It offers extra power; a larger, 16-cup blending bowl; and nicer features compared with the Cuisinart Custom 14. The Sous Chef powered through an entire russet potato in less than a second—noticeably faster than any of the other models. And despite its power, the Sous Chef was the quietest of the bunch at kneading dough.
It’s too small for kneading bread dough and lacks the attachments to shred or slice, but it’s great for completing basic tasks quickly, and it’s easier to clean and store than a full-size model. Although there’s some overlap in what they can do, food processors and blenders aren’t interchangeable appliances. A food processor is the best tool for chopping and mincing, because cuisinart choppers its wide base allows the blades to slice through more at once, so you can coarsely chop ingredients quickly and evenly. Most full-size food processors also come with blades for slicing and grating, which a blender can’t do. To process small batches of ingredients, you may want to consider getting a mini food processor—even if you already have a full-size version.
The work bowl is tall rather than wide, so in testing it did a good job chopping small amounts of garlic. It also did well chopping onions, nuts, tomatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. It wasn’t perfect at chopping green peppers, but it was acceptable for recipes. Besides chopping, we used it to make a tomato puree and peanut butter, and it performed well with those tasks. Food processors are versatile appliances every home cook should have in their kitchen.
Unfortunately, when we tested it and then washed it with dishes with tomato residue, the spoon and cap got stained by tomatoes. For folks who like to do a lot of prepping ahead, extra bowls with covers are available for separate purchase. There are buttons to choose either chopping or grinding, which spins the blade to chop through food with the sharp edge or bash with the flat edge. The bowl holds three cups, so it’s enough for a batch of salsa or onions for a recipe.
Not only is stainless steel resistant to water, but it’s highly durable and easy to maintain. The ease of use of a food chopper essentially boils down to whether it is manual or electric. While both models are fine for cooks of all levels, an electric food chopper definitely takes some of the labor out of the process. It will run you a bit more money, but operating it is as simple as the push of a button. There’s a handy pouring spout for dispensing liquids, and a drizzle hole in the lid that’s handy for making emulsified sauces or for slowly adding liquid to purees.