They make light work of heavy meal prep jobs, and they’re user friendly and easy to clean. Next, we tasked each food chopper with chopping up a half-cup of almonds. The Cuisinart did alright, but it definitely took significantly more force to chop the nuts than the motorized models did. This also meant that a handful of almonds got stuck after the first two pulses, so we did have to pull apart the chopper to free them before continuing.
This means that, if you like to cook by ratio, you can put the bowl on a kitchen scale and measure ingredients into it with the blade attached, and then seamlessly connect the bowl to the motor base. If you’ve ever struggled to fit a blade over a pile of flour in a processor bowl, you’ll appreciate this design feature. This KitchenAid comes with relatively few parts and it disassembles easily for cleaning. We especially appreciate that the bowl has a handle, since we struggled to remove bowls that didn’t have one, especially when we were working with greasy hands. The Food Chopper is covered by a one-year warranty, which is standard for appliances in this price range, and you can get the base in a wide range of colors. This mini, 3.5-cup processor is too small for making bread dough or coleslaw, but it’s the ideal size for chopping one onion or making small batches of mayo or vinaigrette.
You can usually purchase everything from a juicing attachment to julienne disks separately, but such extras often go unused. Both cookbook authors we spoke with essentially said these add-ons were a waste of money, so we didn’t test any. Take a hands-on approach with a manual mini food processor, which can be used anywhere — no need for charging or plugging in. Lab Director Papantoniou likes this model because it has “an oversized handle that’s easy to pull and use, and it is overall simple to clean.” She notes that it’s great for garlic and other quick jobs. Because you must pull a cord to operate it, it could pose the risk of fatigue for some users and requires some dexterity. The Cuisinart EvolutionX Cordless Mini Chopper ($80) was the only cordless mini chopper we tested, which was intriguing.
It’s too small for kneading bread dough and lacks the attachments to shred or slice, but it’s great for completing basic tasks quickly, and it’s easier to clean and store than a full-size model. It’s a more simplified model as well, as there is just one button to press at the top (a comfortable handle built into the lid) that can pulverize produce, nuts, herbs, and dressings with equal success. Mini-Prep Plus 4-Cup Food Processor — This food processor handles a variety of food preparation tasks including chopping, grinding, pureeing, emulsifying and blending.
I live in a 400 square foot apartment and do not have room for too many full sized appliances so decided this was one we could do a mini version of. I mostly use it to make hummus and other bean dips but I have also used it to make a finer grind for almond flour and to mix ingredients for mini pie crusts. The only downside to this is that you have to continually press the buttons for it to work. cuisinart toa60 As far as I am concerned since it’s only for small jobs it is usually pretty quick and doesn’t matter anyway. It also make for an easy way for you to pulse without actually having a pulse button. I do also wish that it had more of the functions of a full sized food processor like the feeding shoot and various blade options but if you are looking to save space and money this is a good bet.
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The Cuisinart’s slicing disk isn’t adjustable like the Breville Sous Chef’s slicing disk, which has multiple settings, similar to a mandoline. But you can buy additional slicing disks through Cuisinart if you want them. The included slicing disk makes approximately 5-millimeter slices, which is fine for most tasks, but cuisinart air fryer oven you’ll probably want the 2-millimeter slicing disk for making homemade potato chips. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves.
Sarah Wharton has a diploma from the International Culinary Center and has worked as a recipe developer. She led the GH Institute’s testing for immersion blenders, many of which come with a chopper attachment. The Cuisinart doesn’t come with a storage case for its attachments. If you don’t want to store the attachments in the bowl, it would be worthwhile to purchase a case for about $30. This article was updated in February 2023 to ensure that all products were in stock and reflected current pricing. We removed discontinued products and added new picks from Black + Decker, Zyliss and Hamilton Beach.