by Bob Ross » Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:03 pm
Jon, Cook's Illustrated did a nice feature on these units two years ago; hope this helps:
[The first section dealt with inexpensive units.]
In the end, then, we cannot recommend any of the three cheaper food processors we tested. It was time to open our wallet and check out the more expensive machines.
Spending More Money
The two stars of the food processor world have always been the KitchenAid (we tested the Professional 670, $280) and the Cuisinart (we tested the relatively new Prep 11 Plus, $200, as well as the original Pro Custom 11, $160). We also checked out the Bosch 5000 ($139) and the Bosch 5200 ($200).
The two Bosch machines made an interesting pair in the testing, as the less expensive machine sometimes stood up to its brawnier cousin. When it came to chopping vegetables, the cheaper Bosch 5000 did a better job. Both models have the same bowl size and blade design, but the 4-speed motor in the 5200 didn’t seem to cut the vegetables at all; it just kind of flogged them around the bowl. The 5000’s simpler 2-speed motor was more effective. However, when it came to pureeing soups, both models were standouts. The rounded bowl and cone-shaped blade attachment enabled both models to puree 5 cups of mock soup perfectly, without leaking a drop. Cup measurements on the side of the workbowl perplexed us, however. According to these markings, a 5-cup measure of liquid would be equivalent to 2 pints. In terms of other tasks, neither Bosch machine was great at making pizza dough or pie pastry.
One selling point of the 5200 is the attachments it comes with, several of which received high marks (see
"Attachment Disorder PDF"). We concluded that the 5200’s failure with vegetables could not be overlooked, despite its top-notch pureeing performance and its array of useful accessories. As one tester put it, "If the machine can’t slice potatoes, who cares if the juicer works?" The 5000 received a higher score because it is cheaper and because it’s able to handle vegetables—a core activity—handily.
The Big Guns
It was now time to move on to the big guns: KitchenAid and Cuisinart. After even a cursory examination, it was clear that more money does buy a better, more heavy-duty processor. The KitchenAid and Cuisinart blades are among the sturdiest and appear to be the sharpest. Their motors had more weight, ran quieter, and did not slow down under a heavy load of bread dough.
Speaking of dough, the dough-mixing features included with the newer Cuisinart Prep 11—a special blade and a separate speed for dough—proved well conceived. At the dough-mixing speed, the motor purred; it was quiet enough to allow for normal conversation. The original Cuisinart model, the Pro Custom 11, produced a result of equal quality but took a little longer to get there. (As with the KitchenAid and Bosch processors, this task put an audible strain on the motor.)
The Pro Custom 11, however, did the best job with pie pastry, as the blade stops spinning almost immediately once the pulse button is released. Other blades took a second or two to spin down. Because it usually takes about 10 pulses to cut fat into flour, a 2-second spin-down after each pulse can make a significant difference in the finished texture of the dough. Other machines, especially the Cuisinart Prep 11 and KitchenAid, did a good job with pastry, but the Pro Custom 11 yielded perfect pie dough.
When it came to pureeing soups, neither the KitchenAid nor the two Cuisinart models could compare with the Bosch food processors, which handled twice as much liquid and did not leak. The KitchenAid leaked slightly under the blade and has a small bowl capacity. The two Cuisinarts didn’t leak, but they produced imperfect purees and their bowl capacities are even smaller.
What, then, should you buy? If you are partial to Cuisinart, it turns out that the classic (and somewhat cheaper) model, the Pro Custom 11, is a better value, clearly outperforming the newer Prep 11 Plus in the vegetable tests and slightly outperforming its successor in the pie pastry test. Bread bakers, however, might want to go with the newer, more expensive model, which mixes bread dough superbly. And what about the KitchenAid, priced an eye-popping $280, a full 40 percent more than the top-of-the-line Cuisinart? First off, it is the hands-down winner with vegetable preparation; the Cuisinarts really don’t measure up in this regard. But the KitchenAid was only second-best compared with the two Cuisinarts when making dough.
And what, then, have we learned since our last rating of food processors? Seven years and about a thousand dollars later, we have concluded that KitchenAid and Cuisinart are still the machines to beat. If vegetable prep is important to you, buy the KitchenAid. If you don’t care too much about vegetable prep, the Cuisinarts perform all other tasks as well as (or better than) their pricier competition.
