food processor question

[joyce09]

I spent hours researching various food processors but I am not sure I have gotten an answer to the question that is most important to me: Can a food processor slice vegetables into very thin slices just as a vegetable peeler does? Will someone who owns a food processor please answer this question? I have a vegetable shooter that cannot slice vegetables into very thin slices. So often I have to use a vegetable peeler to do that and it is very time-consuimg, not to mention the danger of peeling off my own skin. So I would like to know if a fp can slice vegetables into very thin slices quick. (I am sure a food processor can do many other things too.) Thanks for replies in advance.

Also, according to the opinions I gathered on this website, Cuisinard 14-cup and Kitchen Aid 12-cup fps are good ones. But as I researched the fps on Amazon, there are so many models! Does anyone know if Cuisinard DLC-2014 CHB Power Prep Plus 14-cup is a good model? Amazon says its original price is $545 but now it sells for $265. I just wonder why there is this huge discount.

I would like to make a purchase I will not regret later. Since it seems (from product reviews) a fp can last for 20 years, I would like to buy a very good one.

[Mindy Sue]

Mine has a disc that I put in and yes it slices thin, but my idea of very thin might be different than yours :o. I have a Cuisinart, not a real expensive one. I would suggest that you go to the store and look at them in person, that would give you a better idea of what you are buying. Maybe someone else can chime in here and give you a better answer. I still use my mandolin when I want very thin slices, and it's scary :eek:.

[T-Bird]

my cuisinart has a smaller slicer available than one I have for the machine, but I use a cheap little plastic mandolin for more "shaving" type thing.....

[DebB]

My Cuisinart came with 2 slicing discs a 2mm and a 4mm. These do not slice as thin as a vegetable peeler. I had to look it up and found that 2mm = 0.0797 inch.

You may wish to go to their site (and/or call) and see what the thinnest slicing disc they make is. Kitchen Aid is another good FP brand. Both have large mouth food chutes - a must for me. *Ü*

[joyce09]

Thanks for all the replies. So it seems that none of you has a FP that makes slices as thin as a vegetable peeler does? I guess there does not exist an electrical kitchen apppliance that makes very thin vegetable slices? That's a little disappointing. Some raw foods have to be prepared as really thin slices in order to be appetizing, you know. I guess manufacturers have not yet seen RAW fooders as a lager enough group of customers who have cooking needs to be met.

[DebB]

I agree that a mandoline would probably work best then. I have a V-slicer (from QVC, by Fuller Brush) that I really love. But I don't think it gets as thin as my veggie peeler does.

With a FP though - if you have something long like a zucchini or eggplant, that you want to slice thinly lengthwise, say for lasagna or eggplant bacon - a FP wouldn't work even if you did have a very thin blade.

I'm a gadget-aholic and I love them all! *Ü*

[RawKnitster]

The slicing blade that came with my 7-cup Cuisinart ($79 on sale at Macy's) is great for coleslaw or onions for onion bread. Doesn't even come close to the thinness of a vegetable peeler.

I like the 7 cup for making small batches, but I wish I had the 11 or 14 cup for big stuff. Another problem with the model I have is the smallness of the shoot. It is very narrow. You really can't put anything bigger than 1"x3" in it.

[jacsam]

They have a great cuisinart food processor @ Costco every now and then. It last sold for 100.00 and it's a great machine. It also have about 3 differt slicing discs that come with it. Good luck.

[babeak]

I just bought an awesome, but awful Cuisinart that I returned today. It is their new Elite line. It has a variable slicer 1-6 mm which is awesome and a reversible shredder. I got the 16 cup size from William Sonoma. The bad thing is that it has this seal on it that makes it difficult to sanitize properly and I was continually getting food bits in it that I could not get out easily...like chopped kale, herbs, etc. I took it back and got all of my money back. I am SOOOOOO bummed!!!!!!! I really liked these features in addition to the nested bowls. The blades were the best and they don't sell them with any other of their fps.

I am now looking at the KitchenAid Pro Line...16 cup. I chop a lot of kale for salads and make a lot of crackers and cereal and would like to do so in bulk.

I have a Cuisinart classic 11 cup and have loved it, but it is just not big enough. So I would highly recommend at least a 14 cup size and I am pretty much cooking for 1.25 people.

[T-Bird]

I have a Cuisinart classic 11 cup and have loved it, but it is just not big enough. So I would highly recommend at least a 14 cup size and I am pretty much cooking for 1.25 people.

Same here - but I'm the 1.25 people, he he!


I just bought an awesome, but awful Cuisinart that I returned today. It is their new Elite line. It has a variable slicer 1-6 mm which is awesome and a reversible shredder. I got the 16 cup size from William Sonoma. The bad thing is that it has this seal on it that makes it difficult to sanitize properly and I was continually getting food bits in it that I could not get out easily...like chopped kale, herbs, etc. I took it back and got all of my money back. I am SOOOOOO bummed!!!!!!! I really liked these features in addition to the nested bowls. The blades were the best and they don't sell them with any other of their fps.

Aw man! I was sjust looking at one of these thinking - this is perfect, small, med, and large bowls, like a 3 in one!

Can you explain a little more detailed why this was a deal breaker??

[T-Bird]

I found this detail on another site.....


am one of the editors of the blog Kitchen Audition; we recently reviewed the Cuisinart Elite and were extremely impressed with its overall performance.

With regard to your specific question on the gasket... On the positive side the seals really do work: we found absolutely no leakage even when processing large volumes of liquids. On the negative side, when processing certain types of foods, small particles can, in fact, get lodged stuck to the tiny grooves in the gasket, or between the gasket and lid. However, we didn't view this as a huge problem, and Cuisinart makes it easier to clean the lid/gasket because there are 'flow through' holes around the circumference of the lid that allow you to flush particles out.

[babeak]

>>>Quote:
am one of the editors of the blog Kitchen Audition; we recently reviewed the Cuisinart Elite and were extremely impressed with its overall performance.

With regard to your specific question on the gasket... On the positive side the seals really do work: we found absolutely no leakage even when processing large volumes of liquids. On the negative side, when processing certain types of foods, small particles can, in fact, get lodged stuck to the tiny grooves in the gasket, or between the gasket and lid. However, we didn't view this as a huge problem, and Cuisinart makes it easier to clean the lid/gasket because there are 'flow through' holes around the circumference of the lid that allow you to flush particles out.<<<<<

Well, it was between the lid and the gasket that I had the most problem. Yeh there are holes to flush it, but all of the time I saved chopping in the food processor was used in trying to clean the lid with gallons of water. It has a bad design that I am frankly dumbfounded that they even allowed onto the market. I cannot imagine what that machine will look like after heavy use. Even when cleaned right away and thoroughly, I still had food particles from previous uses. I am a clean freak, so I was pretty diligent and there were STILL things left behind, yeh they were not really big, but seriously, I don't want stuff molding, drying and getting stuck in there.

THat reviewer said certain food would be more of an issue. Well kale is really hard to get out! That is one of the primary reasons I got it was to chop up kale. I also had to work at getting buckwheat and parsley out of it. However, that now pretty much exhausts the list of foods I used in it. Ummm...so don't know what foods don't get up there. I guess I got really irritated with it and knew that the situation would not get better because of poor design. I would likely not use something that I would have to spend disproportionate amount of time to clean and/or that has a high irritation level.

HTH. I would definitely try to see one demo'd if you are still coveting it.

[jonetall]

Does anyone know the trick to cleaning the Kitchenaid food processor handle? I just bought one & I can't clean it. Kitchenaid said that's just how it is & sent me another bowl but that one gets dirty too! Yuck. Little particles stuck in the handle. Anyone, anyone?

Thank you!

[T-Bird]

bummer!

Hopefully they will begin to see this as a real problem (returned merchandise, bad press) and fix this design flaw.

Thanks for the info - will wait on getting on til they fix this....:mad: