However, its powerful motor ensures efficient and consistent chopping results every time. It features two speeds — chop and puree — so you can prepare anything from pico de gallo to pesto in one compact gadget. We also love that it has a drizzle basin where you can pour liquids in slowly for maximum emulsification and a pour spout for easy serving. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions.
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I would recommend this as a high quality product that lasts a long time. I have dropped mine on the floor, some of the bottom broke but nothing integral, and it still runs. Featuring a drizzle basin and pour spout, this mini food processor’s design exceeded our expectations. The Cuisinart Complete Chef chops, slices, and cooks food all in one 18-cup stainless steel bowl (it comes with attachments and built-in recipes for cooking things like risotto or beef stew). We were eager to see how it would compare to the Thermomix (a wildly expensive blender that cooks, and which has something of a cult following outside of the US), but we weren’t able to get it to work. We probably just got a lemon, but that doesn’t bode well for a $700 appliance (at the time of this publishing).
We’ve been long-term testing the Cuisinart Custom 14 since 2013, and it remains a workhorse in the kitchen. Year after year, we’ve made slaws, grated cheese, blended dips, chopped nuts, and kneaded pizza dough in it—and cuisinart toaster costco it continues to work well. The 14-cup bowl doesn’t leak, and the controls are exactly what you need. The bowl has scratched a bit (because we’ve stored the sharp blades inside it), but otherwise it looks like new.
They’re small enough that you don’t have to dedicate any prized counter space to them and can instead pull yours out of the drawer or cabinet whenever you want to make your dinner prep a little easier. We’d even venture a guess that if you try out one of our favorite models below, you might find you’re reaching for this compact appliance multiple times a day. More convenient than ever, the Cuisinart Elemental Collection™ four-cup chopper/grinder effortlessly handles a variety of food preparation tasks such as chopping, grinding and pureeing.
The machine also seized up while preparing pizza dough and was noisier than other models we tested. We recommend the inexpensive KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper for anyone who wants to make small batches cuisinart toaster costco of dips, spreads, or mirepoix. It chopped vegetables more evenly than the other mini models we tested. On top of that, its handled jar with push-button activation was the most convenient to use.
The KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper ($50) has a handled prep bowl like the winning Cuisinart and a two-speed motor; it chopped onions with ease and made a decent hummus. Overall, we found it just didn’t match up against the winning Cuisinart in terms of effectiveness and power and was twice the cost of our budget pick. For small chopping tasks, the inexpensive KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper offers the best value and performance we’ve found in a mini processor. It evenly chops a range of ingredients, including tough jumbo carrots. This machine is a good supplement to a full-size model, or it’s a great alternative, if you don’t want to spend a lot. In our tests, this processor even performed better than the mini bowl attachments that come with some of the larger processors.
We’ve found that it’s slightly annoying to clean under the on/off buttons, but a damp sponge or paper towel makes the task easier. The Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro is more powerful than the Cuisinart Custom 14, so it’s the machine you’ll want when you’re cooking for large groups or if you process food several times a week. Its 1,200-watt motor and smart design save you time in use and cleaning. In fact, despite the 16-cup Sous Chef’s many accessories, it was one of the easiest models to clean.
The Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab experts test all kinds of products for prepping food. When we test food processors, we look for models that chop evenly, have intuitive controls and are easy to clean. Food processors are versatile appliances every home cook should have in their kitchen. While standard food processors have between 8 and 14 cups of capacity, mini food processors offer 2 to 5 cups for small jobs, such as preparing homemade dressings and dips. Though they don’t have grating or slicing attachments, they can chop an onion or whip up a batch of salad dressing in seconds. Plus, they save you the headache of cleaning a large machine without sacrificing too much power.
The Mini Prep Pro chops, mixes, blends and purées, perfect for everday chopping and for making your own dips and sauces. Appliances play a crucial role in our daily lives, making household tasks more convenient and efficient. With the rise of online marketplaces, shopping for appliances has become more accessible and convenient for consumers.