The Underdog!
Written: Mar 23 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Ease of Cleaning: |
|
|
| Style: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Extremely Versatile, Variable speed, Lots of Power, Sealed Bowls
Cons: Looks Cheap
The Bottom Line: I love this machine because of it's flexibility and longlasting performance. It was well thought out and it shows.
|
|
|
| joeneric's Full Review: Braun K 3000 Multisystem 8.45 Cups Food Processor |
I have this machine next to my Cuisinart DLC-X (The big mama), my KitchenAid, my Vitamix 3600 and my breadmachine - and this is the machine that I use multiple times daily.
The two big features that I really appreciate are the sealed bowls and the variable speeds. With standard food processors you can only fill the bowls up about an inch and a half or so before the liquid pours out the middle of the bowl, but with this Braun you can fill the bowl up all of the way (not that you'd want to). The bowl has measurements on it, a pour spout, and deflection bars (raised ridges) on the bowl that lift things like tomato skins off the sides so they don't just slide around the side of the bowl.
Another advantage with having a sealed bowl is that I can fill the bowl with cold water and then shred potatoes right into the water to prevent discoloration and excessive starch activation.
The other big thing I love about this machine is that the continuously variable speed. Say, for example, that you were making pesto and you filled the bowl up with basil leaves. If you were to put it on high, the blades would cut through the leaves at the bottom, but wouldn't agitate the leaves enough to get them to move into the path of the blades. So what I do is move the dial to the lowest speed and it will catch the leaves then cut them. Then, as they all become minced, I'll boost it up and finish the pesto - adding oil, parm and roasted pine nuts at the end and pulse a few times.
The machine is suprisingly well thought out. The bottom of the main bowl has drainage to let wash water out. There are two motors in the machine, one is the drive motor and the other is a load dependent cooling fan (as the electronic governor directs more more electricity to the main motor to maintain speed, the fan starts to whir up and increase it's cooling power), there is cord storage, the blades are supported by the lid for added stability and to keep food from just riding on top, the blades are made by Sabatier - and on and on.
There are other bowls too. One is larger for making bread (with european-style dough arms) and also has a mixer/whip attachment that fits in the same bowl. The other bowl is a thick glass blender with either small chopping blades for small batches of whatever and a dull chopping blade for ice.
I don't really use the two other bowls for a few reasons. First, I store them in the back of my cupboard because I don't use them, and then I don't use them because they're stored. Second, I find that the KitchenAid works better as a mixer, and I use the breadmachine for dough. Third, for the blender, I find that the main bowl works well for small jobs chopping jobs and that I just don't use a blender all that much. Recently however, I was making coconut milk and, while the blender works well for smoothies, the coupling started to slip with the hot mixture and started spitting black rubber on my counter.
The big thing I don't like is that it doesn't have that commanding presence like the rest of my machines. It looks like a run of the mill plastic food processor, which I think is a shame because once you get to know it you really start to love it.
But, y'know, I'd buy it again even if it didn't have these two other bowls. Actually, I'd probably buy it more quickly if I didn't have to store these other two bowls. But if you don't have a breadmachine, KitchenAid or blender - then you'd probably use the machine to it's capacity.
One advantage/disadvantage is that the machine has been discontinued - so you'd be able to pick one up pretty cheaply, and I still get the occasional part so it's still supported by Braun... but for how much longer.
PS - My machine is six years old and shows very little wear.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
joeneric
|
|
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.