Food processors, essential kitchen equipment to some cooks, heavy, hard-to-clean albatrosses for others, have long offered relief from endless chopping. But newer models are repositioning the machines as multipurpose meal-prep helpers, adding more features that take the processor beyond chopping and slicing. We put four to the test and found that, despite the additional features, food processors still produce mixed results. Slicing blades generally produce even thickness, and shredding is fairly good, too, but chopping vegetables still produces uneven sizes. Cooks who want uniformly diced vegetables are still better off using a knife and a cutting board. Still, cooks who have a lot of slicing and shredding to do can benefit from these machines.
Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Deluxe 14 Cup Food Processor with French Fry Blade, $79.99, www.hamiltonbeach.com
The Big Mouth comes with a French fries disc and another that’s a reversible slicing/shredding disc, plus a chopping blade. Of the four models tested, it is the only one that can be adapted to left-handed cooks, as the bowl can be locked into position on either side of the base. Suction cups keep it sturdy on the countertop. The machine is surprisingly loud, but the feeding tube was big enough to get in most round vegetables without needing further cutting. Easy to clean, it left very little food above the blade when slicing or shredding. Slices were uniform, and shreds were even. Uniformity of diced vegetables was OK for the chopping blade. The French fry blade, however, made the potatoes too thin and too short compared with what most people would consider fries — they were more the shape of rosti. There is no dough blade, and kneading dough is not recommended.
Kalorik 8-Cup Food Processor with 7 Attachments, $99.99, www.kalorik.com
This machine took up the least amount of space on the counter, and all of its blades can be stored in the bowl. Attachments include stainless-steel grater, slicer, chopper and shredder discs; emulsifier/egg beater; dough-maker; and citrus juicer. It slices fine, and shreds are uniform. Makes dough well. The French fry disc cut the potatoes too small and thin for traditional fries. The feeding tube is narrow and requires cooks to chop food into smaller pieces to get it to fit. The juicer attachment didn’t work well — the limes I used squirted juice all over, and to get it to work I had to press hard, which caused a burning smell from the motor.
KitchenAid 11-Cup Food Processor with ExactSlice System, $249, www.kitchenaid.com
This processor comes with two slicing discs, two multipurpose blades, a dough blade, a storage case for the parts and a smaller 3-cup work bowl. One very nice feature of this processor is the slicing system that allows for several different thicknesses, which can be changed even while the motor is running, by sliding a lever. This worked beautifully. The wide feeding tube accommodated most veggies whole. Slicing and shredding were very uniform, but chopping was uneven. The machine makes dough well. The speed buttons require a bit of finger strength to turn them on, which makes using the pulse button difficult. Food can get trapped above the blade and sometimes jammed between the feeding tube and the bowl wall.
Kenwood MultiPro Excel Food Processor $499.95, www.kenwoodworld.us
More Top Picks Bosch 12v Flexiclick 5 In 1 Drill Driver System Gsr12v 300fcb22
(Available starting September)This is a serious machine at a serious price. This processor comes with a number of items, including a shatterproof food processor bowl and mini bowl, several food processor discs, dough hook, chopping blades and built-in weighing scales. The base is very heavy and wouldn’t be easy to move between cabinet and counter. A large feed tube accommodates most vegetables. Very uniform in slicing and shredding, and even shredded napa cabbage well, which vexed the other processors. However, the chopping blade produced an uneven dice of peppers. Very little food ended up above the blade, and the processor was easy to clean. This processor has a 1,300-watt motor, which handles even the hardest foods, like Parmesan cheese, and has eight speed settings. The knob used to adjust speeds was easy to turn, and the powerful motor meant there was no need to put pressure on the pusher to get foods in. The scales were very precise in weighing flour for pasta dough, and come in both U.S. and metric measurements. Quickly made dough without over-kneading it.
Debbie Carlson is a freelance writer.