Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor
by Cuisinart
(Click here)
Product Summary
Manufacturer: CuisinartBrand: Cuisinart
Model: FP-12-PARENT
Product features:
- 1000-Watt peak power motor with electronic touchpad controls; on/off/pulse with blue LED lights
- 2-Food processors in 1; 12-cup large bowl and a 4-cup small bowl with pour spouts and measurement markings and a supreme wide-mouth feedtube and cover assembly
- Exclusive SealTight Advantage System that seals bowls and lock blades with an easy On/Off locking system with push button release
- Stainless steel adjustable slicing disc (1 to 6mm), reversible shredding disc (fine/medium), plus a large and small stainless steel chopping/mixing blade and a dough blade with the BladeLock System
- Spatula, How-to DVD and Recipe/Instruction Book are included
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor
Customer Review: Versatile and very powerful food processor; great for bread!
Summary: 5 Stars
I didn't buy my Cuisinart Elite model FP-14DC here, but have had a model FP-14DC Cuisinart Food Processor (from a local department store) for about ten days now. Mainly I wanted to post something this soon because I carefully read all the Amazon reviews and had some reluctance in the purchase due to a worry about a seam catching and holding onto flour. So, for all those who might be thinking of a new food processor for Christmas right now and worrying about a seam problem as I did, here's how I feel about my brand new (non-seamed!) processor.
I notice now that the last person to mention a seam was posting fairly recently and did buy the unit at Amazon. A possibility: that maybe Amazon's stock in September was a bit older than what is widely available now, or at least widely available from other sources who might have smaller amounts of stock that have to be replenished more frequently than Amazon's. (This assumes that perhaps there used to be a seam but that Cuisinart must have fixed the problem with the very latest models off the assembly line.)
Anyway, I don't see any seam at all. Perhaps it's not one-piece construction, but it looks totally like one-piece plastic construction to me, just as if the whole bowl was made from a single mold. If it's made of two pieces and glued together or something like that, it is surely one fancy piece of equipment achieving the miracle of what I see here. There's clearly no problem at all here with anything to do with food not becoming incorportated due to clinging to a corner anywhere.
I'd recommend this unit to anyone needing a really large food processor. That mainly might be people who want to make bread. It does a superlative job at that. I've made the best bread ever in this new food processor. It has also done an excellent job of everything I've had the time to try it with in these ten days.
The reason to narrow the recommendation at all is that (obviously) the unit is huge; if you don't need large capacity, then you wouldn't want to take up that much room with it. It's hugely attractive in my kitchen and I like that part of it, though I'm less than crazy about the height of the unit off the counter, since I'm short. Still, I'd buy it again, and buy it again over the other unit I was seriously considering, the 14-cup Limited Edition. I do bake bread and am doing that regularly now, and I don't see how the Limited Edition could possibly be any better at it than this unit. If all the bread you ever do is just enough for a single loaf or pizza dough, you might be able to get by on a smaller model, but if you're a big bread maker, I'd strongly recommend a large model, and particularly this model.
Why this model over the Limited Edition? The motor on this one is very, very powerful and there's no strain at all with large loads, so in retrospect the main reason I was considering the Limited Edition wouldn't have been a good reason. The other thing was that the mixer attachment on the Limited Edition looked interesting and perhaps I might have used it. But not likely, considering that I have a heavy-duty mixer on a stand right on the counter next to the new food processor.
This one has three bowls, so in a way it's three food processors for the price of one. Not exactly, as you have to have the larger bowls inserted to use the smaller ones, but still better than buying three different food processors and taking up all that counter or storage space with them. The three bowls nest perfectly, so it takes up no more room than the single unit. Before seeing this new model and buying it, I was actually considering buying two new processors, one in the 14-cup range, and the other in something much smaller. (I still do have my Custom 11 Cuisinart that I've had since the 1980's, and it still does work if you push down on the top to compensate for a small piece of a plastic lip that got broken.) I guess Cuisinart must have heard the same set of wishes from other longtime users of their food processors? Anyway, it felt as if Cuisinart knew exactly what I was looking for when I first saw the new unit with its three bowls. You can partially make up for not having the ideal number of bowls by good planning, but not always, and I didn't always see the way I should have planned until I thought up the next item in the meal--after having already used the bowl & blade for what ideally should have been the second use of the bowl, not the first.
Another thing Cuisinart fixed in this new design is an ability to lock down the blade. Apparently it's the only 14-cup unit that does that. I've always wished for something like that with my old processor. It's not perfect--I don't think the dough blade will lock--but the bowl is so roomy the chances of having the dough push the blade up and run far up inside the blade mount are greatly reduced. The dough blade isn't totally clean on the inside after use, but the clinging food is so near the opening that it's not hard to clean. The non-dough blades are basically whistle perfect on the inside and pose no cleaning problem whatsoever; the dishwasher can take care of everything. My old blades were always in horrible, horrible shape for cleaning after using them, often requiring intensive hand cleaning. What was even worse was the mess of dough or processed food with the largest loads pushing the blade up so far and oozing up and over onto the unit itself, and down onto the kitchen counter sometimes too (ugh). So I think of this new processor as a sort of miracle design, and it's not available on any other Cuisinart model. One note: the dough blade fits only in the large bowl, but with my old processor if you had smaller amounts of dough, you were supposed to use the regular blade, not the dough blade. I'd guess that with a small amount of dough, you could just use the regular blade in the 11-cup (medium) bowl in this one too.
I like having the storage unit that comes with it for the blades, etc. I would have had to buy something separate--another cost--if I'd gone with the Limited Edition instead of this one. Overall, it's an expensive unit, but packs a lot of value into its cost, with its three bowls, its adjustable slicing disk and its two-sided shredding disk (two degrees of fineness there). With my old unit, I ended up having to order extra disks for slicing and shredding to offer variety in sizes; with this unit, that flexibility comes with it. With the old unit, I never got around to ordering a storage unit for all the blades and that was one big mess (and maybe a dangerous mess) for one of my kitchen drawers. I couldn't have gotten away with that with all the extras coming with this unit, so if a storage container hadn't come with the unit, I'd have to have bought one. I'm grateful for having a food processor that comes with everything I'm likely to need.
Another good thing about this processor is the DVD it comes with. Rather long--longer than just the initial portion, which is also available on the Cuisinart web site on the page with this model--but well worth watching in its entirety. I usually don't pay attention to recipe booklets, etc. that come with equipment, but this one was different; the persons on the video actually do know something about cooking. I intend to use some of those recipe ideas sometime too; they all look good.
I'm not used to using the unit yet, so I'm nowhere close to using it so quickly and efficiently as the second cook on the video, the professional who generated most (or maybe all) of the recipes contained in the booklet. She demonstrates making a signifcant number of those recipes, and it's well worth watching even if you never intend to use any new recipes; it'll get you into the habit of using your new food processor a little differently than the ways you might have grown used to with your old unit. For instance, I paid attention to the method she used for bread, and decided to try it her way, which was the opposite of what I'd always done. I'd guess that some people who have trouble with the dough not working up well and not cleaning itself off the bowl sides are doing it my old way. Instead of specifying that method now, I'd ask you to watch the entire DVD; there's _lots_ there that will help you to get used to this new food processor.
If you buy this one, I hope you enjoy using yours as much as I'm enjoying mine!
Mary
Description of Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor
Combining the Cuisinart tradition of culinary excellence with groundbreaking innovation, the Cuisinart Elite Collection 12-cup food processor sets the bar for the next generation of kitchen appliances. With a 4-cup work bowl nested inside the big bowl, plus the adjustable 6 position slicing disc and reversible shredding disc, it provides home chefs with multiple food processors in one! The exclusive SealTight Advantage System is designed to deliver maximum bowl capacity and clean processing and pouring. The 12-cup food processor is equipped with 1000 watts of peak power and a variety of accessories that make every meal easier to prepare. It is truly the finest food prep appliance available for today's modern kitchen.Food Processors
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