Which Food Processor?

Julian Vrieslander said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Goomba38 said:

I love my Cuisinart Pro Custom 11"

I've been eyeing them up on eBay. There are some good deals available.

Quoted message said:

We have one of those. I use it only rarely. The main reason is that
the time it saves (compared with using hand tools to chop/mix/puree/etc
the food) is often less than the time I have to spend cleaning all the
parts afterwards.

When Crash found out that food processors can "knead" pizza dough (recipe
below), an FP became a sure thing for my birthday. <EG> Does anyone have
experience shredding cabbage for cole slaw in one of these babies? I've
always shredded mine by hand, but I don't get consistent results.

Quoted message said:

I could swear that there are French engineers who stayed up late at
night brainstorming where they could add little ribs, nooks, crannies,
and holes that would trap bits of food. You can't completely
disassemble the feed tube parts. If you put it in the dishwasher and
the temp is too hot, you might warp the plastic.

I don't have a dishwasher. Will I be needing bottle brushes, etc., for
cleaning the parts? I guess you have to clean it the very second you get
done "processing" your foods.

Quoted message said:

Bad design.

That sucks. 🙁

Thanks for the info, Julian.
Carol

* Exported from MasterCook *

Pizza Crust - Deep Dish

Recipe By 😄amsel in dis Dress
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : main dishes yeast breads

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 packets rapid rise dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
5 1/2 cups flour
cornmeal -- as needed

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the
vegetable oil, olive oil, sugar, and half of the flour. Beat for 10
minutes. Attach the dough hook and mix in the remaining flour. Knead for
several minutes with the mixer.

Remove dough and place in a very large metal bowl and allow to rise until
double in bulk. Punch down and allow to rise again. Punch down a second
time and divide dough into thirds. Freeze two pieces for later use.

Oil bottom and sides of deep-dish pizza pan. Sprinkle with corn meal.
Place one-third of dough in the pan and push it out to the edges using
fingers. Dough should be about 1/8-inch thick throughout the pan.

Add desired toppings. Bake at a 475F until the top is bubbly and the crust
a light golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Cuisine:
"Italian"
Source:
"adapted from a Frugal Gourmet recipe"
Yield:
"3 crusts"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Julian Vrieslander said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Goomba38 said:

I love my Cuisinart Pro Custom 11"

I've been eyeing them up on eBay. There are some good deals available.

Quoted message said:

We have one of those. I use it only rarely. The main reason is that
the time it saves (compared with using hand tools to chop/mix/puree/etc
the food) is often less than the time I have to spend cleaning all the
parts afterwards.

When Crash found out that food processors can "knead" pizza dough
(recipe below), an FP became a sure thing for my birthday. <EG>
Does anyone have experience shredding cabbage for cole slaw in one of
these babies? I've always shredded mine by hand, but I don't get
consistent results.

Alla time. However, I've got a set of blades for my Cuisinart ranging
in slicing thickness from 1mm to 6mm, plus a couple others that were
part of the set (julienne?). I use the 1mm or 2mm for slicing
(shredding) the cabbage for slaw and for Rob's red cabbage. Works great.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> 7/8/05 WeBeJammin'!

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

I don't have a dishwasher. Will I be needing bottle brushes, etc., for
cleaning the parts? I guess you have to clean it the very second you get
done "processing" your foods.

I rinse the parts as I'm done using them and sometimes put them into the
dishwasher and sometimes do not. I don't think you need anything
special for cleaning. JMO.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> 7/8/05 WeBeJammin'!

Julian Vrieslander said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Goomba38 said:

I love my Cuisinart Pro Custom 11"

We have one of those. I use it only rarely. The main reason is that
the time it saves (compared with using hand tools to chop/mix/puree/etc
the food) is often less than the time I have to spend cleaning all the
parts afterwards.

I could swear that there are French engineers who stayed up late at
night brainstorming where they could add little ribs, nooks, crannies,
and holes that would trap bits of food. You can't completely
disassemble the feed tube parts. If you put it in the dishwasher and
the temp is too hot, you might warp the plastic.

Bad design.

I am a fast one with a good knife, but I admit that sometimes a food
processor is *really* very handy for things.
I don't know what problems you have cleaning it-mine goes straight into
the dishwasher (top shelf) and washes up fine!
Goomba

Damsel said:

I don't have a dishwasher. Will I be needing bottle brushes, etc., for
cleaning the parts? I guess you have to clean it the very second you get
done "processing" your foods.

I wash mine by hand when the dishwasher is getting full. It's a snap to
wash and I've never had trouble doing it quickly and efficiently by
hand. Why people have problems, I can't imagine??
GOomba

"Melba's Jammin'" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Julian Vrieslander said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Goomba38 <[email hidden]> wrote:

> I love my Cuisinart Pro Custom 11"

I've been eyeing them up on eBay. There are some good deals available.

Quoted message said:

We have one of those. I use it only rarely. The main reason is that
the time it saves (compared with using hand tools to chop/mix/puree/etc
the food) is often less than the time I have to spend cleaning all the
parts afterwards.

When Crash found out that food processors can "knead" pizza dough
(recipe below), an FP became a sure thing for my birthday. <EG>
Does anyone have experience shredding cabbage for cole slaw in one of
these babies? I've always shredded mine by hand, but I don't get
consistent results.

Alla time. However, I've got a set of blades for my Cuisinart ranging
in slicing thickness from 1mm to 6mm, plus a couple others that were
part of the set (julienne?). I use the 1mm or 2mm for slicing
(shredding) the cabbage for slaw and for Rob's red cabbage. Works great.
--

I like the coarse grating disk for cole slaw. Also great for making latkes.

--
Peter Aitken

Melba's Jammin' at [email hidden] wrote on 7/10/05 8:48 AM:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

I don't have a dishwasher. Will I be needing bottle brushes, etc., for
cleaning the parts? I guess you have to clean it the very second you get
done "processing" your foods.

I rinse the parts as I'm done using them and sometimes put them into the
dishwasher and sometimes do not. I don't think you need anything
special for cleaning. JMO.

I'm with Barb on this one.
I have never had difficulty cleaning my Cuisinart.
When I'm finished using it, I just plop it into a dishpan with soapy water.

I'm not a "clean-as-I-go" person, though I usually will tackle the "prep"
dishes before dinner and then the dinner dishes after the meal. I suppose
it doesn't really need the 10-20 minute soak, but it surely doesn't hurt--by
the time I'm ready to wipe those prep utensils/bowls, etc down with a sponge
and rinse them, they are pretty much clean. The soak has gotten into all the
"nooks and crannies".

I merely wipe the FP bowl down with a non-scrubbing sponge, give it a good
rinse under hot running water and let it air dry.

Once, after grating potatoes for latkes, I let it sit until after the meal.
That did require a soak, because the starch had fused onto the plastic walls
of the bowl. No biggie. I set it down in the sink to soak once all the
dishes were done. I let it sit for about an hour in hot soapy water and it
cleaned up beautifully with no effort whatsoever.

I guess if you're one of those obsessve/compulsive people who can't bear the
idea of having something soak in the sink for a little while, you might need
to invest in some sort of specialized cleaning equipment for your FP bowl.
But then again, someone who was obsessively and or compulsively clean
wouldn't let the thing sit for 10 minutes so the starch would stick to the
side, right?

Cleaning a FP bowl is no more or less an effort than cleaning anything else.
I really don't see the big deal people make of it. I'd rather wash an extra
bowl than futz with a knife, when there's a lot of prep work to do.

I have knife skills but I find the prep work boring and monotonous. For me,
the joy of cooking is not in the chopping and other prep work, it's in the
creation. Some people really enjoy the prep-work, they find it relaxing.
More power to them and they might feel a food-processor removes the fun out
of cooking. That's not the case for me and so I use my FP all the time. To
each their own.

And I have a Cuisinart because at the time I got it, (maybe 8-9 years ago) I
could afford it so I figured, "why not?". Before that, I had a small Black
and Decker and I have to say, I was pleased with its performance, it just
was small and I had outgrown the size. If I had to buy one now, I'd
probably go to Target or Walmart and get either Black and Decker or Hamilton
Beach. After spending over $100 on the Cuisinart, I wouldn't expect to
have to buy another FP the rest of my life. If I bought a $40 Ham.Beach, I'd
expect it to last me 10-15 years. Still not bad. Also, i think there are
probably more attachments for the Cuisinart than the Hamilton Beach....but
frankly, except for the fine shredding blade I bought specifically for
potato pancakes, the basic blades do pretty much whatever I need.

Which reminds me--I have a julienne blade that I don't even know how I wound
up with--for the 14 cup Cuisinart FP. (I have the 11 cup). It doesn't fit
my machine at all. If someone has a 14 cup machine and they want this
blade, email me. It's brand new.
No charge--but maybe we could trade something.

Let me know.

tammym at [email hidden] wrote on 7/8/05 4:26 PM:

Quoted message said:

I have a Cuisinart which was a gift, I didn't pick it out. It is not easy
to clean, but will be when Jack (Kay's husband) files away the so-called
safety mechanism for me (which he also did for Kay.)

Don't do that, Tammy. It's there for a reason. And if you do get hurt
using it because you defeated the safety mechanism...perish the thought, it
will be no one's fault but your own.

I don't see the big deal in keeping it clean, but each to their own, I
guess. Maybe you should just sell it on Ebay as "slightly used" and just
get rid of it.

But please don't defeat the safety mechanism.

Quoted message said:

Unless I have to chop
a boatload of onions or something, though, I just use my chef's knife for
chopping tasks. I rarely use the Cuisinart except for the few times I need
it for pureeing, and even then, I am more likely to use my 'stick' blender.
So basically, the Cuisinart just take up counterspace. Must be time for a
garage sale ;-)

Peter Aitken at [email hidden] wrote on 7/10/05 11:21 AM:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Alla time. However, I've got a set of blades for my Cuisinart ranging
in slicing thickness from 1mm to 6mm, plus a couple others that were
part of the set (julienne?). I use the 1mm or 2mm for slicing
(shredding) the cabbage for slaw and for Rob's red cabbage. Works great.
--

I like the coarse grating disk for cole slaw. Also great for making latkes.

Interesting...I prefer the fine shredding disk for latkes. I prefer a
denser latke, I guess. The coarse shredding disk makes them too "lacy" for
my tastes. Of course, my mom used the fine grating side on the box grater
for latkes when I was little...took forever to make them, and when we got
our first FP (A Hamilton Beach, as I recall) she shredded them with the
large shredding disk and then put them through again with the chopping
blade. So I guess I'm used to a denser latke.

"Sheryl Rosen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter Aitken at [email hidden] wrote on 7/10/05 11:21 AM:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Alla time. However, I've got a set of blades for my Cuisinart ranging
in slicing thickness from 1mm to 6mm, plus a couple others that were
part of the set (julienne?). I use the 1mm or 2mm for slicing
(shredding) the cabbage for slaw and for Rob's red cabbage. Works
great.
--

I like the coarse grating disk for cole slaw. Also great for making
latkes.

Interesting...I prefer the fine shredding disk for latkes. I prefer a
denser latke, I guess. The coarse shredding disk makes them too "lacy"
for
my tastes. Of course, my mom used the fine grating side on the box grater
for latkes when I was little...took forever to make them, and when we got
our first FP (A Hamilton Beach, as I recall) she shredded them with the
large shredding disk and then put them through again with the chopping
blade. So I guess I'm used to a denser latke.

Either way it's great to be able to do a lot in a few seconds! THe old way,
my latkes often has some knuckle flavor in them.

--
Peter Aitken

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

When Crash found out that food processors can "knead" pizza dough
(recipe below), an FP became a sure thing for my birthday. <EG>
Does anyone have experience shredding cabbage for cole slaw in one of
these babies? I've always shredded mine by hand, but I don't get
consistent results.

Alla time. However, I've got a set of blades for my Cuisinart ranging
in slicing thickness from 1mm to 6mm, plus a couple others that were
part of the set (julienne?). I use the 1mm or 2mm for slicing
(shredding) the cabbage for slaw and for Rob's red cabbage. Works great.

Thanks for the confirmation on the cabbage. :-) I might just try making
sauerkraut again next fall. The one time I tried it, the stuff was
unbearably salty.

Crash was looking at a 20 cup machine!!! So I went and filled my "large"
processing bowl, and it's 5 cups. So I'm suggesting an 11 cup model.

Carol

Peter Aitken said:

I like the coarse grating disk for cole slaw. Also great for making latkes.

Mmmmm! Potato pancakes! I'm getting excited about this food processor.
LOL!

Carol

Sheryl Rosen said:

I guess if you're one of those obsessve/compulsive people who can't bear the
idea of having something soak in the sink for a little while, you might need
to invest in some sort of specialized cleaning equipment for your FP bowl.

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

<gasping for breath>

I can't even FIND my sink! It's full of dirty dishes.

OMG ... I'll be okay. Just breathe, Carol.

Thanks, Sheryl. I'm looking at the 11 cup, also. Damn, I think I just
talked myself into washing dishes. Not to worry. I've gotta catch up on
the rest of the posts first. ;-)

Carol

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 00:55:25 -0500, Damsel <[email hidden]>
wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

When Crash found out that food processors can "knead" pizza dough (recipe
below), an FP became a sure thing for my birthday. <EG> Does anyone have
experience shredding cabbage for cole slaw in one of these babies? I've
always shredded mine by hand, but I don't get consistent results.

<snip>

Carol, if no one has weighed in about the KitchenAir Professional,
lemme tell ya: It has two work bowls, plus a small prep bowl and all
sorts of disks, blades and other accessories. Does a wonderful job on
everything. My only complaint would be cleaning the top. It has a
slight ridge inside the outter ridge that makes it hard to clean, say,
grated cheese and such. Otherwise, I swear it's powerful enough to
turn rocks into gravel.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Goomba38 said:

Julian Vrieslander said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Goomba38 said:

I love my Cuisinart Pro Custom 11"

We have one of those. I use it only rarely. The main reason is that
the time it saves (compared with using hand tools to chop/mix/puree/etc
the food) is often less than the time I have to spend cleaning all the
parts afterwards.

I could swear that there are French engineers who stayed up late at
night brainstorming where they could add little ribs, nooks, crannies,
and holes that would trap bits of food. You can't completely
disassemble the feed tube parts. If you put it in the dishwasher and
the temp is too hot, you might warp the plastic.

Bad design.

I am a fast one with a good knife, but I admit that sometimes a food
processor is *really* very handy for things.
I don't know what problems you have cleaning it-mine goes straight into
the dishwasher (top shelf) and washes up fine!

Yeah, but... than it's out of commission until you run the dishwasher.
I honestly can't think of anything a food processor can slice quicker
and with less effort than I can with a knife... and with a knife I can
slice far more neatly and uniformly.. food processors are fine I
suppose for those who are satified with their veggies all hacked up
like they were passed through the insinkerator.

When I try out a new high priced restaurant I expect the cooks to know
how to use a knife (and properly), if I notice they use a food
processor to hack up the veggies for salads, soups, stews, etc. it will
be my last visit.. I'm not about to pay top dollar for food looks like
it's already been eaten.

In fact when I walk through a restaurant to be seated I check out what
others are eating... if I see food processor crapola I make my
apologies and depart before ever reaching my table... I'd far rather
stop off for Chinese take out instead, at least they don't use an
infernal machine to masticate the vegetables and the prices are
resonable. I'll be damned if I'm gonna pay big bucks for dinner and
the food is reminescent of opening a can of Veg-All.

Sheldon

Damsel said:

I have two food processors. One that is quite small - it's an attachment
to the Oster Kitchen Center. It's rarely adequate for the task at hand. I
have a thrift-shop one that has a larger bowl, but is a royal pain in the
butt to use.

Can anyone recommend a good food processor that's easy to use and to clean?

Thanks,
Carol

I have heard two chefs say that you don't need a food processor - use a
chef's knife for chopping and a blender for purees. And a mixer for
dough.

--

===============================================================
Regards

Louis Cohen

"Yes, yes, I will desalinate you, you grande morue!"

Émile Zola, Assommoir 1877

Louis Cohen said:

Damsel said:

I have two food processors. One that is quite small - it's an attachment
to the Oster Kitchen Center. It's rarely adequate for the task at hand. I
have a thrift-shop one that has a larger bowl, but is a royal pain in the
butt to use.

Can anyone recommend a good food processor that's easy to use and to clean?

I have heard two chefs say that you don't need a food processor - use a
chef's knife for chopping and a blender for purees. And a mixer for
dough.

Only two chefs... just about every chef will say the same... and any
that don't ain't really chefs. Before foodtv hardly anyone used a food
processor, but sponsors have been known to push a lot of totally
unnecessary dreck on the pinheads who are mostly what're addicted to
foodtv.

If you're a large commissary operation, like a hospital, prison,
military food service, than a food processor is necessary, but a true
commercial machine, not those toys-r-us ones yoose guys are refering
to... but no home cook or small restaurant needs a food processor...
for relatively small quantities those things are more trouble than
they're worth, and the kinds yoose are speaking of really don't work
very well, about on par with the electric knife. Home cooks who use
food processors really can't use a knife very well, there is no other
explanation, none... okay, maybe a lot of yoose are handicapped.

Sheldon

Terry Pulliam Burd said:

Carol, if no one has weighed in about the KitchenAir Professional,
lemme tell ya: It has two work bowls, plus a small prep bowl and all
sorts of disks, blades and other accessories. Does a wonderful job on
everything. My only complaint would be cleaning the top. It has a
slight ridge inside the outter ridge that makes it hard to clean, say,
grated cheese and such. Otherwise, I swear it's powerful enough to
turn rocks into gravel.

I've got the 12 Cup KitchenAid. 3 work bowls, 6 or 7 different blades
and an egg whipper gizmo. The thing really can turn rocks into gravel!

I used it today to make almond paste, and it had the job done in about
60 seconds.

Cleaning the top is easier if you use a baby bottle brush. Takes about
30 seconds with hot, soapy water and comes perfectly clean.

Debra

Sheldon said:

Home cooks who use
food processors really can't use a knife very well, there is no other
explanation, none... okay, maybe a lot of yoose are handicapped.

I am not good with a knife. There. I said it. 🙂

A food processor can do a better job at some things than I can do on my
own. Why not take advantage of the technology that's available?
Especially it it'll cut down on the wear and tear to my shoulder, elbow and
wrist. It's a [censored] when your warrantee runs out. <G>

Carol

Carol,

I love coleslaw and make it frequently in my Cuisinart. I use a 2mm
slicing blade and it breaks up the cabbage nicely. I tried the medium
shredding blade and it produced cabbage soup. (YUCK!)

As far as cleaning it, I rarely get the pusher assembly dirty and clean
just the bowl and the lid. I do have a dishwasher so if I have a load
ready to go I do put in the pusher assembly as well...

Just my 2 cents...

Bart D. Hull
[email hidden]
Tempe, Arizona

Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/engine.html
for my Subaru Engine Conversion
Check http://www.inficad.com/~bdhull/fuselage.html
for Tango II I'm building.

Remove -nospam to reply via email.

Damsel said:

Julian Vrieslander said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Goomba38 said:

I love my Cuisinart Pro Custom 11"

I've been eyeing them up on eBay. There are some good deals available.

Quoted message said:

We have one of those. I use it only rarely. The main reason is that
the time it saves (compared with using hand tools to chop/mix/puree/etc
the food) is often less than the time I have to spend cleaning all the
parts afterwards.

When Crash found out that food processors can "knead" pizza dough (recipe
below), an FP became a sure thing for my birthday. <EG> Does anyone have
experience shredding cabbage for cole slaw in one of these babies? I've
always shredded mine by hand, but I don't get consistent results.

Quoted message said:

I could swear that there are French engineers who stayed up late at
night brainstorming where they could add little ribs, nooks, crannies,
and holes that would trap bits of food. You can't completely
disassemble the feed tube parts. If you put it in the dishwasher and
the temp is too hot, you might warp the plastic.

I don't have a dishwasher. Will I be needing bottle brushes, etc., for
cleaning the parts? I guess you have to clean it the very second you get
done "processing" your foods.

Quoted message said:

Bad design.

That sucks. 🙁

Thanks for the info, Julian.
Carol

* Exported from MasterCook *

Pizza Crust - Deep Dish

Recipe By 😄amsel in dis Dress
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : main dishes yeast breads

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 packets rapid rise dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
5 1/2 cups flour
cornmeal -- as needed

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the
vegetable oil, olive oil, sugar, and half of the flour. Beat for 10
minutes. Attach the dough hook and mix in the remaining flour. Knead for
several minutes with the mixer.

Remove dough and place in a very large metal bowl and allow to rise until
double in bulk. Punch down and allow to rise again. Punch down a second
time and divide dough into thirds. Freeze two pieces for later use.

Oil bottom and sides of deep-dish pizza pan. Sprinkle with corn meal.
Place one-third of dough in the pan and push it out to the edges using
fingers. Dough should be about 1/8-inch thick throughout the pan.

Add desired toppings. Bake at a 475F until the top is bubbly and the crust
a light golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Cuisine:
"Italian"
Source:
"adapted from a Frugal Gourmet recipe"
Yield:
"3 crusts"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -