Sales Rank: 9339


Features:

10-year motor warranty

14-cup work bowl offers maximum capacity

Wide mouth feed tube shortens prep time

Touchpad Dough Control and PowerPrep dough blade make dough quickly

Custom spatula, recipe book, and how-to video included

Average Rating:
Rating: - A Cook's Dream Machine
I bought this machine using a gift certificate from my last place of employment plus a little of my own dinero, and have been absolutely thrilled with it. It has flawlessly and effortlessly kneaded pasta dough, mixed a double batch of heavy gingerbread cookie dough, grated parmesan cheese to a fine powder, rescued slightly lumpy gravy, whisked together cornbread in seconds, and most recently sliced a variety of vegetables for tossed salad for 25 people (which I was requested to bring to a party--I am not a "salad person," so I was tickled when everyone praised my contribution!). I had never used a food processor for slicing, but it did a beautiful job with bell peppers and cucumbers--artfully thin, but not too fine a cut. As promised, it even did a fine job mincing just a couple of garlic cloves and also a handful of parsley, meaning that I could do a dinner's worth of food-processing in just one machine.

The accompanying video can only be watched by people who take food equipment seriously; other family members had to be asked to leave the room during the viewing, as there was much giggling about the over-earnest instructions. Nevertheless, I picked up some fabulous tips about using the Cuisinart, and recommend you sit (alone, or with a true believer) and watch it beginning to end.

The surface of the machine is very easy to clean, and Cuisinart recommends the dishwasher for the bowl and blades. Do be careful with the latter--Cuisinart should really include the disk holder, as it is dangerous to leave these accessories lying around in a kitchen drawer.

This is the third food processor I have owned, and though I mourned the demise of my trusty Panasonic (rated highly by Consumer Reports ten years ago), with this high-end Cuisinart I have "been to Paree" and have no intention of going back to the farm. If you do any industrial-strength cooking, or if you (like me) are sold on using a food processor as a high-powered, self-contained unit for basic mixing duties, this is a wonderful accomplice in your prandial ventures. Bravo Cuisinart!

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Rating: - Make room on the counter, you'll use it a lot
I bought my DLC-2014 about a year ago when replacement parts for my 15-year-old Bosch became too hard to find. I was encouraged by the Cuisinart reputation and the outstanding reviews it received, and wasn't disappointed when it arrived.
The machine is heavy- no more posting a kid by the counter to make sure it doesn't walk off if I have to step away for a few seconds. It's aerodynamically smooth on the outside, so it's a snap to clean. (I was going to say "sexily smooth" but I realized that sounds a little strange when you're talking about a food processor. But then, if you truly love quality kitchen tools, as I do, maybe it wouldn't be going too far.) I don't buy anything I have to wash by hand and everything but the base can be put into the dishwasher. I use it on a daily basis, and often find myself making, for example, 3 batches of bread dough in quick succession rather than pull out and assemble my big mixer. (I feel that the processor does tend to heat bread dough up a little, so I might recommend adjusting the temperature of the water in recipes.)
I was devastated the one time I had problems with it- my 7 year old was mixing cookie dough in it and it just stopped and simply would not start again. (I'll admit I wasn't watching too closely so I don't know why it happened; I suspect she must have put in ingredients in the wrong order). I felt a little better when I looked in the manual and saw that there is a 10-year warranty on the motor, and was overjoyed later when, after I gave it sufficient time to cool off, it worked as if it were new.
My biggest complaint about the processor, and this did not keep me from giving it a "5", is that with normal household use, the cover and pusher assembly have developed some cracks which, so far, have not affected performance. The white plastic piece on the work bowl handle is loose, too, and if it comes off completely it may end up causing me to replace the bowl, as it shields the locking mechanism. A friend has commented that she has been similarly disappointed with her Cuisinart processor. I don't coddle the parts; perhaps they were dropped at some point (I'll blame the kids- they won't read this!) or had some heavy dishes placed on top of them in the sink, or it could have been stress cracks caused by the heat of the dishwasher (though I always place them on the top rack). Whatever the reason, I never expected the Lexan parts to show this much wear so quickly. After looking unsuccessfully for replacement bowls and covers at various online sites, I finally found that I could order them directly from Cuisinart. (Hint, hint, Amazon!) The price for a complete bowl and cover assembly shocked me- about a third of what I paid for the whole processor. Will I buy the parts, at what I feel are too steep prices? Of course. I have to. I won't even wait until the ones I have now become unusable, because that would mean going for -gasp!- a week or more without it, and around here, that would be as unbearable as the time our coffeemaker went- but that's a different review.

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Rating: - A Marvel Of A Machine!
I have loved and used Cuisinart Food Processors for over 25 years. If anyone is looking to purchase one, I highly suggest the 14-cup Power Prep, a marvel of a machine.

First of all, you can knead French bread dough in just 40 seconds!

You can use a Cuisinart FP for almost every recipe, but I've written just a few Rules of Thumb (tips) that I have found to be tried and true!

Kneading
White Bread: The 14-cup model will do recipes up to 6 cups of white flour (2 large French Bread loaves). Add your bread recipe ingredients (with half of the white bread flour listed in the recipe) to the work bowl, process to make a smooth batter. Add the rest of the flour, 1 cup at a time (with the last 1/2 cup through the feed tube) until the dough collects and starts to clean the sides of the bowl. Then count to 40, to dough perfection.

Wheat Bread: I've found that 3-cup whole-wheat flour recipes are best suited for this size of model (1 large loaf) since 100% whole wheat is twice as heavy white bread flour.

Rolls: Process until the dough collects and cleans the sides of the bowl, then count for 30 seconds.

Pasta or Tortillas recipes: Process and knead until the dough collects and cleans the sides of the bowl. Chilling the dough in plastic wrap for 30-60 minutes makes rolling much easier.

Piecrusts: Cutting in the fat, is simplified in a Cuisinart. Using very cold butter slices in place of shortening, rivals the best tasting crusts too. FYI: Don't process the dough to a dough ball, just PULSE until the mixture pinches together easily between your fingers. Dump the contents onto wax paper, then form dough into a ball and knead a few times by hand (adding a teaspoon of water or two, as needed). Wrap the pastry ball in plastic and chill for an hour for easy rolling.

Quick Breads: Add recipe ingredients and PULSE, just until the flour barely disappears. Scrape out contents into greased pans.

Enjoy your Cuisinart Purchase!

Warmly,
Sharon Anne

Check out my cooking info site www.sharonanne.com for more tips and recipes.