Customer Reviews

Cuisinart HFP-300 PrepExpress 220-Watt Handheld Electric Food Processor, White and Stainless Steel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I am a long-standing Cusinart food processor fan for 25 plus years. I couldn't imagine my kitchen without it. So when I discovered this product, I was sure that this would be a time-efficient way to quickly chop an onion without having to use my big Cuisinart food processor. I was confident that it would uphold Cuisinart standards for food processing. NOT THE CASE. Chopping/slicing peppers or onions was completely impossible. Very little came out of the chute as most of the vegetables were turned into a mushy pureed substance trapped between the blade and the round housing. In addition, as soon as the motor is turned on, a burnt odor is emitted leading me to think that the motor is burning out. I do not recommend this product to anyone and I am shocked that Cuisinart would put their name on this piece of junk!

Too much food remains in the part that does not detach. I shred carrots for my husband and I loose a good bit of the carrots that are left in the machine. The space between the cutter and the casing is where the carrots gather.

The cord also does not retract easily. I have to actually push it back into the machine.

I was very excited to get this small kitchen appliance as I thought it would make the process of shredding and grating produce much quicker. This gadget is poorly designed in every way. For starters, the spout is too low for most bowls. No mixing bowl that I have fits underneath. Second, the angle of the spout is not sharp enough. I have to constantly cut the power to reach my hand inside and pull out processed vegetables. If the angle were, sharper, gravity would probably take care of this. Third, the motor is very weak. With just a few carrots placed in the top, the motor starts slowing down. There is a consistent light burning smell from the unit when the motor slows down. Fourth, food constantly gets caught between the removable metal grating/shredding cylinders and the inside of the unit. I am only able to process a few vegetables before I have to cut off the power, open the unit and wash out all of the produce that is stuck inside. Cleaning the removable parts is easy, but food also gets stuck in crevices on the base unit which is very difficult to remove. I am not at all happy with this unit and would recommend that you look elsewhere for a shredding/grating appliance.

I am just excited when I tried through all the three drums, slicing a melon, grating a carrot, and shredding a chunk of cheese.

The result of the first two were just fantastic. The tasks were done quickly and nicely! Cleaning up just took me a couple of minutes.

The cheese that I used, however, was probably a bad choice. I used mozzarella. It was too soft so kind of stuck the drum. It also took me so much time to clean up the cheese that remained in the grooves.

Next time, I will definitely avoid mozzarella.

The experience otherwise was just fantastic.

My wife used a Moulinex (no longer in Business) food processor for years and was extremely pleased with it. The opening was narrower than the Cuisinart Prep Express and it rotated slower. The cutting drum/ body clearance was tighter and the design did not allow food to get past the rear of the cutting/grinding drum as happens with the Cuisinart. The Cuisinart spins so fast that food flies all over. My wife must tilt the Prep Express down into a large bowl (not convenient). Maybe Cuisinart should check the old Moulinex design. Another thought is a variable speed feature, like used in variable speed drills.
Amazon got the order to me in a very timely manner. Too bad the Prep Express underperformed. Pete

I have had the PrepExpress for about 2 months now. Initially, I was ok with it. I now notice it binds on carrots, overheats and turns itself off.

It is also kind of messy. Things that aren't really firm, like celery or onions, turn to mush. I have to clean it out several times as I go along.

I have actually looked at hand chopping as a better alternative...saves time in the long run and reduces mess and clean up.

I really love this tool. I loved it so much that I got one for my mom too. I bought it just to grind walnuts so I don't have to use the hand crank. It makes it really easy to grind walnuts and it's fast too. I shredded cabbage and it did a nice job. The cord retracts just like any other product I've had so I'm not disappointed there either. I was really surpised by the low scores in these reviews.

I missed my old Salad Shooter when the feed channel cracked. I found this one - it handles the potatoes I shred for Sunday hash browns, and slices veggies easy for salads.

The performance you get from the device really depends on what you're doing with it. Here is my experience, item by item, followed by some general observations:

Hard Cheese (Pecerino Romano, Parm, Reggiano): Shreds with no problem unsing the regular or fine shredding wheel. Comes out of shoot with no problems.

Cheddar Cheese: Again, shreds with no problem, but does collect in shoot on the way out. I usually get around this be operating the unit horizontally in mid air, with the shoot pointing straight down into the bowl. If you do this, make sure the shoot is below the edge of the bowl, so that any cheese getting flung out sideways hits the bowl and not everything else in you kitchen.

Potatoes & Cucumbers: These both handle the same, so I've listed them together. They shred with no problem on the regular shred wheel, but they have a real problem coming out the shoot. I just use a small rubber spatula to pull it out as the drum rotates. I got good at it and it really isn't a problem anymore for me. I make hashbrowns all the time with this thing.

Chocolate: Fine shred wheel works well for this, no problems.

Bar Soap: Yeah I know it sounds weird, but we shred a particular variety of bar soap for use in our homemade laundrey detergent. We use the regular shredding wheel and it works great. It comes out of the shoot with no trouble and makes cute little curly q's out of the soap. We've tried many various processors taht will immediately overload if we try this on them, but this shredder powers right through even the older harder bars with little effort. People say they are getting smoke from theirs, but all I can think is maybe they need to slow down. If you're using a lot of muscle to push the item through, you probably need to slow down.

Stuff I would NEVER try on this thing: Some stuff just turns to mush. I would not use this for any cheese softer than sharp cheddar, and definately don't use this for meat --its just not sharp enough for that.

General Obesrvations:

It can be a pain to clean, so I don't pull this out for anything but the bigger jobs where it is worth it. The parts are dishwasher safe though, so it's not that big of a deal. The hardest part is cleaning the nooks and crannies of the unit itself. That could have been designed better. The retractable cord does need a little shoving, but still, I love that it retracts at all. I wasn't expecting that. I have not tried the slicer wheel yet. Just haven't had a reson to so far. A lot of people complained about food getting lodged between the drum and the feed shoot housing. Yeah, it happens. but we're talking about a tiny amount of food. If you're doing cheese, you'll get a very thin (1/8") slice of cheese stuck to the inside of the housing. Not that big of a deal and far less than I would have left shredding by hand. Someone said they kept taking off the houseing and cleaning out the trapped food. Why would you do that? Just leave that there to prevent more food loss and get through the rest of your batch before cleaning it.

In summary, I have very little counter space in my kitchen, so for appliances it is certainly a survival of the fittest mentality. This one has made it six months on my counter, so I must feel the work it saves me outweighs any shortcomings. I like it.

We agree with the negatives mentioned here in the other reviews. Certainly not up to the manufacturer's normal standards. There is a lot of waste. Cheese, forget it. As others state, it's a design flaw. The gap between the housing and cutting drums is too big. Shredding meat is impossible, so forget making ham salad. The ham wads up in the gap and the motor just can't take it. The one difference in our shredder is the cord. There is no lock on our cord. The cord is in constant retraction mode meaning, we have to keep pulling on it while trying to use the machine. I can't imagine how others have entered favorable ratings for this unit. Maybe it works well chopping walnuts. I wouldn't know, I don't like walnuts. This was not the most inexpensive shredder on the shelves. We placed our trust in the brand name. We are less than pleased..