And this KitchenAid is a great option for people who don’t want to invest in a $250 machine. You can’t knead dough or shred ingredients in it, but you can grind or chop small portions of vegetables or nuts, which is more tedious to do by hand. Downsize from 4 full separate appliances to a single base with 4 attachments. The Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab has tested more than 30 food processors, including mini food processors in recent years.
Its strong motor blended hummus and pesto with minimal scraping, and its small feeding tube allowed us to slowly add oil for fantastic mayonnaise. Handle of a variety of food prep tasks with the convenience of this Cuisinart chopper and grinder. One Wirecutter staffer, who was initially skeptical of the large, 14-cup bowl capacity, has said that so far their Cuisinart hasn’t been too small or too large for any preparations. Another staffer (who admitted to being a little rough on her machine) replaced her Cuisinart with a new one after 11 years of use. Meanwhile, senior kitchen and appliance editor Marguerite Preston still uses a decades-old Cuisinart Custom 14 that she inherited from her parents. The Cuisinart® Stainless Steel Food Chopper is great for chopping vegetables, hard cheeses, nuts, herbs, garlic and more.
In fact, of all the food processors, blenders, and immersion blenders we’ve tested for various guides, we found making mayo easiest in a mini food processor like the Food Chopper. That’s because its lid has a small indent to hold oil and a small hole that allows the oil to pour directly onto the blades so you have a consistent, measured stream. With this method, the mayonnaise comes together without your having to control the flow of oil. Most mini choppers don’t have hefty bases like full-size processors do, and the Food Chopper is no exception. However, at just under 2 pounds, it has a slightly heavier base than other mini models, which helps keep it stable.
Many mini food processors chop and puree but fewer shred and slice. We were pleased to see that this pick includes a shredding and slicing disk like most full-size counterparts. While we have not tested this pick in the lab, we have found that Hamilton Beach products are generally reliable. This model also includes a reasonable chute for its size, meaning you can easily feed through standard blocks of cheese as well as carrots and cucumbers. We did note that many reviewers complained that the lid is designed with a delicate tab that broke for some users. To start, we tested how evenly each food processor could chop a variety of ingredients, including onions, fibrous carrots, soft tomatoes, delicate parsley, and whole almonds.
Its powerful motor and sharp blades can effectively chop through frozen fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The Breville Sous Chef 12 BFP660SIL food processor did well in our tests, but it didn’t outperform the Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro or our top pick, the Cuisinart Custom 14. The Sous Chef 12 wasn’t able to chop tomatoes or almonds as evenly as the Sous Chef 16 Pro. Its smaller, 12-cup capacity was also more limiting than the Cuisinart’s 14-cup bowl.
You have to put the bowl back on the machine, then put the blade in. Check out the sections below for a full description of how the Cuisinart stacked up and why we are reticent to recommend it. Brushed Chrome Mini-Prep Plus Processor — This is the perfect little helper for small food preparation, from chopping herbs or bread crumbs, to cuisinart toa60 finely grinding hard cheese. Its versatility lies in the special Auto Reversing Smart Blade, which makes it easier to process both soft and hard foods. Designed in Italy, the Mini-Prep Plus’ sleek touch pad controls afford easy cleaning and an elegant look. And despite its space-saving size, it’s more powerful than other choppers.
He has worked in various facets of the food and restaurant industry for over a decade. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors.
It chops and purees and includes a whisk attachment for whipping cream or beating eggs. (The attachment stores right in the work bowl for convenience.) The handle and spout are handy for transferring sauces to bowls or adding dressings to salads. Though the 5-cup capacity can be too large for some jobs and veers toward full-size food processor territory, it does give you room for larger ingredients, making it a versatile option.
In spite of this malfunction, we were still able to explore the recipe database, which was easy to navigate. The preprogrammed recipes seemed straightforward, but there are only 201 total. This model also takes up a ton of counter space and weighs 30 pounds; it’s definitely not something you’ll want to lug around your kitchen often.
A bottle brush is handy for cleaning around the feed tube, inside the food pressers, and along the sharp blades. Never submerge the base of a food processor in water; only wipe it down with a damp cloth or sponge. Finally, the Cuisinart Custom 14’s work bowl was easier to clean than the bowls of most of the other models we tested. We cleaned each model eight times, so we were achingly familiar with the gunk that can get trapped in more-complicated lids. We also appreciate the Cuisinart’s hollow handle, which doesn’t trap food particles and moisture as much as the Breville Sous Chef’s enclosed handle.