Consumer Reports – December 2018

Insights

Product recommendations and practical advice

A GOOD FOOD PROCESSOR can speed up

your prep time for almost any meal. “You

can use a processor to purée soups and

sauces, whip up nut butters, and with

some, you can even make dough,” says

CR test engineer Cindy Fisher. “Even

experienced home cooks, who often prefer

to slice and dice by hand, still i nd plenty of

uses for their food processor.” Plus, they’re

an excellent tool when you need to prepare

large batches of food for holiday guests.

But the sheer variety of fancy features

and high prices that come with these

culinary appliances will give you lots to

chew on. It’s best to decide i rst on the

size you want, Fisher advises. Take into

account how many people you tend to cook

for, and what your storage and counter

space can accommodate. Then evaluate the

features you want, keeping in mind how

often and how hard your food processor

will be pressed into service. For example,

if you like to make salsas, you might opt for

a model that’s great at chopping, perhaps

with a wide feed tube to save you the

trouble of cutting up larger veggies.

In the Know

Food

Processors

FIT FOR FOODIES

0 !16-cup Breville Sous

Chef BFP800XL/A

$ 400

BUDGET BLADE RUNNER

Hamilton Beach

10-Cup with compact

storage 70760 $ 50

81 67 57

SILENT SLICER

! 0 12-cup Cuisinart

Elite Collection 2.

FP-12BCN $ 200

67

EXCELLENT VALUE

! 0 Oster Pro 1200

Plus Food Processor

Attachment

BLSTMB-CBF0-

$ 90

Though small at

only 5 cups, this is a

sturdy pick with great

chopping and dicing

features, as well as

excellent grating.

Plus, it comes

with a very good

blender attachment

and costs hundreds

less than some

other models.

PHOTOS: JOHN WALSH/CONSU

MER REPORTS

For more highly rated small kitchen appliances, turn to page 14. CR.ORG 13