Equipment

Food Processor

I have never been a big user of small appliances. It is rare that I take my food processor off the shelf and usually it is for specific jobs and for larger quantities. Slicing with a knife is easier and there’s much less clean up. Same goes for grating cheese. I like to knead dough by hand (or in my bread maker). I can’t remember when I last used the dough or slicing attachments with my food processor.

That said, there are a few tasks that it is indispensable for and can’t be accomplished with other appliances (see Blender), such as making bread crumbs or cracker crumbs, blending thick ingredients like hummus or making batter for recipes like cheesecake.

Dr. Gourmet Recommends: Cuisinart certainly made the food processor a standard kitchen tool in the 1970s and the quality of their products is still very high. I feel that it is worth the extra $20.00 to purchase the larger capacity (you can buy a 5 cup for about $80.00).