Consumer Reports tests 20 food processors

Whether you're shredding vegetables or chopping nuts a good processor can save you a lot of time, but do you have to spend hundreds of dollars for a quality machine? Consumer Reports has partnered exclusively with 7 On Your side to find out.

Many cooks rely on a food processor these days to handle the prep work. Consumer Reports just put 20 to the test and found top dollar delivers top performance, but you can get quite a bit of bang for your buck by spending as little as $50.

As a home pastry chef, Teryn Beyer saves tons of time by using her food processor.

"If I have a big order for carrot cakes, instead of sitting there with the grater and the carrots, I can just throw them all in here and it grates them perfectly, or it can chop nuts, or anything," said Beyer.

In the market for a food processor? Consumer Reports tested 20.

The Breville Sous Chef vaulted past the top-rated Cuisinart processor - acing many of Consumer Reports' tough tests -- including slicing mushrooms and shredding carrots.

"And it's relatively quiet, so you can easily have a conversation while you're working," said Dan DiClerico, Consumer Reports.

This sous chef has a 16-cup work bowl, a mini-bowl insert, and a case where you can neatly and safely store a ton of blades and accessories. But it's 18 inches tall and weighs nearly 20 pounds.

"This is clearly a high-end product that requires premium counter space. It does also come at a premium price - $400," said DiClerico.

If you can live with less than perfect results, consider the $50 Hamilton Beach model number 70730. It has a decent-size 10-cup work bowl and is fairly light for easy storage. And while it didn't do a great job puréeing peas, it was very good at slicing mushrooms and did an excellent job shredding carrots.

"The downside is it's very noisy," said DiClerico.

Still, it does a lot really well and at a price that's hard to beat.

Consumer Reports also tested food choppers; the mini-processors don't slice or shred but are great for small, quick jobs, like chopping nuts and herbs or grating a small chunk of cheese. Most are easy to store. Consumer Reports recommends the Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus DLC-2A for $40.

Consumer Reports is published by Consumers Union. Both Consumer Reports and Consumers Union are not-for-profit organizations that accept no advertising. Neither has any commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site.

(All Consumer Reports Material Copyright 2010. Consumers Union of U.S. Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

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