Last month at the Once A Month Mom Tweet-Up we had the pleasure of having two food processors on hand for participants to review. We had mushrooms available for them to slice and cheese available for them to shred. Here is a look at the two food processors that were reviewed, what participants thought and recommendations if you are interested in purchasing one yourself.

Hamilton Beach Big Mouth 14 Cup Food Processor

This food processor was the overall favorite of the event. The comments from participants included: “Worked great;” “Seemed really well made;” “Great price;” “quiet”. Here is Becky after she just sliced mushrooms:

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Key Features:

• Fits whole foods
• Retractable cord
• Stainless steel blades include reversible slicing/shredding disc & chopping blade
• 3 speeds plus pulse
• 500 Watt motor
• High-performance processing bowl
• Dishwasher safe bowl, lid & blades

Participant Ratings:

We asked participants to rate the product based on the following factors: value, ease of use and recommend-ability on a 5 point scale (1 being “hate it”, 5 being “love it”). Here are the averages:

• Value – 4.35
• Ease of Use – 4.55
• Recommend-ability – 4.50
• Overall Rating – 4.47

Where to Get One (Prices listed as of 11/2/09):

• Amazon.com -$79.59 + free shipping
• Bed, Bath & Beyond -$89.99
  • Use U Promise to get 2% rebate on your purchase.
• JCPenney – $129.99 (Get on the JC Penney list for more great savings!)
  • Use U Promise or Ebates to get 3% back on your online purchase

Cuisinart Elite 12-Cup Food Processor

This is a GREAT food processor as well. It didn’t score as high as the Hamilton Beach but I think that is mostly because of it’s price in comparison to the Hamilton Beach. One of the great features of this appliance is that there aren’t a bunch of buttons and what-not to push. Very simple to use! It also has a smaller processing bowl for when you are doing smaller jobs (you know, when you aren’t once a month cooking).

The comments from participants included: “Love my Cuisinart, could use an update” and “Seems sturdy”.

Key Features:

• 12-cup large bowl & 4-cup small bowl with pour spouts and measurement markings
• Stainless steel adjustable slicing disc, reversible shredding disc, large & small chopping/mixing blades, and dough blade
• Supreme wide-mouth feed tube and cover assembly
• Dishwasher safe bowl, lids & blades
• 3 year limited warranty, 10 year motor warranty

Participant Ratings:

We asked participants to rate the product based on the following factors: value, ease of use and recommend-ability on a 5 point scale (1 being “hate it”, 5 being “love it”). Here are the averages:

• Value – 3.37
• Ease of Use – 4.32
• Recommend-ability – 4
• Overall Rating – 3.89
  

Where to Get One:

• Amazon.com -$226.42 + free shipping
• Bed, Bath & Beyond -$229.99
  • Use U Promise to get 2% rebate on your purchase.
• Macy’s – $229.99
  • Use Mr. Rebates or Ebates to get 5% cash back on your purchase.
• Kohl’s – $269.99
  • Use Ebates for 4% back on your purchase.

Disclosure: I was provided with each of these food processor models for reviewing during the event. The ratings of the food processors is that of the participants of the event, not me. The written review is my opinion of the food processors after having used them in my own kitchen.

Again, it depends on the type of food processor that you have as to how much you can do, but as I go through I will try to address each item considering both scenarios. (Clicking on the pictures will give you detailed step-by-step instructions. If you move your mouse to the left or the right of the picture you will get a “previous” or “next” option. It makes it easy to move through them.)

Yes – These are GOOD in the food processor!

Potatoes, chopped

Potatoes can be put in the food processor for chopping. If you are just using the rotary blade you will not get the consistency that you would by hand chopping them. However, it will get done fast and easy. Just don’t over-process. Chopping them by hand will give you the most uniform shape. In March’s menu it calls for chopped potatoes to be boiled. To save time I am going to slice mine using the slicing blade and boil them that way. They should soften and be ready to use in about the same time. See pictures below for more step-by-step directions.

Carrots, chopped/diced/sliced

Either way, your food processor can be of assistance to you. And if you just have a rotary blade you are perfectly fine!

Celery, chopped/diced/sliced

Celery can be use in the food processor with or without the slicing blades. You must be careful not to process it for too long though, you don’t want to end up with celery puree!

Mushrooms, sliced

If you buy whole mushrooms and slice them yourself your food processor slicing blades can really be a help. Just the rotary blade will not, though.

Onions, chopped/diced

Onions are a MUST in the food processor, unless you really need a good cry. I don’t think I would ever get through all of the onion cutting for our OAMC days if it weren’t for my food processor! You can use the rotary blade and pulse a few times to get chopped onions. You can also use the slicing blade for sliced onions. Just note that they won’t be perfect hamburger slices. (mmm,  hamburgers. . .I digress).

**:( This is the point in the evening that my camera had a catastrophe. In an attempt to be EXTRA careful not to break it/get it wet/drop it I was laying it “out of the way”. When I went to grab it the cord got caught on a kitchen counter knob knocking the camera out of my hands. Needless to say it went for “inpatient surgery” the next day and I am waiting to hear what the estimate will amount to. I will post pictures of the next few items when I am able again.

Garlic, minced

If you haven’t noticed there is A LOT of garlic in March’s menu! When you go to buy that many garlic heads you should have fun with the cashier and tell them you are warding away vampires. See what kind of look that gets you! Honestly, I rarely mince garlic. I use those nice little jars of minced garlic to save myself. If you have bought garlic heads you simply need to peal the cloves off and cut the skin off of them. Place them in the food processor with the rotary blade and pulse several times. Tada! Minced garlic!

Ham, cubed

This one is a little bit tricky. I am going to try just putting it with the rotary blade and chopping it that way. It is the easiest. Again, you have to make sure to just use the pulse button and not process it too long or it will end up more like ground ham then chopped ham.

Chicken, chopped

Yes, yes, yes!!!! (If you have cooked boneless chicken). I discovered this last month and thought I had hit a gold mine! This is the fastest and easiest way to get chopped chicken. Again, it is important to not over process it or you will end up with ground chicken. you can use the rotary blade or the shredding blade if you would prefer

No – these are better left to hand cutting!

Green Pepper, chopped/diced (February menu)

Green pepper is very watery and does not stand up well to the food processor. It looks more like something we would be making over in baby food (no we don’t really do that) than a chopped green pepper. The good old fashioned method of dicing it by hand will do quite nicely!

Green Onions, sliced

Not a vegetable I would put in the food processor. I suppose that you could use the slicer blade and get a nice slice out of it but it might be somewhat unpredictable. The green onions are so soft I would be worried about them turning to mush. I would just slice them by hand.

How? Peal the outer layer. Cut off the root end and the top green part. Slice.

Zucchini, quartered & sliced

I would start by quartering the zucchini (cut off the two ends). Then if you have a slicing blade you could slice the quarters that you have prepared. If you only have a rotary blade you will need to slice the zucchini by hand. Otherwise, you will end up with a zucchini puree.

Okay, I think that is it for the items on the March menu at least! Hope that some of you found this helpful! Is there anything that I missed? Do any of you have other food processor suggestions that you use on your OAM Cooking days?

First Things First – Know Your Food Processor

Not all food processors are created equally. Some have just the rotary blade, others have various attachments and blades for processing more types of foods.

Cortney has this food processor:

It is a great standard food processor. It works well for chopping things and doing it quickly. It is also GREAT for making baby food. Just throw in the food set it to chop and let it do it’s thing until the food is pureed. (Although, I am realizing it has the attachments that mine does I’ve just not ever seen Cortney use them though). Though some food processors don’t come with the attachments, so be sure what you are getting when you purchase one.

I have this food processor (which seems to be unavailable at Amazon.com right now):

BUT this one is comparable:

It comes with a selection of blades that make chopping and dicing much easier. When we are doing once-a-month cooking we tend to use my food processor for all of the vegetable cutting. It is just a lot easier that way. I can interchange the blades and get a cut carrot or a diced carrot. I can puree foods if needed or I can simply chop.

If you are looking for a complete review on food processors and what you should be looking for you can also check out more reviews HERE.

You do not need to go out and buy a new food processor to do once-a-month cooking. However, if you are in the market to get one, you should consider spending a few extra dollars and buying one that has the interchangeable blades so that you can use it for multiple purposes.

If you have a food processor but don’t have one with interchangeable blades, that is okay too. You can still use your food processor to chop many of the items on our cooking list. Stay tuned throughout the week as we talk more about which foods work best in the food processor and which ones should be chopped by hand.