Cuisinart Food Processor Review
We are an active cooking family and a food processor is an essential tool. Unfortunately we have had mixed results with food processors over the years. That is until we found our current 12-cup Cuisinart food processor. This is our Cuisinart Food Processor review.
UPDATE DECEMBER 2020: After being dropped several times we had to replace the main 12-cup bowl for about $50. In looking at other options it was clear that a feature we find essential on this food processor is the adjustable slicing blade that can slice meat from 1 mm to 6 mm. We use this feature on a regular basis. However, if we did not need this feature there are cheaper alternatives that may be a better option.
Over the years, we have owned several brands of food processors. Based on our experience we are now sticking with Cuisinart. Cuisinart was founded in 1971 for the express purpose of bringing food processors to the United States. My mom received one in the late 1970s and it continued to work for over 30 years.
In researching food processors I migrated towards the Cuisinart Elite Collection 2.0 12-cup model. This model had several features that I feel are essential for our purposes. These include:
- A large 12-cup bowl
- A smaller 4-cup insert
- An adjustable slicing blade that can go from 1mm to 6mm at the turn of a dial
- An adjustable shredding blade
- A dough blade for mixing dough
The slicing blade that can adjust to 1mm was a key selling point. This is perfect for slicing meat very thin for use in recipes like our Philly Cheese Steak.
We also use our Cuisinart food processor to make pasta and pizza dough. This has been an area where we have had food processors die on us. The motor simply can not handle mixing the dough. This has included a highly rated stand mixer which we finally gave away after repairing three times. After dozens of recipes I can say the 1000 watt Cuisinart food processor handles dough making like a champ.
I will note that we tried several other brands of food processors that had similar features. One had an adjustable blade that went as low as 0.5 mm. We ended up giving it away. Cuisinart is now our brand of choice for food processors.
There are many other Cuisinart food processors on the market. One of the highest rated ones is the larger 14-cup model. However, this does not include adjustable slicing blades so we ruled it out.
Fun Diego Family does regular reviews of products we like. We only review products that we have used AND recommend. If we don’t like a product we don’t review it. In other words, you will only find positive reviews. In summary, our specific model is the Cuisinart FP-12DCN Elite Collection 2.0 12-cup food processor. We paid nearly $200 for it but have seen it on sale for less. What we loved was the large size, the smaller bowl which works as a mini food processor and the blades which adjust for a very narrow slice.
