Food Processor Recommendations Please!

[haverawcake]

I need to buy a new food processor. My ancient Kenwood has finally given up on me and I want to buy a decent one this time. I would also like to get something that can cope with large quantities as I am planning on launching a new line of made to order Raw Chocolate Brownies very soon :)
I have these on my shortlist:
Cuisinart (http://www.electricshopping.com/shop/shop.do?pID=247&cID=38&gclid=CM7vxrL6jp0CFdRb4wodViC63A)
Magimix (http://www.armorica.co.uk/Kitchen_Electrical/Magimix_Food_Processors/Magimix__5200_Food_Processor__/2319/2001)
Kitchenaid (http://www.armorica.co.uk/Kitchen_Electrical/Food_Processors/KitchenAid_Artisan_Food_Processor/15/1957)

[haverawcake]

OK, I've done a bit of research. I think I'm going to go for the Cuisinart.

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Could you post on how you have found the Cuisine Art, I need to get another processor am toying with the magimix 5200 or saving for the Blixer....maybe both!

[haverawcake]

Hi Karen
I have not got it yet - still debating! What do you think between the Magimix and Cuisinart from reviews? I have read some less good reviews on Amazon about the Magimix 5200. I must admit I have been eyeing up the Robot Coupes myself but really can't justify all that money. Do you think they are that much better?
Annette

[Debbie Took]

Really hope I'm not too late here.

I've had a Cuisinart for 18 months or so.

It's...OK. I don't have much to compare it with, but was borrowing mother-in-law's ancient one before that, and, actually, the Cuisinart didn't seem much better.

About six months ago, a friend borrowed it, and the motor went (I really felt for her!). Service was very good and they delivered another one very quickly.

One beef (vegan equivalent needed!) I have about the Cuisinart is that, although I've always washed it out quickly after using it, the jug looks all misted up/dirty (and covered with tiny scratches. I don't know if this is the case with all food processors, but can't imagine it is.

Also, there are tiny bits of gunge stuck inside the plastic handle, that I can't get out, and, when posting about this on the Raw Food UK, found Cath Parker had the same problem.

And...one more thing...I remember trying to get an extra thin slicing blade and couldn't get it in this country.

I think it's fair to say I'm 'reasonably' satisfied with my Cuisinart, and I bought it on special offer at Debenhams for £150 instead of £250.

But, if I were buying again, I'd be looking at Magimixes.

[karen @rawchocolateheaven]

Hi Annette
I had a nice man from Robot coup pop in and demo the blixer, I was impressed it made my almond nut butter in seconds, he demo'd the 4ltr tub, so bigger than most people need, however in the vitamix I can only make one 9 inch nut cake base, it is only capable of turning over the mixture for a short while without heating to much, whereas the blixer will do 4 cake base volumes, so really cuts down on time. If you need the whipped effect of mouse that is nice keep a vitamix, the blixer wont beat or airate as the blades are weird turning the mixture on itself this is how it works so quick. it's all stainless with a windscreen wiper on the lid so there is no waste food stuck to the machine, everything gets nicely processed.
I heard the magimix was slightly better than the cuisinart, magimix is the domestic arm of Robot Coupe!!
but i've not had a demo of either of the 2 domestic things! With the vitamix it's ok but if I wasn't commercial I would opt for the rhino.
Any one got a comparison for the green star / kempo / angel???
am looking at the angel...but lots of money so unsure!!!
help xx
Karen

[haverawcake]

Thanks for your replies Debbie and Karen
I have a Rhino rather than a Vitamix and I am very happy with it. I use my Rhino for home things though. The food processor is for both home and commercial - I am going to be starting to make some Raw Chocolate Brownies commercially and a blender jug has not enough capacity and again has the issue of heat. I much prefer a food processor for my Brownie recipe anyway. At the moment I have an ancient broken Kenwood that I have had for many years - the handle of the jug has come off and every time I use it I have to carefully put it back on or the motor will not run. It also only has the capacity for me to make about 12 Brownies, whereas I think with a 3.7l jug - either Cuisinart or Magimix - I should be able to make 25 - or a whole dehydrator tray full, which will be necessary when I start making these. I would also like something where I can run the motor for longer like I can with my Rhino rather than worrying it will burn out as I do with the Kenwood.
I did not realise Magimix were the domestic arm of Robot Coupe. I think both the Cuisinart and Magimix jugs are made of the same plastic that aeroplane windows are made from - so they might both have the same issues. There a couple of things I don't like the look of with the Magimix. One is that the small jug only works inside the big one. I need to grind flax seeds for my recipe, so I will need to do those first, as the ground flax is added to the rest of the ingredients in the processor later. This means putting the smaller jug inside the bigger one. As I am making these commercially I will then need to wash the inside of the bigger jug as it will be hard to ensure the outside of the small jug is totally clean, which seems a bit of a pain each time I use it. I guess the redeeming feature of this is that at least I get a small jug for grinding things like flax so I can discard the old one that came with my Kenwood rather than having even more appliances!
My second concern is that a number of people on Amazon have said that the blade attachment on theirs has broken on the 5200 and that it cannot cope with that size of jug. As it does not have a long parts warranty, they have to pay for it themselves. The Cuisinart, on the other hand, has a 20 year parts and motor warranty.
Those Robot Coupes look great but they really cost a fortune and to get a big enough one I would need to buy the 4 litre which is really expensive.
So, still debating and making do with the broken Kenwood.
I went into John Lewis in Cambridge today and a woman came up and asked me if I was interested in Food Processors - I said I wanted to get a better one than my old Kenwood that was broken - it turned out she was a representative from Kenwood - slightly embarrassing. I only saw some Kitchenaids which looked pretty sturdy but not very big in jug size so I am ruling those out. I guess another option might be to try and find a used Robot Coupe if there are any around.
Annette

[NutritionistJess]

The advice of my raw food teacher Peter Pure (who has been at the raw for many many years) was that the magimax and cusinart are the only tigers that count..........

In the raw food classes where people were using both types they seemed on a par, I was lucky enough to see them in action and effectively have a try before you buy, so I knew I was happy using the cusinart before I bought it.....

(well, my partner bought it, back when there was some money around!!)

I was running it for an hour mixing up an obsene amount of chocolate cake mix last week.....kept adding more ingredients and it was about 2 jug fulls....it's a 3.7l jug!!!. It did start to get a bit hot, even a whiff of smoky smell after that level of abuse....

but it does amaze me that you can end up with a solid lump in there, being chucked about, and it's such a robust, heavy machine that it doesn't fly off the work surface....it's a serious bit of kit....I do enjoy using it and marvelling at its abilities....I suppose I am as in love with it as I am the vitamix...

If people near Southampton want to come round and try a Vitamix/Cusinart in exchange for letting me have a bit of whatever they are testing it on they are very welcome!!!!!!! My friend has been coming for raw lessons/company ever since I came back to the area with this new way of eating.....she comes round to make soup/yoghurt solo now she's had lots of practise with me, and babysits the Vitamix if I'm away!

[haverawcake]

I finally ended up getting a Magimix 4200 after lots of debating. I must say, after the Kenwood it is fab! The special deal on the Cuisinart and gone by the time I made my decision and I had read some negative reviews about the Magimix 5200, yet the 4200 seemed to have great reviews. I am very happy with it so far. The only disadvantage is that the small bowl does not grind flax, whereas the mini bowl of my Kenwood does, which means I need to keep the base and mini bowl of the Kenwood for that. It is very sturdy and robust (and heavy!) and will make my processing much less time consuming than before.

[haverawcake]

I should update you with my food processor dilemmas. I only kept the Magimix for a week - it was all a bit of a disaster really. The first time I made some Brownies in it they were fine, then the second time the motor shaft that the blade goes in came out of the top. When I looked at it, the plastic it was made from had all become damaged. I did a bit of searching and found lots of reviews on Amazon saying their 5200 had done the same thing - mine was a 4200. Anyway, I was not impressed and returned it for a refund. I then decided I needed something else quickly as the bowl of my old Kenwood had broken having been dropped on the floor by husband and I had taken the rest of it to the local recycling centre as I had the Magimix. So I ordered one of these Kenwood Multi Pros (http://www.haverawcakeandeatit.co.uk/raw_food_uk/KENWOOD_MULTI_PRO_FP735.html) - basically a more powerful Kenwood.
I have been very happy with it and prefer it to the Magimix and make the Brownies for online orders with it each week, but that is currently only about 5 batches a week and I give it a rest between batches.
However, I am doing a stall at a Festival this weekend and I am supposed to be making 30 batches. I am just not sure it will cope with it and have been thinking about one of these Waring Commercial Blenders (http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/productdetail.asp?productCode=T738&mediaCode=JV-)
as it is a commercial blender that might do better with large quantities. It is on sale reduced from £649 plus vat to £399 plus VAT at the moment, so cheaper than the Robot Coupe.
I think the latest Cuisinart would be good too, but I just think I might be better with something commercial for large quantities.
Any advice welcome.

[haverawcake]

I should update you with my food processor dilemmas. I only kept the Magimix for a week - it was all a bit of a disaster really. The first time I made some Brownies in it they were fine, then the second time the motor shaft that the blade goes in came out of the top. When I looked at it, the plastic it was made from had all become damaged. I did a bit of searching and found lots of reviews on Amazon saying their 5200 had done the same thing - mine was a 4200. Anyway, I was not impressed and returned it for a refund. I then decided I needed something else quickly as the bowl of my old Kenwood had broken having been dropped on the floor by husband and I had taken the rest of it to the local recycling centre as I had the Magimix. So I ordered one of these Kenwood Multi Pros (http://www.haverawcakeandeatit.co.uk/raw_food_uk/KENWOOD_MULTI_PRO_FP735.html) - basically a more powerful Kenwood.
I have been very happy with it and prefer it to the Magimix and make the Brownies for online orders with it each week, but that is currently only about 5 batches a week and I give it a rest between batches.
However, I am doing a stall at a Festival this weekend and I am supposed to be making 30 batches. I am just not sure it will cope with it and have been thinking about one of these Waring Commercial Blenders (http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/productdetail.asp?productCode=T738&mediaCode=JV-)
as it is a commercial blender that might do better with large quantities. It is on sale reduced from £649 plus vat to £399 plus VAT at the moment, so cheaper than the Robot Coupe.
I think the latest Cuisinart would be good too, but I just think I might be better with something commercial for large quantities.
They also do these cheaper ones (http://www.nisbets.co.uk/products/productdetail.asp?productCode=CC026).
Any advice welcome.

Update - I made all the Brownies for the festival and my Kenwood survived so I think I will stick with it for now.

[Rawalchemist]

I have a multi pro and so far it does a pretty good job on small batches of stuff and has lots of attachments:638: I do look after it and give it a rest if I am making some doughy things like the superfood balls etc - I think that is key - resting and being careful;)...

Thanks for all the advice on machines - I too want to save up for a Vitamix wet and dry so perhaps in a year :bored:

Dawn xx