Need to replace your old Cuisinart? DON'T get another Cuisinart!
Written: Mar 20 '03
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Pros: Outstanding performer -- better than the Cuisinart that it replaced
Cons: Someone has got to find a better way to organize accessories.
The Bottom Line: If you need a precise, well-made, ergonomic, easy-to-use food processor -- particularly if you really use one a lot -- I don't think you could do better than this.
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| cjalbert's Full Review: KitchenAid KFP670 Ultra Power 11 Cups Food Process... |
When my husband and I first got engaged in December of 1985, a relative gave us a Cuisinart DLC 10 Plus food processor -- at that time, the top choice for people who didn't want the family-size food processor, but still wanted great performance. And let me tell you, we used that food processor a LOT.
Well, after about 10-12 years, we had to replace the bowl because I dropped it on a hard tile floor and the whole assembly cracked. That's when the trouble started.
We got replacement stuff from Cuisinart and clearly, they don't make 'em like they used to. Their pusher assembly seems designed to crack and break -- and if that assembly breaks, the unit is unusable. When the pusher AND the feed tube/lid AND the bowl all cracked at the same time a few months ago, we realized that for a little more than the replacement costs, we could get a new unit. So, we went shopping.
After close scrutiny of all our options, we found ourselves looking at the Cuisinart Pro 11 unit and the KitchenAid KPF670. Our experience with the cheap feel of Cuisinart's newer plastics skewed our choice toward the KitchenAid. I heard that Sabatier had stopped supplying blades to Cuisinart and was now supplying them to KitchenAid -- and I like Sabatier's knives. The KitchenAid came with more accessories -- and those extra bowls looked cool. Plus, the costs of replacing parts seemed less than the cost of Cuisinart parts, so we chose the KitchenAid.
We are so happy we did.
This is a great food processor. I am a vegetarian who does a lot of cooking. And don't get me wrong -- I love my wonderful knife set, but there's nothing like a food processor when you have to do a lot of shredding or chopping.
So, let's get to the nitty gritty:
Power: Excellent -- which took a little getting used to, because I don't have to process things as long to get the right result.
Blades: VERY sharp. My son put his finger up to the side of the mini-blade and needed a major band-aid. Didn't even feel it. Fortunately, they're very easy to handle. If you have filled the blade up with a lot of stuff that you need to empty into a pan, it's easy to hold the blade in place while you pour -- or take the blade out.
Shredding and slicing disks: Great -- and much less unwieldy than Cuisinart's push-and-turn assembly. The disks just sit neatly on the stem.
Blade and disk storage: Well, it's great to have one place for them, but that box is so big. I don't love having to take that whole box out every time I use the food processor. But this is a minor quibble because before, I didn't have any real storage mechanism -- just my messy cabinet, and this is both better and safer than that.
Clean up: REALLY easy -- all those nice rounded edges mean that food bits and sauces don't get stuck anywhere.
Those extra bowls: VERY useful. The mini-bowl is perfect for things like salad dressing and chopping small quantities of nuts and herbs. The Chef's bowl is good for grating. And here's a little nicety -- if you use the mini-bowl or the chef's bowl, the main bowl doesn't get the slightest bit dirty. This speeds prep-time for soups and salads in a big way.
Feed Tube Assembly: What an improvement over Cuisinart -- and I'm referring to their new models, as well as the old one. This makes so much more sense and is much less prone to breakage.
In fact, the quality of the KitchenAid is so much better than the quality I've found in Cuisinart products that it makes me wonder: Did Cuisinart (Conair, actually) intentionally weaken their products to build in an obsolescence factor? Did their initial food processors work TOO well, i.e., once people bought them, Cuisinart couldn't find a way to continue the relationship economically?
Whether the answer is yes or no, I recommend this KitchenAid food processor to everyone. It's that good.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200
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Epinions.com ID:
cjalbert
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Reviews written: 1
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