Which Food Processor

[proteus]

so i want to get my first food processor and can't decide which one.

i did some research and found out that Robot Coupe processors are the best, but i can't afford them.

i was then able to narrow it down to Cuisinart and Magimix but beyond that i don't know. from Cuisinart the nice ones seem to be:

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DFP-14BCN-Processor-Brushed-Stainless/dp/B0000645TW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298784284&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-FP-14DC-Collection-14-Cup-Processor/dp/B002I5DMU0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298784303&sr=8-1

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cuisinart-elite-die-cast-16-cup-food-processor/?pkey=e|cuisinart%2B16%2Bcup|1|best|0|1|24||1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

and from Magimix:

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/magimix-4200xl-14-cup-food-processor/?pkey=e|magimix%2B14%2Bcup|3|best|0|1|24||1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/magimix-5200xl-16-cup-food-processor/?pkey=e|magimix%2B16%2Bcup|3|best|0|1|24||1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

on the other hand i never used a food processor so how can i possibly know what makes it nice ?

this FP would not only be used by me, so it should also be good at processing SAD food. the one thing it does NOT need to be able to do is knead dough because i know this is how food processors die and since i don't eat bread myself i'm not going to let anybody knead dough in it.

can you recommend any youtube videos of making raw food in a FP ?

would you recommend getting a cook book like that of Ani Phyo FIRST to browse through some of the recipes in it to get an idea for what tasks the FP should be able to perform before buying the FP itself ?

i am not looking for absolute maximum performance as much as for best price/performance ratio. i am also looking for something that will last about 15 years. i don't care if it lasts beyond 20 years or not, but i don't want it to fail in the first 10 years.

[Aleesha Sattva]

obviously i'm going to recommend you get Alissa's books as this is her forum not Ani's.

i have a kitchen-aide and i loooove it. just love it. it has three different bowls for me to choose from and i find that very useful. it also has a citrus juicer attachment that comes with it. AND it comes in a variety of colours!

made my day when my hubby bought it for me for doing so well releasing weight when i first went raw! (((hugs to my supportive hubby)))

[proteus]

AND it comes in a variety of colours!

kitchenaid in my view was always number one in terms of making their products look good. i was initially impressed with their design and quality too until i compared my older kitchenaid blender to my vitamix and realized that everything is relative. suddenly in my eyes the kitchenaid blender went from being a sleek and sexy machine to just a cute toy. i wouldn't want to repeat this experience with a FP.

in case of a blender my Vitamix has more capacity and 2 to 3 times the power of kitchenaid. in case of FP kitchenaid again is smaller and less powerful than Cuisinart and Magimix although the difference in power this time is not as dramatic.

i do like the round buttons on the kitchenaid - they look like those on Robot Coupe. on the other hand there are reports of buttons failing on both Cuisinart and Magimix.

your FP is 12 cup right ? if you could have had the exact same FP in 12, 14 or 16 cup which size would you go with ? your FP is 700 watt right ? if you were choosing between 700, 900 and 1100 watts - would you say the extra power warranted a higher price or do you find 700W enough ?

[proteus]

obviously i'm going to recommend you get Alissa's books as this is her forum not Ani's.

makes sense.

but the question is not so much which book to get but rather - should i:

1 - get a FP first, experiment with it for a while and then get a cook book that would better suit my kitchen

or

2 - get a cookbook first, study the recipes and then get a FP that would better suit the recipes

?

[Aleesha Sattva]

honestly using a fp isn't rocket science... so either way you wish to do it is up to you. i didn't study any recipe books before getting mine. i just asked other raw foodists, got some ideas of what they felt was important (like the size of the feeding tube) and the cups size of the containers. there's never been a recipe i've made where it didn't do the job to my satisfaction. ONCE i could have used a bigger cup size... but i just did the recipe in two batches (i think i was doing a quadruple recipe at the time LOL)

mine is a 6.5 amp motor 700 watt 12 cup - i'd happily take a larger cup size but the power is totally fine. i've never had an issue with it not being enough.

and in response to your blender observations... since nothing beats a vita-mix or blendtec... obviously they would pale in comparison. doesn't mean the company doesn't make a quality product.

[proteus]

i just asked other raw foodists, got some ideas of what they felt was important

that's what i'm trying to do.


(like the size of the feeding tube)

yep. i came across that point while reading reviews.


and the cups size of the containers.

i think i heard people mention the number 14 but maybe that's because many people don't know there is a 16 cup cuisinart ??? it is exclusive to williams-sonoma store and not sold on amazon and not listed on cuisinart website but it exists !


there's never been a recipe i've made where it didn't do the job to my satisfaction.

i came across complaints ( not on kitchenaid, just food processors in general ) about inability to process liquids and inability to process dough. also some people like the nested 3 bowls design and others hate it. some people think 3 bowls make for a too-complicated too-hard-to-clean design. you already said you like it though.

but between a single 14 cup bowl, 700 watt $170 cuisinart and a 14 cup triple bowl 1000 watt $230 cuisinart - which do you think is a better deal ? do you think the extra bowls and watts are worth extra $ or just a nicety with no practical value ?


ONCE i could have used a bigger cup size... but i just did the recipe in two batches (i think i was doing a quadruple recipe at the time LOL)

mine is a 6.5 amp motor 700 watt 12 cup - i'd happily take a larger cup size but the power is totally fine. i've never had an issue with it not being enough.

thanks, very useful feedback to me.

[proteus]

post deleted :)

[green goddess]

i did some research and found out that Robot Coupe processors are the best, but i can't afford them.

I am using a Robot Coupe food processor from the early 80's that I've inherited (or borrowed and never gave back...:)) from my mom! It works great! Love the grater blade attachment; I've been using it to shred up apples in seconds for my fruity puddings.

Good luck with your processor hunting!

[proteus]

I am using a Robot Coupe food processor from the early 80's that I've inherited (or borrowed and never gave back...:)) from my mom!

you mean an actual Robot Coupe brand or a Cuisinart which back in those days was made by Robot Coupe ? today Magimix is made by Robot Coupe but it is very different from Robot Coupe brand processor. kinda like Smart Car is made by Mercedes but it's not quite a Mercedes :)

if i had money i'd get this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv4lseKd5SU

i read reports of cuisinart clear plastic parts developing hairline cracks everywhere virtually out of the box. i also read reports of magimix stripping its plastic motor shaft under load. in this model both the bowl and shaft are steel but it costs 5 times as much so it would be far cheaper to just service a magimix or cuisinart as it is falling apart.

i suppose for a restaurant business the downtime for repairs would result in more lost revenue than the extra cost of a reliable machine, so for them it makes economic sense. for a casual user 100% uptime isn't as critical i suppose, and *I* in particular apparently don't deserve such a luxury.


Good luck with your processor hunting!

thanks.

[beckyh]

I just bought a Cuisnart 11 cup. I love it. Before that I had I think a Black and Decker, it worked great until it started leaking out the bottom. I have both of Alissa's uncookbooks, and Ani's uncookbook. I had the FP b4 I ever went raw. Good luck!

[proteus]

I just bought a Cuisnart 11 cup. I love it. Before that I had I think a Black and Decker, it worked great until it started leaking out the bottom. I have both of Alissa's uncookbooks, and Ani's uncookbook. I had the FP b4 I ever went raw. Good luck!

yeah i have no respect for black and decker.

thanks for the feedback !

[Aleesha Sattva]

but between a single 14 cup bowl, 700 watt $170 cuisinart and a 14 cup triple bowl 1000 watt $230 cuisinart - which do you think is a better deal ? do you think the extra bowls and watts are worth extra $ or just a nicety with no practical value ?

i'd go for the triple bowl without question. when i make a little... it's nice to have that tiny bowl. i use it and the biggest bowl. i seldom use the middle one. and cleanup is easy... :dance:

[proteus]

i'd go for the triple bowl without question. when i make a little... it's nice to have that tiny bowl. i use it and the biggest bowl. i seldom use the middle one. and cleanup is easy... :dance:

on the one hand triple bowl design makes sense. copper is a semi precious metal and since motors must be made out of copper they end up being the most expensive part of the machine especially when the machine requires a lot of torque and therefore big motor. using one motor to make essentially 3 food processors then makes sense. it also makes sense to conserve storage space by nesting the bowls.

but on the other hand all commercial food processors are of a single bowl type. and simpler things do tend to be more reliable, while complex devices like printers and copiers never work.

:(

[green goddess]

you mean an actual Robot Coupe brand or a Cuisinart which back in those days was made by Robot Coupe ? today Magimix is made by Robot Coupe but it is very different from Robot Coupe brand processor. kinda like Smart Car is made by Mercedes but it's not quite a Mercedes :)

Hmm... I didn't know Robot Coupe could have been made by Cuisinart. This is much more in depth with my food processor than I've ever been before, lol! I still have the instruction manual for it, so I'll check it out, but at the top of my head, I've never seen any kind of Cuisinart logo or whatnot. I do know, though, that it's nearly 30 years old and still kicking bottom! Can't believe I'm about the same age as it!

[Foo Fighter]

I was recently shopping for a FP with a larger bowl and was considering Cuisinart and KitchenAid. I decided against the Cuisinart as I read a number of reviews where people complained about the tabs on the bowl breaking off. Apparently this is a a pretty common problem.

One of my co-workers has a KitchenAid and he said anytime they use it to, say, grind nuts, it will spray the counter with the powder. Apparently the top cover doesn't seal very well.

With those two brands out of the picture, I did a little looking around and decided on a Braun K650. I just got it a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, I've also had a flu/cold for that same amount of time so I haven't used the FP much as food of any type doesn't really appeal to me at the moment. That said, I have used it a couple of times and was real happy with it both times. Last night, I made a Not Tuna pate recipe that only makes about 1 cup and the FP worked great. The same recipe in my Cuisinart 3-cup Mini-Prep FP would spew liquid all over the counter and make a big mess. The things I like about the Braun is that it's completely sealed so it doesn't leak and it has variable speed control. The speed control comes in real handy. I don't know why other FP's don't have it.

One possible downside to the design is that it takes up more countertop space than others FP's. I have a really small kitchen but I made room for it because I thought it would be worth it to have it on the countertop. That said, it's actually pretty lightweight so it wouldn't really be a hassle to haul it out if you decide to store it in a cupboard instead. It's also really quiet, a refreshing change from my (el cheapo) blender which sounds like an airplane taking off.

Anyway, not to throw a wrench into your decision but here's a link to the Braun at Amazon so you can read the reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Braun-Multiquick-K650-Kitchen-Machine/dp/B000NO12QE

[Aleesha Sattva]

but on the other hand all commercial food processors are of a single bowl type. and simpler things do tend to be more reliable, while complex devices like printers and copiers never work.

:(

i've had mine 3.5 years now... and i still love it. works like a dream. :throwhearts:

[proteus]

I was recently shopping for a FP with a larger bowl and was considering Cuisinart and KitchenAid. I decided against the Cuisinart as I read a number of reviews where people complained about the tabs on the bowl breaking off. Apparently this is a a pretty common problem.

One of my co-workers has a KitchenAid and he said anytime they use it to, say, grind nuts, it will spray the counter with the powder. Apparently the top cover doesn't seal very well.

With those two brands out of the picture, I did a little looking around and decided on a Braun K650. I just got it a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, I've also had a flu/cold for that same amount of time so I haven't used the FP much as food of any type doesn't really appeal to me at the moment. That said, I have used it a couple of times and was real happy with it both times. Last night, I made a Not Tuna pate recipe that only makes about 1 cup and the FP worked great. The same recipe in my Cuisinart 3-cup Mini-Prep FP would spew liquid all over the counter and make a big mess. The things I like about the Braun is that it's completely sealed so it doesn't leak and it has variable speed control. The speed control comes in real handy. I don't know why other FP's don't have it.

One possible downside to the design is that it takes up more countertop space than others FP's. I have a really small kitchen but I made room for it because I thought it would be worth it to have it on the countertop. That said, it's actually pretty lightweight so it wouldn't really be a hassle to haul it out if you decide to store it in a cupboard instead. It's also really quiet, a refreshing change from my (el cheapo) blender which sounds like an airplane taking off.

Anyway, not to throw a wrench into your decision but here's a link to the Braun at Amazon so you can read the reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Braun-Multiquick-K650-Kitchen-Machine/dp/B000NO12QE

looks like it was in production for 2 or 3 years and is already discontinued. the reviews are positive because none of them had it long enough to fail yet.

but it isn't a direct drive machine so it probably WILL fail. a direct drive FP is like a blender - the blade is connected directly to the motor. on your machine the motor is on the side and there is a belt ( which will probably fail ) connecting it to the blade. the belt acts as a transmission which allows the use of a much lower torque, and therefore much smaller and cheaper motor. that's why your FP is so light. it is the only reason non-direct drive FPs are made - to save $$$ on the copper in the motor.

braun of course knows this which is why it has only 1 year warranty. with cuisniart and magimix ( depending on the model ) the warranty on the motor is 5, 10, 12 and 20 years.

i could be wrong - maybe it is great and will last forever - but i won't take the chance.

the speed control feature is interesting but is an additional potential point of failure so if it isn't needed it is actually a downside, not an advantage.

i could be wrong - maybe its great and will last forever - but i won't take the chance.

[jacsam]

I have owned several different food processors and thought they were all just fine until my husband bought me a cuisinart and man is there a difference in food processors....I love that machine and would turn around and buy it again. I'm sure it will last for years because it's just a great machine.....I even make nut butters in mine.

As far as a book.....I have both Ani's and Alissa's.....I would deffinately get Alissa's first, it talks so much about raw food (her 1st book) and all the in's and out's about being raw. Also, her 1st DVD's are incredible and will show you how you'll be using your FP as a raw foodist....you'll be able to make any recipe in her book or Ani's after watching her DVD. BTW Ani's 1st raw food book is my favorite out of all her books.

Good luck on getting your FP.

[proteus]

I have owned several different food processors and thought they were all just fine until my husband bought me a cuisinart and man is there a difference in food processors....I love that machine and would turn around and buy it again.

can you be a bit more specific about which cuisinart and what makes it different ?

and what do you mean by you *even* making nut butters ? that's sort of the entire point for me wanting one ?

[proteus]

found this interesting site:

http://www.kitchenaudition.com/?page_id=160

interestingly out of their top picks, 3 of the 4 were my top picks and the 4th one is Aleesha's FP.

weird ...

[proteus]

Ordered a refurbished Magimix 4200XL in white color.

In the end i had the choice narrowed down to New Cuisinart Elite 14 cup VS Refurbished Magimix 4200XL.

Both units are direct drive, both are 14 cups, both have 3 nested bowls, both come with a storage box for attachments, both are approximately 1000 watts, both are approximately $250, and both have long warranty.

I also held both units in my hands at a Williams-Sonoma store in California last year, and found overall build quality similar.

In the end i went with Magimix because i prefer its style to that of Cuisinart. Cuisinart looks impressive with its die cast chassis, but it's just not my cup of tea - too medieval.