Food processor capacity
I'm thinking of buying my mom a food processor for Mother's Day. She has never owned one, but I know she would love it (she's super-jealous of mine!). Problem is, she has a very small kitchen, which means highly limited counter and storage space. I don't anticipate her using one too much... it'd be used more for the small things and smaller batches of food—my hungry hungry brothers are grown-ups now.
Is a 3-cup processor too small to get the job done? Or do you think a 7-cup is the minimum size? How big is your food processor, and what would you recommend for someone in her situation?
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9 Comments:
Mine's either 11 or 14 cup -- don't recall exactly, and there are only two of us. But I can't imagine that a 3-cup would be enough space for much at all. Maybe making a little hummus. You've got to figure that the bowl might be that capacity, but you don't ever fill it completely. And there are things you can do in the larger ones that you couldn't do in a smaller one, like make bread dough.
Seven cup might be okay...but would there be a way to let her choose which she wants instead of giving her a specific one? If you get her a good one, it's going to last a long time, so I think it might be better to get her exactly what she wants instead of her dealing with one that's too big or too small, just because she doesn't want to offend your choice of gifts.
dbcurrie at 10:26PM on 05/06/09
Why don't you call her up and ask her? Tell her you're willing to ruin the surprise to make sure she gets something she really wants. I do this with my bf all the time and get great results. Frame it in the view that since it's her day, it should be a gift of her choice. Who knows, there may be something else she wants you never thought of too!
joyyy at 12:32AM on 05/07/09
I started with a Cuisinart mini -prep - just because the same reasons, small kitchen and was not sure if I was going to use it much. Now I have graduated to a 7 cup one... kitchen is still small so I keep in on top of the stove on one of the ranges I do not use...
If you're giving it as a gift go for the CUISINART... i like the brand and has always been super reliable in my experience.
MadelynRodriguez at 2:36AM on 05/07/09
Bought mine as an empty-nester single, and got a 7. Would not have gone smaller in my New-York-apartment-sized kitchen. Eventually gave it to my daughter and bought a slightly larger one, but I'd re-married and moved into a larger kitchen.
lemons at 10:03AM on 05/07/09
Here's the thing - Whenever I use my FP, it's usually for a pretty hefty quantity of food. It doesn't pay to dirty a FP and attachments to mix one cup of ingredients. I'd go for either the 11 or 14 cup capacity so when your mom really wants to bust out and flex her culinary muscle, she won't have to do 17 batches in a smaller FP. You're a good daughter and that will be a great gift!
therealchiffonade at 10:24AM on 05/07/09
Well if you have time look for KitchenAid 11cup models on ebay. I picked up a refurb one for $90, total with shipping and two year warranty from swauretrade was just about $130, a good $70 of the new price with a longer warranty it was $129 but the seller was taking best offers on the buy it now price and had a few dozen in stock. I picked it up for my wife for our anniversary and it is the newest model inthe series not an older discontinued one and it included a small 4cup work bowl for smaller jobs. We like in a tiny house with limited counterspace and considering the size of the workbowl it doesn't take upp too much space and is light enough to be stored if need be.
binonut at 10:26AM on 05/07/09
I bought a 7 cup Cuisinart for my parents and they love it. It's perfectly sufficient for their needs and doesn't take up too much space. I personally have a 14 cup monster that I love and it also has a mini processor that fits inside, just in case I need to make something little. It's either a Kitchenaid or a Cuisinart. For some reason I can't recall!
meem21 at 10:36AM on 05/07/09
It depends on what she's going to use it for. If she makes pie/bread/pizza doughs--then she'll love an FP, but need a larger size. Also the larger ones come with the shredding and slicing discs--will she make use of those?
If she's only going to use it for chopping and mixing then I'd probably suggest you buy an immersion blender with a chopping attachment.
It's psychologically proven that we don't use items we don't see as often as what's in our faces, so if she can find the counter space for a larger one, she'll most likely make much more use of it than if it must be stored and taken out each time she wants to use it.
I have a KA 12-cup, with a 4-cup mini bowl, I use both many times a week, I even use it more than my KA mixer or blender, and though I mostly cook for 3, I wouldn't trade the 12-cup size for anything smaller.
I agree with the suggestions to ask her what she wants, now that my family is all older we do this, and getting what we actually want, far trumps the ruining of a surprise.
bobcatsteph3 at 11:54AM on 05/07/09
You can make smaller batches of things in the big one, but making multiple small batches could be a royal PITA and maybe not possible. Some of the Kitchenaid FPs come with small or small and medium prep bowls that nest in the big bowl, which makes them useful when you're really just doing a little bit of something.
Obviously, space is always a consideration, but if this one device can take the place of several others, it's worth the space. And honestly, I wonder how much smaller the 7-cup is compared to the 11 or 14-cup when we're talking about counter space. Maybe an inch or two in width? Three inches? It may not really be significant, once you've decided that a FP will be living on your counter. It's not like one is four inches wide and the other is two feet.
dbcurrie at 5:08PM on 05/07/09