best size food processor for daily use (freeze, meals, garden)

[KittenSparkles]

I posted a thread here about how my 35-year-old Cuisinart finally broke this past week.

So I am on the market for a new one.

The models I am looking at range in size from 7 cup to 14 cup bowl size.

I will probably also get a "mini" size as well 2-3 cup.

I am trying to decide which size would suit my needs best.

Its hard to decide!

I tend to cook smaller portions in general, so I am not cooking for a family of 5, for example. But I do freeze portions of larger batches so I can eat the meals later.

What size do you have and what do you tend to use it for?

What sizes do you use and how does it work for you?

[Bulldogdad]

This for daily use



Its a hella of a lot easier to clean and faster.

Also my wife and I cook for a family of five including two teenagers and a college student.

We save the big food processor for the holiday meals or when we are batch cooking.

[irman]

I have but only one *rule*.
You can process a little bit in a big one, but you can not process a lot in a small one.
I have the same rule for all my pots and pans ... up to a point !

Small container versus large container.
I honestly do not see a huge difference in cleaning a small container versus a large container.

[nmnita]

I have a 16 cup one that is way to big and i only use it for canning. I also have a little food chopper which I love but it doesn't do as much as I need, so the other day I went to "Food Network" web site and checked what they had. I ended up buying a 3.5 cup one. I think it will be perfect. I wanted a 4 cup but only have found a couple and I didn't want to spend all my savings on a processor.

[lubby]

I have a 7 cup cusinart that I use at least once a week. I have a smaller 2 cup processor that actually fits on top of my oster blender,(it came with the blender), I'll use that for chopping onions, garlic or small quantities of veggies.

[JustJulia]

I have a Kitchenaid that I like but never use because it's such a pain to wash all the parts. I haul it out of the cabinet two or three times a year.

[KittenSparkles]

Thanks for the replies - I think I will end up buying a moderate sized one, eventually.

I'm going to start with a mini first- 2-3 cup and see how that works for a while.....

[Debsi]

If I didn't already have a Kitchenaid processor that works, I'd get this one:

Amazon.com: Cuisinart FP-14BK Elite Collection 14-Cup Food Processor, Black: Home & Kitchen

I love the nesting bowls.. there are 3 sizes, they way they fit together you don't have any spillover mess to the larger bowl when you use the small bowl.

My kitchenaid came with a useless smaller bowl and chopping blade - useless because stuff flies over the top of the little bowl and gets the big bowl dirty while you're using it.

Mine is under the counter and only gets hauled out a few times a year.

[irman]

Anybody has any experience /comments with the *Ninja* food processor they keep hawking on *but wait* TV ?

I am thinking of *willing* our *processor* to one of our kids and then getting another blender.
The blender we have is a puny one.

To *replace* the food processor, I have a very good *Banjo* slicer which does a great job for almost everything i need to do.

The biggest problem I can see is that if you have too many gadgets, they all have so many *parts* to it, they kind of get lost ...

[Moonlady]

You can't beat a Cuisinart. I have the 7 cup size and find it does most everything I need. I rarely have to do two batches, but it's not so big that I can't use it for small stuff.