Food Processors

[drglenfl]

Newbie jumping in here, needing help finding a new food processor. I'm about to upgrade but need advise.

I saw a 9 cup KitchenAide that I liked, but I think it has the same problem as my old processor, which is a 4" center spindle. So...you can only put 4 cups of liquind in the bowl or it overflows. I made marinara sause and the tomatoe juice leaked out all over the counter.

What kind of food processor do you all use?

Thanks in advance for the help.

FL Girl

[raweater]

Welcome to RawFoodTalk!

Someone else had asked this and you can see my reply in this thread:
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?p=390813

This is the one I have, the Cuisinart MP-14:
http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/product.php?product_id=301&item_id=406&cat_id=7

I have and recommend the Cuisinart MP-14 Limited Edition, it's really great, has a 20 year warranty on the motor, and comes with a whisk attachment so it can replace a stand mixer or regular mixer also (although these are rarely used in raw recipes, but the 20 year warranty and looks of it were worth the price to me).

[jacsam]

Costco has a Cuisinart for 100.00 and although I enjoyed my last FP...this one doesn't even compare. It really is wonderful and make nut butters.

[drglenfl]

Thanks for the tip. Our Coscos will open in about a month, so I'll check it out. I really don't want to spend $400 for a food processor. I spent $350 for the VitaMixer, but I feel sure I can get a really good FP for less.

Thanks again.

Glen

[baltochef]

Cuisinart food processors come in 18 oz.--3 cup--7 cup--11 cup--14 cup--and 21 cup models..The main drawback to all food processors, regardless of brand, is the leaky interface between the lid & the bowl; as well as between the blade, the bowl, & the spindle of the electric motor..

Personally, I would elect to make marinara sauce in a blender, rather than a food processor..

The older designs with the 2 up-down style switches can usually be found for less money..In the 14 cup models, as much as $100.00 less than the touch-pad models..

Personally, I consider the up-down switch models to have greater long-term reliability over the touch-pad models..If the switches ever fail, they are more easily & less expensively repaired by a reliable small appliance repair shop..Someone handy with tools should be able to repair it at home..

Bruce

[Morn]

I absolutely love my 14 cup cuisinart food processor. I got it for Christmas 2 years ago and it was well worth the money. It is the bomb! It has a lot of room and sufices my needs. It also handles a lot of the heavy nut recipes that I tend to do. I however, have not heard a lot of positive things on the kitchenaide food processors so you may want to stay away from them.

[raweater]

The reason I got the 14 cup model is that the size rating you see is only true for uses that use the discs and not the S blade. When using the s blade, the capacity falls from 14 cups to 3 for liquids, or 6 cups if what you're blending is thick.

If a 14 cup model turns to 3 cups for liquids, imagine what a 7 cup model handles. I used to have a 3 cup model that came as an addon for my old Cuisinart blender 2 in 1, that food processor could barely do anything at all, most recipes had to be processed in 4 to 10 batches! I can now often do double a recipe in one batch in my 14 cup.

This is an important thing to consider when thinking about the size.

[baltochef]

This new Cuisinart MP-14 model looks quite good to me..I'm in the market for a food processor this size as I sold my several decades old 21-cup Cuisinart DLC-X processor to an former employer of mine several years ago..

Raweater is absolutely correct in how limited the bowl capacities become when liquid foods rather than foods sliced or shredded are processed..

Every food processor that I've ever used, including the commercial Robot Coupe models, required that I press downwards on the lid with a LOT of pressure to minimize liquids from shooting out between the lid & the bowl..Which is why I try to not use a food processor for foods in liquids, or foods containing a lot of internal liquids..Years of getting my chef's coats dirty in kitchens that were not equipped with a blender has taught me this..And is also the reason that I purchased a Dynamic MD95 commercial stick blender that I carry with me in my chef's tool box..

Bruce..

[nanetteb]

I bought an 11 cup Cuisinart 15 years ago. I managed to crack the work bowl twice. The first time it cracked it was still under warranty so they sent me a new one. The second time it cracked (at approximately the same location - near the base) it was no longer under warranty so I just lived with it. Finally I managed to melt the lid (long story - LOL). To get a new lid I also had to buy a new work bowl (they had changed the design) and that would have cost another $100. After agonizing I finally decided to just buy a whole new food processor.

I decided on the 12 cup KitchenAid. It is much quieter and doesn't move around the counter like my old Cuisinart because the base is heavier. The steel blade is narrower - I can't decide if this is a good thing or not. It came with a bunch of attachments (like a mini-food processor which fits into the bowl) that I haven't used yet. The one thing I don't like about it is that the handle is open on both ends so food can get in there if you're not careful while cleaning it.

[baltochef]

nanetteb

What circumstances led to the bowls of your Cuisinart cracking??..

I have witnessed approximately 20-25 Cuisinart bowls being cracked over the years..Many restaurants do not want to spend the money to purchase commercial Robot Coupe food processors, so they purchase Cuisinarts instead..

The reason for the majority of these bowls cracking was due to being dropped on hard tile floors..The secondary reason for breakage is dishwashers & chefs piling up heavy equipment on top of the bowls in the sinks..

A contributing factor is usually work hardening of the plastic due to the high temperatures in commercial dishwashers..The extreme temperature fluctuations between the ambient room temperatures & the rinse cycles of these dishwashers leads to the crystalline structure of the plastic weakening..

Residential dishwashers are worse, IMO, due to the much longer times that kitchen wares are inside & exposed to the high temperature wash & rinse waters..

It is for this reason that I always recommend hand washing the bowls of all food processors, regardless of the brand..Same for the plastic carafes of blenders..Regardless of what the manufacturer recommends in the owners manual, all plastics are effected & degraded by high temperatures..Because most people loathe washing dishes by hand, companies say that it is o-kay to put plastics in dishwashers, when they know otherwise..

Another potential area of concern is ultra violet radiation degrading these plastics if they are constantly exposed to the sun's rays through a window in the kitchen..If the only place to keep your blender or food processor is where it will be in direct sunlight passing through a glass window then I recommend placing a cloth cover over the machine when it is not in use..In addition to UV degradation, the magnification of the sun's rays through the glass can heat the plastics up to fairly high temperatures that ultimately will effect the plastic..

Anyone that has investigated the replacement costs for the bowl & lid of a food processor, or the carafe of a blender will quickly realize that they are not inexpensive to replace..So taking steps to prolong their effective lifespans only makes sense to me..

Bruce

[nanetteb]

Bruce, I'm not exactly sure how the Cuisinart bowls cracked. Back when I was on another cooking forum (not raw) I heard from others who had the work bowl crack as well. The first one was washed in a dishwasher so that may have been it. But the second one wasn't ever washed in a dishwasher because I haven't had one for the past five years and it wasn't stored in sunshine.

You're right about how they are sensitive to heat. My lid got accidentally pushed about 2 inches from a gas flame and that melted it. I always wonder about non-raw recipes that have you pureeing hot liquids in the food processor. That doesn't seem like a good idea at all. Fortunately I have a stick blender that I use for that purpose.

[Aleesha Sattva]

i use a 14 c kitchenaide. if nec. i would split a recipe in two and mix it in a bowl together afterwards.