I bought the Kitchen Aid "Professional 670" food processor, model KFP670, a couple of months ago to replace a seven year-old Cuisinart, and I have been very pleased with it. I think it is currently one of the best, and perhaps the best, food processor around in the 11 cup size.

This processor is very similar to Kitchen Aid’s popular 11-cup food processor, model KFP600, and at first glance they appear identical. It sells for about $20 - $40 more (Kitchen Aid has been offering various rebates, so the price difference varies). And unlike the KFP600, which comes in about a half dozen different colors, this one is available only in black or white. But while I might have preferred a more exciting color than the black I chose, I decided to buy this one because it has three key features that make it a better value than the KFP600:

1. An innovative feed tube makes this processor easier to use with small amounts of food than any other that I have seen. When I used my old machine to chop carrots, for example, I had to pre-cut the carrots to fit the wide feed tube, and process enough so as to fill up the tube completely (or everything would bounce around while I was trying to feed it through). Pre-cutting and lining everything up was so much work that I avoided using the food processor unless I really had too. I always wondered, why can't I process just one carrot, or a couple of celery stalks, at a time? Well, Kitchen Aid has come up with a clever innovation that is so simple you wonder why nobody thought of it sooner: the pusher for the feed tube has a smaller opening in it, just a little bigger than a thick carrot, so that you can slide narrower things through on their own. It is a feed tube within the feed tube, so you have your choice of using the big opening, for those times when you have big pieces or a lot to do, or the smaller opening. I find the smaller opening very useful. I don’t know of another food processor with this feature.

2. The KFP670 comes with three separate work bowls of different sizes, which allow you to mix smaller amounts of ingredients without dirtying the big bowl, and which also allow you to mix several different things at once, which might come in handy for some recipes. (the KFP600 only comes with two work bowls.) The bowls are:
- the 11-cup main work bowl, usable with the blade or with disks
- the 9-cup “chef’s bowl,” usable with disks only
- the 3-cup “mini” bowl, usable only with its own separate, smaller blade - this is approximately the size of one of those “mini-prep” food processors, and it is just the right size for tasks like chopping up garlic and herbs.

3. In addition to the two basic blades (one for the big bowl, one for the mini bowl), the unit comes with a number of other accessories:
- a plastic dough blade
- an egg whip
- three disks: medium (4mm) shredding, medium (4mm) slicing, and reversible thin slicing/shredding
-a citrus juicer attachment, with two cones - a large one for oranges and grapefruits, and a smaller one for lemons and limes
- a plastic storage box in which to keep all the accessories
I have used all of the accessories except the egg whip, and they all work fine.

Overall this food processor is very easy to use. The separate bowls work well. You always have to have the big bowl in place; the smaller bowls nest inside it when they are in use (and also for storage). But when you use the mini bowl, for example, the lid seals well enough that you do not dirty the bigger bowls. Having separate bowls also allows you to use the machine for several different tasks in the same recipe without stopping to clean up. For example you can chop veggies in the chef’s bowl, mince herbs in the mini bowl, and then use the big main work bowl for pureeing something else. Just note that there are limits to what the bowls can do – you can’t use the 9-cup chef’s bowl with the blade, for example, so heavy users may still want to buy an extra 11–cup work bowl.

The citrus juicer is a little more cumbersome to use than a regular juicing machine because you end up having to cleanup the big prep bowl as well as the juicer attachment. But it works, and for someone who only juices occasionally, it eliminates the need to buy a separate juice machine.

Everything goes in the dishwasher except the base unit itself, and it seems to come out just fine. Cleaning a food processor can be a chore, but the dishwasher makes it bearable. The base unit is easy to keep clean as well because there are no raised buttons, just smooth touch pads.

The unit is very quiet (for a food processor), and pretty stable on the countertop as well.

The plastic storage box for the accessories is the only thing I don't like about this package. It is made of thin, flimsy plastic, and it is huge - almost as if the designers tried to find the maximum amount of space to store everything in. It is still preferable to having all of that stuff, especially the sharp disks and blades, bouncing around in a drawer. But I wish Kitchen Aid had taken the time to design a storage bin that was more space-efficient, and that felt as substantial as the food processor itself.

But all in all, I am very happy with this machine, and I think it is a good value in a food processor.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 200