Cuisinart DLC-2ATQ Mini-Prep Plus Processor, Turquoise

When I starting searching for a mini-chopper I was surprised by the huge rating difference between the Cuisinart DLC2 and the KitchenAid KFC3100, so I bought both and did a side-by-side comparison. The only explanation I can give for the ratings difference is that Cuisinart buyers must have higher expectations. For most operations they have nearly identical performance and for some operations the Cuisinart is the clear winner.

Onions: Many Cuisinart reviewers panned its performance here, claiming it made onion purée, but most KitchenAid reviewers praised its onion chopping ability. I found almost no difference between the two. Maybe its an issue with the instructions - for chopped onions you must use a few short pulses. A few more pulses and you get minced onion - more than this and both give you onion puree. I wouldn't say either is great at chopping onions, but both are equally mediocre.

I also tested chopping nuts, and making breadcrumbs with...Read more

I got this as a gift from my boyfriend and have been using it regularly. This is one of those things that you don't think you ever need (and I did give this topic extensive thought), but once you have it, you would really miss it.

The good is that it is really good at FINELY chopping things.
The bad is that it is really good at FINELY chopping things.

Keeping this in mind, I've learnt when to use and when to just use my knife. For instance, when chopping walnuts for banana bread, I put a cup of walnuts into the processor and hit "Chop" - it immediately chopped the walnuts into good sized chunks, but there was a couple of walnuts that didn't get cut yet, so I hit the "Chop" button a couple more times, but that turned the rest of the walnuts to a very small almost "powder" consistency. I tried it again, with about the same results. I guess I could try putting in less walnuts at a time, but then that would defeat the purpose of "less work" since I'd...Read more

I have the Mini-Prep and I have the big guy version, but I use the MP 10x as much. It does everything! Want chopped garlic? peel a couple heads, add 2-3T of olive oil and about a 1/4-1/2tsp. of salt. It keeps in a jar in the fridge and tastes a heck of a lot better than the store kind! Fresh herbs, nuts, peppers without burning hands...it's great! When I'm done, I just rinse it out. This is my favorite appliance after my blender, and if this made smoothies and margaritas, it would be my favorite!