I enjoy having multiple options and or attachments if possible, but I don’t want to sacrifice any individual functionality. Something reliable would be a pre-requisite.
My wife worked at a fancy kitchen store for a long time. She tested out a whole lot of small appliances, demo’d them for customers, saw what people returned and exchanged, etc. and generally knows what’s what.
And her general advice is to go breville for basically every small kitchen appliances. I can really only think of 4 exceptions- KitchenAid for stand mixers, Vitamix for blenders, croquade for waffle makers, and the Ninja Crispi for countertop air fryers.
I’ve really put our breville sous chef through it’s pages over the years, Shen had it since before we started dating to easily more than 10 years, and it’s still going strong.
I’ve had good luck with most of my Breville devices. This tracks. Tell her I say thanks! (I love my Breville BOV900BSS Air Fryer toaster oven though, so she’s right AND wrong! 😂)
We do also have a breville toaster oven/air fryer (slightly different model though) and do love it. Probably use it more and get better results from it than our regular oven.
It is not, however, the greatest air fryer out there. It’s certainly passably but we definitely get better results from the crispi, and the Ninja is much easier to clean.
I whole-heartedly recommend their toaster ovens without reservation. And if you lack the storage/counter space for a dedicated air fryer o it will certainly do.
My one wish is that they’d make a toaster oven with a rotisserie.
Alacrity… the terminal?
/jHummus is best made in a blender. Smooth and fluffy. Also a blender is good for making nut butters. I use the 710 ML bullet on my Ninja and a can of chickpeas with just a little of the liquid as the base for hummus (plus lemon, garlic, olive oil, etc.). I have to puree all my husband’s food so it gets used almost daily and it’s holding up well. Noisy though.
A food processor is best for things like chimichurri or pesto, where you want to keep a little texture. And of course all the other things it can do. I have one but it isn’t especially good, I’ve had better.
Wirecutter:
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-food-processor/
Consumer Reports:
I’ve posted a pdf of the Consumer Reports article here.
Chiming in to remind people to check with their library to see if it gives them full access to Consumer Reports.
Yup! They’re great. We decided to splurge for a subscription this year, but they’re the GOAT when it comes to consumer reviews.
I subscribe to them. But they are not ALWAYS correct, and sometimes are out of date, and sometimes it’s just numbers, without any written analysis. So I like to solicit multiple sources of opinion and experience.
And they’re quite a bit off for electronics. Rtings is WAY better.
Do you like the Rtings pick for best noise cancelling headphones? I have a knee jerk aversion to anything audio coming from Sony for sound quality, but I believe the headphones might be different?
I haven’t listened to them but they do get reviewed well almost everywhere. They have more bass by default than I like and they dip a bit in the treble which I also don’t prefer (I like slightly bright and otherwise balanced sound).
I share your preferences I think
Americas Test Kitchen also recommends the Cuisinart 14 cup food processor.
Gotta confirm. It’s built like a tank and bloody heavy. Wife has had one for over 15 years and it still works as well as it did when she first got it. It may as well be commercial grade. It may be expensive but you won’t ever have to buy another.
I inherited my cuisinart food processor, it’s from the early ‘80s or so, going strong. I do use a stick blender a lot more, though.
The secret to alacritous hum is to soak the chickpeas in water with a little baking soda. Makes it restaurant smooth. Any processor will do.
How long do you usually soak them, please?
For raw chickpeas: Overnight. Make sure the water level is twice as high because they expand quite a bit.
For canned chickpeas you simmer them for 20 mins with a teaspoon of baking soda.
For both, rinse thoroughly.
Thanks very much
Take a look at stick blenders. They are very versatile and eliminate a lot of the junk that comes with traditional food processors/blenders.
I agree - I make a lot of soup, and can use the stick blender directly in the saucepan. So much easier to clean than a jug blender.
I have the following two food processors:
Cuisinart Food Processor, 14-Cup
Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor, 24-Ounce Mini Food Processor
I have owned a 14 cup Cuisinart food processor for quite some time. I bought the one linked above back in 2018 to replace an older Cusinart that was exactly the same, except it had a white base. The older one’s motor died after 25 years. The newer one is going on 7 years and it still looks and works like new. It comes with the grater and mandolin attachments, as well as the normal and dough blades.
The smaller 24oz processor is indispensable in my kitchen. It does a much better job than the large one when I have to cut a recipe in half. It’s easier to setup, use and clean. However, it is not quite as heavy duty as its larger brother. I have to replace it about every 8 years or so. It actually sees a lot more use than the larger one in my kitchen.
Does the 24 ounce work as a spice grinder?
It can, kinda. If you have a lot of spices to grind, it will work. If you just need a tablespoon or so, then it’s a bit bulky for that.
For spices I use this one: KrupsKRUPS F203 Grinder
It works for any amount.
Breville.
There are two good food processor companies: KitchenAid if you have the money, and Kenwood if you want something professional, but still affordable.
I’ve been using this one for like 7 or 8 years now with no complaints
My neighbor always makes the best hummus. He asked what I was using after I kept making unsatisfying batches and when I told him I used a food processor, he said that was the problem. He uses a shark blender I believe and it is the perfect consistency. The blender is a lot easier to clean too compared to the food processor.
A few years ago I was looking at buying a new food processor and a new blender. I wanted to buy something that would not wear out easily and that I could probably still get parts for if either one ever needed repair. Price was a bit of a factor but I was willing to pay for quality. I finally settled on a Cuisinart 14 cup food processor (DFP-14BKSY) and a Vitamix Standard (5200) blender. Both are professional quality and have been very reliable since the day I bought them more than five years ago.
I don’t have any personal advice to offer but I have a consumer reports subscription so I pasted your message into the CR apps chat feature in case it might help you; here’s the response:
If you want a reliable food processor that can whip up hummus quickly and comes with multiple options or attachments—without sacrificing performance—we’ve got a few top picks from our latest CR tests.
Our staff consistently recommends the Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 DLC-8S. It has an 11-cup capacity, separate slicing and shredding discs, and excellent ratings for chopping, slicing, and shredding. It’s also quiet and dishwasher-safe, making cleanup easy. There were no notable flaws in its performance, and it’s built to last with a 3-year motor warranty.
If you want something with a few more bells and whistles, the Breville The Paradice 9 BFP638 offers a dough blade, dicing kit, and organizer, plus a 30-year motor warranty.
Both models are versatile, reliable, and should make hummus with ease. For more tips, check out our Food Processor & Chopper Buying Guide.
