A rare find - a small kitchen appliance that actually delivers
Written: Jul 22 '09
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Pros: Quiet, powerful, elegant. Seriously well thought out. Kudos to Kitchen Aid.
Cons: Can only fill large feed tube halfway or the machine won't run.
The Bottom Line: Food processors can save a lot of money if you buy processed foods. The KitchenAid is head and shoulders above the competition and has a permanent place on our countertop.
randomroyalty's Full Review: KitchenAid KFPW760 12 Cups Food Processor
Background
First I have to make a confession. I gave up on "food processors" after a a rather middling experience with a Braun Kitchen Machine many years ago. While that machine was a reliable workhorse, it was only good for making cat food (!) and little else. I'm pretty handy with a chef's knife and can generally chop, dice and grate as fast or faster than it takes in a food processor, with the result of fewer things that need cleaning. We are 4 "gourmet" chefs in the house and tend towards the essentials when it comes to kitchen tools and use very little in the way of small appliances.
I also own a very satisfied owner of a Bosch Universal for my sourdough bread mixing chores, and its blender attachment does an amazing job for making purees of the type suited for food processors(click the link to read my Epinions review). I had thought about getting the other attachments for the Bosch, but I found the food processor attachment too small and would likely never use the slicer, therefore not worth the cost.
While perusing the liquidation section the local HomeSense (Homegoods in the U.S.) they had a number of 12 cup-wide mouth Kitchen Aid machines marked down at $100 US, complete with a good selection of accessories. They appeared to be new, not refurbs, so I bought two (one for my recently married daughter, who had been dreaming about a food processor for months).
Also I have had a bad experience with a Kitchen Aid stand mixer that broke the first time I had used it. It was a "Costco Special" that was seriously underpowered for its bowl size for making bread dough, and the friendly customer support rep at Kitchen Aid told me to return it and suggested a Professional 600 (!) (I bought a Bosch instead).
The Machine
This is a very heavy and rather large machine. It appears to be die cast, but is clad in polycarbonate plastic. The added weight means that it stays put on the counter while running. The 12 cup capacity in the large bowl isadequate for most needs, and I could not see myself with anything larger (if you do you need a decent mixer)
The controls are very simple: 3 buttons (on, off and pulse) with 2 safety interlocks that prevent the machine from running if both the lid and the feed tube pusher are not in place. The feed tube is extremely wide, and the pusher comes in two parts with a smaller tube built into the large oval one.
Our machine came with the mini-bowl and small chopping blade, a large chopping blade, a plastic dough blade, 2 slicing and one grating disc, and a spatula. (I have noticed that other models come with the chef's bowl and the whipping attachment, but were mysteriously left out of this package).
Using the machine - Pleasantly Surprised
The machine is very quiet and I was surprised that the rotation speed was as slow as it was, especially when compared to my older Braun with multiple speeds (which was always too fast or too slow it seemed). The machine does not vibrate and actually sounds quite pleasant when it is operating, especially when compared with my Bosch mixer.
First test was to see how well the machine could finely chop fresh herbs in the mini-bowl. Impressive! 1/4 cup of fresh parsley was ready in about 10 seconds, with a nice fine, consistent chopping size. The machine will absolutely not overchop or liquify, as it pushes the choppings to the outside of the bowl where they tend to stick and not fall back into the blades.
Second test was to chop some green onions and mushrooms. I just cut the ends off the green onions and the mushroom stems and put them in the bowl. I expected that the weight of the choppings would tend to fall back into the blades, but I was pleasantly surprised to get the same results as the parsley! Again, a nice, consistent size to the choppings in a couple of seconds, without having to monitor the machine.
Unlike the other reviews, I did not have a problem with choppings getting into the larger bowl, but it is important to understand that the small bowl serves a completely different purpose and is not just a smaller version of the large bowl (e.g. it is for chopping, not grinding or for making purees).
Third test was to grate 1 1/2 lbs of soft mozzarella cheese for a vegetable lasagna. I followed the advice in the instruction book and froze the cheese for about 15 minutes before grating. This did not come out so well on the first attempt, as the last bits of cheese tended not to go through the grater but created about 6 or 7 cheese "balls" on top of the blade. There was also a thin film of cheese coating the lip of the blade and on the inside of the lid. I suspected that the cheese was not hard enough, and let the second batch of cheese sit in the freezer for about 30 minutes longer. The results were slightly better with a bit less waste. However the speed at which it processes got me wondering why I have been hand grating cheese all these years!
Fourth Test Hummus! Using the large bowl and chopping blade, I used a standard recipe (1 can chick peas, 1/3 cup tahini, 3 cloves garlic, juice from 1 lemon, a bit of salt, olive oil and enough water for the right consistency). Just dropped everything in the bowl (except the water, which was added gradually through the small tube). Wow! way better than in a blender! The consistency is more like commercial hummus, not too fine a texture and no lumps.
It did come out a bit warm, so when I do my next experiment (grinding some sirloin to make burgers) I think I will chill the bowl and blade.
Now I am looking for more uses for the food processor for foods that we don't ordinarily make ourselves but could represent big savings (like salsa, pie fillings, etc.).
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