To operate it, you squeeze a tab on the top of the handle, which we found more comfortable to do than holding down buttons on the base of the Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus. Depending on your needs, you might choose one over the other, or you might want both. We have a guide to the best countertop blenders (as well as to the best handheld immersion blenders and the best personal blenders) if you’re interested in getting one.
Beyond the main blade and one disk each for shredding and slicing, you don’t need much else. Many food processors also come with a dough blade made of plastic, but we found that a metal blade mixed dough just as well, so we don’t think the dough blade is essential. You can usually purchase everything from a juicing attachment to julienne disks separately, but such extras often go unused. cuisinart air fryer oven Both cookbook authors we spoke with essentially said these add-ons were a waste of money, so we didn’t test any. The blades are very sharp, so take care when handling them, but a plastic piece on top of the blade assembly provides a place to hold it safely. Read on for reviews of the top food processors and food choppers from Consumer Reports’ tests, listed in alphabetical order.
Both the processor bowl and the chopper have four blades as opposed to two, meaning they are more efficient than most models. This set even comes with storage lids, so you can conveniently store leftovers in the fridge — no additional container required. Overall, it’s ideal for individuals who don’t need a large blender and families who want to make medium-sized batches of sauces. In the case of manual food choppers, you will need to cut down food so that it is small enough to fit in the chopper. If you’re not confident in your chopping skills, both manual and electric choppers are easy ways to avoid spending too much time with your knife.
In our tests, the Cuisinart evenly chopped almost everything, including juicy tomatoes. (The only exception was almonds—more on that in the Flaws but not dealbreakers section, below.) The grating disk also shredded soft mozzarella cheese without getting gummed up. And we made a firmer, more stable mayonnaise in the Cuisinart than in any other full-size model we tested. A food chopper can run you anywhere from $10 to $50, so understanding what you want out of this appliance is crucial to making the right decision when shopping. Generally speaking, a manual food chopper will cost less than an electric version, so if you’re wanting something that’s more budget-friendly, go for the former.
There are buttons to choose either chopping or grinding, which spins the blade to chop through food with the sharp edge or bash with the flat edge. The bowl holds three cups, so it’s enough for a batch of salsa or onions for a recipe. This mini food processor won’t knead dough like a big food processor can, but it will make quick work of chopping everything from apples to nuts to zucchini.
The preprogrammed recipes seemed straightforward, but there are only 201 total. This model also takes up a ton of counter space and weighs 30 pounds; it’s definitely not something you’ll want to lug around your kitchen often. Ideally we’d like to test a working model in the future, but we feel we can dismiss The Complete Chef for now due to its size, weight, hefty price, limited recipe database, and lack of customer support. The Cuisinart Complete Chef chops, slices, and cooks food all in one 18-cup stainless steel bowl (it comes with attachments and built-in recipes for cooking things like risotto or beef stew).
Like many choppers, it did less well with green peppers, but they were still acceptable for our recipe. When chopping is done, this is easy to disassemble, and it’s dishwasher-safe. Unfortunately, when we tested it and then washed it with dishes with tomato residue, the spoon and cap got stained by tomatoes.