I purchased the Kitchen Aid mixer for my wife for the holidays, although I must say I had myself in mind as well. I love to cook and often make dishes that require a lot of prep work, especially with potatoes and vegetables. I used to do all this work by hand and never thought to use a food processor before, because I always felt it was easier to do it myself than bother with the big cleanup with a processor.

The KitchenAid processor has changed my mind and made me a believer. Even if you only prepare for yourself, you will find much use in it. The best feature of the processor is a smaller bowl that attaches so that you can prepare small items easily. Cleanup is simply a matter of removing the bowl and the blade and dropping them in the dishwasher.

For bigger jobs, unless you are a commercial chef, you won't find a better processor. It comes with four attachment blades and three main blades. The attachment blades will allow you to slice anything into 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch pieces. You can also shred cheese, etc with two of the blades. The main blades offer the ability to puree, chop, etc, as well as knead dough.

If you make pasta or bread, you will cut the prep time in half. Just drop the flour and water into the main bowl and turn it on. In a few minutes you'll have perfectly kneaded dough.

As far as design is concerned, it couldn't be more simpler or innovative. The machine actually senses how much pressure is needed for each job and adjusts accordingly. The importance of this becomes evident when you make dough. If you tried to make dough in most processors, you need to keep hitting "pulse" to get the job right.

There are only three buttons on the machine. "On", "Off" and "Pulse". The machine does the thinking for you and makes any job a breeze.

Some might have a problem with the weight of the machine, but I realize why it weighs 25 pounds. Most processors jump all over your counter if you let them go. This one stays put like it should. Do I wish it was 2 pounds instead of 25? Sure, but I would rather have something that is built to last and stays in one place.

Cleanup for bigger jobs is as easy as smaller jobs. Just unhook the bowl and the blade and drop them in the dishwasher.

If you have ever thought about buying a processor but were afraid of the cleanup, look no further. This is the machine for you.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 199