Need or Want: Food Processor
 

I respect the opinions on this board so much that I need your help. For those who have a food processor - what are your main uses for it? Is it one of those appliances that will sit on the counter just for looks or am I just missing the needs vs wants for one? I would appreciate your input on this issue - obviously not an earth shattering decision but have very mixed opinions on this appliance. Also, what brand do you like best? I am leaning towards a Cuisinart 9 cup model because I have read several negative reviews on KitchenAid small appliances. I thank you so much for your help.

I do have one and use it once in a while mostly to mix up fruit smoothie type drinks. I have a Black and Decker that I bought at Walmart. Couldn't justify the expense of a Cuisinart or KitchenAid since I don't use it often.

Try the local Savers or Goodwill. I got a, looks brand new, breadmaker for ten dollars. Use it a lot.
Found that you have to add more water than the recipes call for or you get a hard lump loaf.
Also got a Food Processor but don't use it much either.

I have a Cuisinart that I really like. I use it mainly to grate big hunks of cheese! (Cheaper than buying it already grated and it freezes well grated.) I also use it to 'puree' tomatoes etc.

I have a Braun at the cottage - it is ok, but I much prefer the Cuisinart.

Maybe its cheaper to buy grated cheese than invest in a machine... but I do use it for other things sometimes! :o

I use the processor to chop vegetables, purée soup base from vegetables in stock, make cake pops, etc. I mainly use mine on the weekends when I do cook....DH cooks during the week as I put in 60 hrs + at work.
Cooking like quilting relaxes me....lol

I use mine for raw cranberry/orange relish and chicken salad. Have to chop the chicken, onion and celery so it's much quicker and easier than chopping by hand. Then it all goes in the dishwasher. I shred cheese with mine too. Maybe a few other things but that's basically it. Deer meat when I want it ground finer than hubby did. Mine is cheap from Walmart too. Couldn't justify the price of more expensive one when I don't use it like Rachel Ray does. Got kids one from Goodwill, works great. Just have to be picky and shop often to get the good stuff.

I have a Cuisinart, Dh thought we needed it. Too much money to use once. 10 years ago. Also a nice bill from the ER and 8 stitches later. He almost cut a tendon in his right hand between the thumb and forefinger. It gets out of the cupboard about once a year for a cleaning. I made a cover for it this last time. Nothing fancy about the size of a pillow case. Looks like a pillow case.

I have an older one. I use it a few times a year. It's big and clunky so I need to get a new model as this takes up a lot of shelf space. I don't see how you can cut yourself with it. None I've seen will work without the bowl lid locked in place.

My food processor is my time and hand saver. I use it to make salad dressings, chop my fresh herbs, make bread dough and puree vegetables to make pasteles during Christmas. It is an extremely important small appliance in my kitchen.

My food processor is the most important small appliance I have. I use it daily. I'm sure you could get by with something less expensive than a Cuisinart, but they are real gems! The only drawback is no FP cuts decent julienne strips or French fries. But what they can do to a block of cheese or a stinky onion will take your breath away.

One of my main reasons to get one is to grate cheese & this is why I want a good one with decent power. I also would like to do dough in it & you need decent power for that too. I do have a KitchenAid stand mixer with 475 watts but the FP I am looking at is 600 watts so that's even more power. I do have the attachments for my KA to do cheese but I find it grates the cheese in pieces smaller than I prefer. The old hand grater does a good job but my knuckles have paid the price at times. I also would do veggies in the FP for salads etc. but the main use would be cheese & dough. I appreciate the responses so far so please keep them coming.................

Have had a kitchen aid for many years. Have accessories to make sausage,ground beef, pastas, breadcrumbs and anything to be shredded or sliced! Along with the blender attachment and the beaters, bowls. Best investment ever...have used, and still use a lot of the attachments, never had a breakdown...

I prefer to be a "scratch" cooker..as opposed to frozen/boxed.

Some people love them, some don't. I guess you won't know which you are unless you give it a try. I think a good idea would be to get an inexpensive one (Goodwill) and see if you use it and like it. Then you could upgrade if you found it indispensable, but wouldn't have a huge investment in it if you found you didn't use it.

I've tried them and they seem like too much work to get them out and put them away and take too much room on my countertop for the few times I'd use it. I use a hand chopper or knife and cutting board for chopping and my blender for puree; either hand-grate or buy pre-grated cheese.

Me too. Do you happen to know the # of watts that your KA has? There is 1 (KA) at walmart for $100. with 300 watts of power & 1 at Canadian tire (Cuisinart) with 600 watts for $200. I am leaning towards the 600 watts for the extra power.

I have two, a big one and a mini. I don't use either one of them.

The only thing I ever used mine for was to grate carrots for carrot cake and cabbage for cole slaw. It broke and I didn't replace it for years. Finally, I decided I needed another one instead of hand grating carrots. My friends recommended a Ninja instead of a food processor so I got one of those. I LOVE that thing!! It comes with a small bowl and 2 blender pitchers, each with their own blades. The motor fits on all of these and chops things with just pulses.

I use my KA to grind up carrots for carrot bread. It's also nice for making a loaf of bread very quickly. I put all dry ingredients in, pulse a few times, then turn it on and add water through the hole on top. For me, the trick is to *not* overmix (stop as soon as ball forms) and to add enough water for a soft, sticky dough; this makes for a tender bread. Too much mixing and it comes out a brick! I let it rise right inside the bowl. When ready, take out, knead slightly, proof, form into a loaf, let rise and bake. It also works great to make topping for apple crisp.

There are only two of us at home now, and I find I do not use the FP for chopping onions, etc. simply because there is not enough to make it worthwhile. I would find the FP essential if cooking daily for 4 people or more, and it's essential for my carrot bread and a few other things, but I don't find it particularly useful when cooking for 2.

Regarding the cut that was mentioned, the blades are extremely sharp and I am always *super* careful when handling them. I can understand how someone could easily get cut.

For soups, it's a lot easier and less messy to use an immersion blender rather than a FP or regular blender.

We buy shredded cheese at Sam's Club and keep it in the freezer until needed.

Mine is a very strong KA that is no longer made. My biggest issue with it is that the plastic parts that supposedly go into the dishwasher become brittle over time and need replacement (pricey). Before the KA I had one of the smaller Cuisinarts for years and it was *perfect* for a loaf of bread; regretted giving it away as I had to change technique and proportions for the much larger KA. If you are making a single loaf of bread, you do not need a huge bowl or motor.

Companies change, so you really need to look at current reviews of brands and models. Amazon is a good place to go for that. I would also recommend not going too big with a FP unless you know you will be using it to can large quantities, chop for large meals, etc. For 2 people, a moderate size can actually be better.

I have 2 the small one is a ninja and I use it for chopping nuts, veggies and making bread crumbs. The bigger one is a Cuisinart and I make my pie dough in it. It makes the pie dough perfectly flaky tender and oh so good.

For those of you have the Ninja, is it a food processor or a blender? I think the only Ninja's I have seen are blenders.

I love my Cuisinart. I wore out the first one- it was a wedding gift 32 years ago, now I am on to #2. I use it for pie dough (pour the mix into a bowl then add water, to not overmix), chopping anything like onions or nuts, shredding cabbage or carrots, slicing cukes for pickles, breadcrumbs, shredding cheese. The list goes on. It is a bit of a pain to wash, just be careful of the blade. I would say to buy the better quality unit, if you have a cheap one and it doesn't do the job then you would not use it.

I think it is both. The one I have, has 6 blades I use it more as a processor

My KA is 45 years old I only replaced the brushes in it. When the kids were home I used it daily.
Now it is only me. I picked up a tiny B&D -FP at Tuesday Morning for $10 it is perfect for one person.
I love it also. I have a large KA FP I love it for big jobs.

I had a Cuisinart and my husband did not like the way is chopped vegetables - no matter what it was too fine. It broke fairly quick with very little use, so didn't replace it. I do have the mid-range Kitchen Aid Mixer with the grater and juicer attachments. (I had the grinder too, but found I never used it so gave it to my niece.)

I have the Ninja - and use it only as a blender. They show it on QVC all the time and use it to chop nuts, vegetable and fruit. It is a matter of how you use it.

I have the Cuisinart brand FP and use it at least monthly, in the summer, weekly. It makes Cabbage into the texture I like within minutes. Carrots for carrot cake is a breeze, etc etc. I love mine and a few yrs ago, bought one for my SIL for a gift, she uses hers also.

I have one that I bought at a garage sale for $10 probably over 10 years ago. It is a workhorse. I shred cheese, slice potatoes, carrots, etc. mix noodle dough and cookie dough in it, chop nuts, etc. If it dies tomorrow I will be on the way to the store to get another one!

I use my FP several times a week. I also cook a big meal almost every night from scratch. I bought a large Hamilton Beach FP at Walmart about 10 years ago. Still going stong.

Have a Cuisinart, but rarely use it. I hate cleaning it, so I unless I have a huge amount to chop I don't use it. Since I rarely use it I usually don't do a very good job. For example soup like shredded carrots etc.

I only use mine about twice a year for making deviled eggs. Other than that it never gets used. I do have a small Black & Decker one I use occasionally for small stuff. If you only have two people in your house, I don't think it's worth the money.

I use mine for a number of things like making my own breadcrumbs from the crusts of my whole wheat bread, grinding cheese, chopping nuts, etc. I don't use it a lot but I do like to have it.

I had one but gave it away for lack of use. Much easier to do whatever I used it for by hand or with a regular mixer. Too much bother to wash, also took up too much too on my counter.

My old small processor/chopper died so I went out to check what was out there. Found one small enough to do what I use it for by Cuisinart in metallic red that fits my kitchen decor. I think its only a 3 or 3.5 cup but it does what I want it to and its easy to clean up. I keep mine under the cabinet so its not out in the open. I use mine mainly for chopping onions, green peppers and nuts. I'm still using my old Hamilton Beach Model G mixer and until it dies I won't be going out to buy one of those fancy do-it-all guys. I'm still using my 1969 all metal & glass blender. Some small appliances just last forever it seems if made properly. My sister just got a KitchenAid Processor for whatever reason as she doesn't cook much. Thought it a waste but its her kitchen. She also has the big fancy KitchenAid mixer which she uses once in a blue moon. Seems foolish to me but again its not my kitchen.

I have the cuisinart blender. Used it just last night to ch apples for bread. I also use it to mix pie crusts, really fast and handy. I use mine quite a bit mixing and chopping and grating and shredding cabbage. Just think of the things you do by hand. They can all be done in the processor. I had a kitchenaid and it was a waste of money. Glad I got the cuisinart at Costco

I am glad you asked this question. I have one and only use it once in a while to slice potatoes. i would have told you its a waste of money. After reading this thread I say go ahead and get one. I picked up many ideas her--Thanks Ladies.

I have given away the first one I bought, the two I was gifted with, and the one I won in a drawing, (all different brands) I just didn't use them much, and hated cleaning them.

I don't have one so no experience to tell the difference, I love my Vitamix, it sits on my counter (it is the 48oz, short size) and I use it daily for protein shakes, also use it to make p-nut butter, flaxmeal, chiameal etc etc etc. It can be pricey but it has been worth every penny. I spent $ on other products that I ended up not being happy with, had I purchased the Vitamix first instead of trying to save $ I wouldn't have been more $ behind. It will do cheese, make hamburg out of steak, etc etc. You can watch a video of it on QVC which is where I bought mine, to see all that it can do.

I got the cuisinart for christmas two years ago and love it! Between that and my Kitchen Aid stand mixer my life is so much easier. My FP has awesome power. My only complaint (which isn't really) is that I have to hand wash it to get the goo out of the corners and replacement parts aren't cheap.

I went 20 yrs without one. I had attachments for my kitchenaid but didn't really like using them. I also have a tupperware chopper that works fine. But I wanted one so last Thanksgiving I bought one for myself and I've used it a surprising number of times since then. Mine is a 7 cup cuisinart. I put it all in the dishwasher so it's super easy to clean. I also have a 3.5 cup kitchenaid food chopper that was a gift. I use it sometimes too but not as much as the bigger one so far.

I've had a Cuisinart for over 30 years and it is still going. Great for grating cheese, making doughs, chopping nuts, making almond butter, etc. The base got cracked in a move from Hawaii but still works fine.

Ninja actually makes a lot of different things. I have a 3 in 1 cooker that is a Ninja.

I cook a lot for my family of four. I had a food processor at one point, but didn't have room on the countertop for it, and as a result, I never dragged it out of the cabinet to use it because it wasn't worth the effort for the cleanup. I got rid of it. I did get a mandolin which I use a lot. But it fits in a drawer and easily accessible.