. Hi EastCoastie, (Ha! I typoed EatCoastie the first time!)

Sorry to hear you are having a problem with your KA. I'm very surprised. In the past I've sold maybe a bazillion of them (I no longer do) so I'm really familiar with how they work, and I've never heard of anyone with a complaint like that. Perhaps, if you care to share some details, I can figure out what is keeping you from getting the results you expect. Maybe not, but what the heck, my consultation is free... :)

If you want to play, please tell me what container and blade you are using, what kind of nuts and what quantity, soaked or not, the procedure you are using, etc. In other words, just like you were writing down a recipe.

[Linda1970]

Strawberry Fields - I know you didn't ask me, but I have found that the combinations are not good at all. It's better to get the $29.99 Hamilton Beach food processor (that Alissa uses) and then get a blender with the strongest motor possible (not an Oster!!).

Linda, you definitely still need a food processor. Again -- the one I mentioned above is great!!! Mine's still going strong after using it for really heavy batches of recipes in teaching classes.

Do you have Alissa's book yet? She explains in the equipment section why you need both a blender and a food processor. It's really simple - they do two different things.

How great that you have a Vitamix, by the way!!

Thanks for your response, Rawtruth. Alissa's book should be here any minutes. So excited! Yah, I love the Vitamix. I've had it since last November, and I've been using it almost everyday. I also bought a dehydrator recently. It's stainless steel by Sausagemaker. I know everyone uses Excaliber, but I try my best to use glass and stainless steel products.