KitchenAid KFP740CR 9-Cup Food Processor with 4-Cup Mini Bowl, Chrome

Comment: Ordered this a couple years ago, for the price I was very surprised to see it was Made in China. Kitchenaid had always been American made and known for its top notch quality. Not anymore. I should've sent it back then and there, but for some reason I didn't.

At first I was impressed. Seemed quiet, powerful, and worked really well. After a few months of usage though the handle of the bowl started getting crud jammed in it and it's very difficult to open up and clean due to the idiotic nanny safety shut off device inside. Instead of making the handle solid and relying on the fact that you're smart enough not to stick your fingers in it while it's running, there's a stupid interlock that shuts it off if you open the lid. Not long after the cheap plastic on this broke and the only way to operate it at all was to stick a toothpick into the switch on the base which is hard to do and use it at the same time.

Recently while using it, the motor completely burned out. This after only a couple years of light (maybe once weekly) usage. I opened the unit up to see if the brushes are serviceable and found the motor is molded into the plastic of the base! It can't even be removed. Typical completely disposable cheap chinese junk. It's obvious kitchenaid cut every possible corner on this. I tossed it in the trash where it belongs and picked up a used Made in USA Kitchenaid food processor from the 80s on an online auction site as a replacement and have no doubt it will far outlast this one.

Never again will I consider any Kitchenaid products.

Comment: I got this for myself and have been really happy with it. After 5 months of use, it still looks new. It is a good strong processor. It runs great, will chop everything I use it for. It is nice and heavy, so I leave it out on the counter, esp since it has a nice clean look to it. This is also convenient since I use it quite often. It is a good size, I wouldn't want it to be any smaller, and really I wouldn't even mind if it were a bit larger. The extra, smaller bowl is handy at times, but when it is used, both bowls end up needing washing since the smaller one goes over the larger bowl, so I don't really use the smaller one very often.

Because I want the bowl to stay nice and clear, I never put it into the dishwasher, so I can't really say if it would hold up under that. It is easy to wash by hand, but the blades are very sharp, so I wouldn't let kids wash those. I have used a Cuisinart, and the lid to this one seems so much easier to get on and off with less steps to lock the lid in place, while still remaining safe.

The only complaint I have is the center stem which holds the blade. It is too short, therefore it does not come up enough, so some liquids tend to leak through that. I try to not chop too much wet stuff at a time just to allow for that, but it is something to watch for. I make a lot of salsa and smoothies in this, so it is very obvious. Still, I like the rest of the processor well enough that I will work around that.

I would recommend this processor. Just don't fill it more than a couple of inches with liquid at a time. Also, the shipping was fast, and KitchenAid paid their rebate fairly quickly, unlike most rebates seem to be.

Comment: No words can express how I feel about this machine...All I can say is FANTASTIC!!! Heavy duty, Solid, machinery that does everything I want it to do in little time.

Comment: I received this today and it is a beautiful addition to my kitchen! It is so sleek that I may even be keeping it out on the counter instead of hidden in the cabinet. I've never seen a food processor at this capacity looking so neat and of sleek design.
Of course I had to try it out on something, but what? I had none of the right ingrediants to prepare fresh salsa, wish I did! What I did have is a half of a container of heavy cream, so my 8 year and 5 year old kids and I poured it into the 4Cup bowl and within minutes we had fresh homemade butter to spread on our hot loaf of bread that just came out of the oven! I will report back again after making a few more things yummy goodness!

Comment: Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3CDWKQ1MBWTZ Purchasing this product as a gift for my wife has reminded me that quality, while not cheap, is worthwhile. The differences between this food processor and the little, cheap one we had before are of a much greater magnitude than I would have expected. A few examples:

- Even though this one has a tremendously more powerful motor, it is much quieter. While chopping food, it's about as loud as a drip coffee machine. Our old one was more like blow dryer volume.
- The blades are very efficient and chop large amounts of food in seconds.
- The usefulness in food preparation is much greater than a smaller unit -- large amounts of food can be arranged inside or dropped in, and the food pusher is a very useful component.

So far, we've used this to make large batches of baby food (e.g., peas, peaches, avocado) for freezing and the easiest pie crust my wife has ever made--just throw in the cold butter and ingredients and pulse!

Note: The plastic bowl scratches very easily. The first time we used it, we used a metal spoon to scoop out some puree. Bad idea. We now have a couple of small scrape lines on the inside of the bowl. Use a rubber scraper or the plastic one they include. Just a cosmetic thing, but annoying.

[Update 4/11/10: I've attached a video of me slicing a block of gouda cheese.]