Best Food Processors

What You Need in a Food Processor
For the most part, home cooks do not need the power, size, or features that professional kitchens have built into their food processors. Apart from pureeing, a premium food processor can mix dough, julienne, mince, slice, and do several other things. But really, why are you cooking? The cathartic feeling derived from repetition and completion of an involved recipe is part of the reason a home cook goes beyond the baked potato.

With that in mind, we prefer to consider food processors under 200 dollars.

A Few Criteria
At the high end of this spectrum, most products feature a 12-cup work bowl. Unless space is a major consideration, we recommend getting the largest bowl possible. Making large batches of soup and pastry dough are easiest with adequate room.

Power is a major consideration. Most food processor blades, when properly cared for, stay remarkably sharp, leaving the motor as the more important variable. Again, 200 dollars should get you a motor that is at least 650 watts, often as high as 700.

KitchenAid? KFPW760OB 12-Cup Food Processor-Onyx Black

Clever features such as pulse control, that is, the ability to stop the blade, may be well worth it if you are making delicate recipes. Too often, home cooks will over-puree their foods. While this is rarely disastrous, achieving the right consistency can mean the difference between a good meal and a great one.

Two Great Contenders
The KitchenAid 12-cup food processor (KFPW760) has all of the above features, and sits right at the 200-dollar mark. It is dishwasher-safe and includes a variety of additional blades. Then again, you can save up to 50 dollars if you are willing to sacrifice a little power and size. Cuisinart food processors makes a superb 11-cup machine with a 625-watt motor for about 150 dollars. The Cuisinart DLC-8S is a favorite in the contributing online community and is the standard-bearer of one of the most trusted names in small kitchen appliances.