Cuisinart DLC-1BK Mini-Prep 21-Ounce Food Processor, Black

This is a great little food processor. It can handle a lot despite it's size, and it's pretty easy to clean.

The negative review of the Cuisinart mini-prep surprised me. This is an enormously useful little gadget for both the hobbyist chef and casual cook. Obviously, a mini-prep doesn't have the same power as a full-size food processor. If choosing between the two, go with a full-size model. As part of an array of tools, including a full-size processor, a blender, a mixer, a bread machine, and a hand held blender, however, the mini-prep has its uses. (Okay, I'm a gadget freak.) I would slot the mini-prep fourth on that list in terms of importance and utility.

What does the mini-prep do well? It has a very sharp blade and a high speed motor. So it is great at tasks like pureeing garlic; finely chopping onions (no more tears) and other vegetables; grinding coffee beans, nuts, and spices; roughly chopping peanuts for pad thai, and making small amounts of pureed sauces.

Cautions: The blade is very sharp! I have sliced my fingers several times. Unless you intend to puree the product, never...Read more

A few years ago a friend gave me a hand-me-down full-size food processor, but I had never used one before and was intimidated by the size and all the different blades, and never used it. This summer, with my basil and parsley growing in unprecedented quantities, I discovered my blender was not adequate for making pesto so I purchased the Cuisinart Mini-Prep. It's easy to use and not intimidating at all. I will second what one of the other reviewers said, though: it was not obvious that the lid had to be locked in a certain position as well as the base, and the first time I hit the Grind button and nothing happened, I thought I had bought a dud. With a little fiddling around, I finally figured it out, and the pesto that came out was of uniform consistency (unlike my chunky blender version) and delicious.