For almost 30 years, Cuisinart has been THE name in food processors. It all started in 1971 when Carl Sontheimer - a physicist with a passion for cooking - attended a trade show in Paris and saw a Magimix, the original food processor, which was modeled after the 'Pros only' Robot Coupe. He purchased one, and after some re-engineering in his home workshop, the Cuisinart Food Processor was born. Since then, there has been only one serious challenger to Cuisinart's dominance, and that happened in 2001 when KitchenAid introduced their Professional 670.
What makes a food processor such an essential small appliance is that anyone with a strong enough index finger is capable of making gournet preparations previously available in only the finest restaurants. A push of the finger is all it takes to generate silky smooth purees, heavenly light mousse, perfect pie dough, and cups of chopped nuts or chocolate.
A food processor is not simply a substitute for a chef's knife. Although it can quite easily turn a cup of nuts into a finely chopped crust for fish, it is much simpler (nd faster) to mince a clove of garlic with a sharp chefs knifes.both superior (in the quantity of tasks it can perform) and inferior (in the quality of some tasks) to a sharp quality knife. Also, if you've ever tried to chop onions in a food processor, you'll notice that the cuts are very rough and a significant amount of liquid is forced out of the onion. Dicing/chopping by hand, with a sharp knife, helps to preserve the moisture in the food (and leads to much less crying in the case of onions).
Aside from this minor limitation, food processors are extremely versatile due to the different cutting discs they can use. Any food processor can cut, grate, chop, shred, puree, blend and sllice. What makes one model better than another is how well these separate components are designed, and how the function together.
A quality food processor will be heavy (10 lbs minimum). Heavier models will have larger, more powerful motors and will be more durable. They can easily handle strenous tasks, such as kneading dough and chopping chocolate without bouncing around your counter top as the dough/chocolate bounces around the inside of the bowl. Smaller motors will strain (and possibly burn out) under these heavier loads. A higher quality (heavier) food processor will end up being a bargain in the long run. The higher initial cost will be offset by its ability to perform even the hardest tasks without breaking down or needing to be replaced.
Another feature to look for when purchasing a food processor is to make sure that the plunger (the insert used to push items down the food chute) has a small opening at the bottom. This will make it much easier to drip oil in when preparing an emulsion (a stable mixture of 2 normally incompatable liquids). The most commonly prepared emulsions are mayonnaise, salad dressings/vinagrettes and pesto.
Other features to consider are the size(s) of the work bowl and the availability of accessory kits. Most food processors will come with either an 11 or 14 cup work bowl. The better models will have a smaller insert bowl (with appropriately sized mini-blade) to handle smaller tasks. Accessory kits can include anything from a dough blade or cheese shredder to a citrus press or ice-grater.
Regardless of whether you're a seasoned chef or weekend (or Holiday) warrior, you will first need to detemine what tasks you'll be using your food processor for, so you can purchase an appropriate model. If your not sure, my advice is to purchase a heavier, more durable model, from either Cuisinart of KitchenAid (mine is the KitchenAid). This way, if you do decide to flex your finger and make bread dough or pie crusts, you'll have a capable machine, not an underpowered unit that will make you wonder why you bought it in the first place.
