need a new food processor. suggestions?

[mopinko]

i have a beloved little robocoup that is nearly 30 years old. i bought it at the marshall fields warehouse sale for a fat, at the time, $90.
i know they don't make them like that any more. the motor is still good, but the bowl is falling apart. i haven't really looked for parts, but i can't imagine they are out there.

i like this one-

http://www.smallappliance.com/product.asp?pid=10731&cur=USD&cam=cuisinart&sid=18956&mid=8&gid=18970&prdCls=G&ptab=PF&PartsPaNu=1&shopBy=Brand

i don't mind spending more, but i like that this is double duty. i rarely use a blender, so it would be nice to have this sort. honestly, i don't even use the processor that much. when i have a lot of shredding, i use my kitchen aid attachments. but when you need one, you need one.
so, likes, loves, hates?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. I have that one!

And I thought I had no need for a blender - until I got that one. It's also an ice crusher, which is really nice,

I have the big Cuisinart, which I use for great big jobs, but that little one is just terrific.

Mine was a gift, but that price looks pretty good.

On the other hand, for a few bucks more, you can find a full-size Cuisinart - http://www.smallappliance.com/product.asp?cur=USD&cam=cuisinart&sid=18956&gid=18970&mid=8&pid=1227&prdCls=G&shopBy=Brand - I got mine on sale at Macy's for $70 three years ago!

You cannot go wrong with the Cuisinart name, but I'm very biased.

And, after 30 years, I'd say you're due a nice new toy!!!

[Warpy]

2. The Cuisinart is a single purpose machine, alas

but it's the one I got, the smallest model with the shredding disc, think it's a 5 cup machine. It's perfect for breadcrumbs and cutting shortening into flour for pastry, my two main uses. I tend to use the mandoline for slicing and shredding, easier cleanup. Once in a blue moon I'll bang out 200 or so potstickers for freezing and the Cuisinart does a great job on the filling and the dough.

A simple Oster blender with a single switch for high or pulse/medium is what I got for smoothies and Chinese sauces. The food processor just won't do those things effectively. The Oster was inexpensive, the retro beehive base, and is nearly indestructible. As a nice touch, the base is removable for thorough cleaning.

Unlike the OP, I've had bad luck with combination machines that always seem to do all things badly and have a lot of junk to be stored and then lost at critical times.

Using 2 specialized machines works well for me, and I recommend both brands highly.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. The Cuisinart posted in the OP has a single base,

but two containers, different blades, and works wonderfully.

Your experience with combination machines was with Cuisinart? Might have been of lesser quality. I've only had Cuisinart, and they have been terrific.................

[hippywife]

4. I'm still using my 20 year old Cuisanart

and am really happy with it. I think it's 7-cups. I hope they are still as well made as they were when it comes time to replace this one. It's been a real boon in my kitchen for so many things!

What you're looking at seems like it would be a real space saver but I'm always leery of combination appliances like that. Not sure why.

Hope you find one that you love! :hi:

[mopinko]

5. I am leary as well

I had some thing that was a mixer and a blender and something else. it was dead in a year
this seems a little more straight forward

[pengillian101]

6. I love this Braun model of a stick blender/processor/soup blender, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B00006I4YF/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=284507&s=kitchen

http://www.amazon.com/Braun-MR5550CA-Multiquick-Professional-Blender/dp/B00006I4YF

[mopinko]

8. stick blenders

one of the things DH and i did this week, since we are on a staycation here in chicago, was to go nosing around in the restaurant supply stores. i bought myself a nice mandoline for $80. we were looking for a 10 qt. hobart, which we struck out on.
we saw a commercial stick blender for $200 that has been talking to me ever since. wouldn't be of all that much use in the kitchen, but it would sure be awesome in my studio. i mix casting slips and glazes with a mortar mixer, which doesn't really break up the clumps very well. and i have also been doing some cast paper sculpture, which really needs a tough blender. i think the accepted best machine for that is about $600. but that puppy would do the trick without a doubt.

i have had a few gizmos made by braun, and an not all that impressed with the brand. their stuff should either be cheaper or tougher. i think that i would kill that gizmo within a year. even without using it to mix cement.

[Mind_your_head]

7. Marshall Fields.......

I still/will always miss them. :cry:

macy's is 2nd/3rd string...... *blech* macys is NO Marshall Fields....that was a BAD BAD DECISION TO SHUT DOWN ALL OF THAT BRAND LOYALTY people had in Marshall Fields.....it was a stupid/wrong gamble.

[mopinko]

9. i wasn't that big of a fields shopper, but it sure was a part of my childhood.

i had an aunt that was a buyer for them at one time, and wouldn't shop anywhere else. aunt loretta was the epitome of class. she took my little sister and i there a couple of times. i took my kids down to see the windows many times, as well.
i used to go there to get a christmas present for my mom most years. it didn't matter what it was, as long as it came in that green bag.

yeah, it was really, really stupid to throw that brand away. i think they sunk it the day they decided to stop making frangos in the store. just stupid.

[Mind_your_head]

10. Marshall Fields *respected* it's customers.

Walmart uses its *customers* like the *fools that they are* b/c Walmart's shoppers have don't know that they have any OTHER CHOICE....so they have been lead to believe. :cry:

'Or *do* they? :think: