Customer Reviews

KitchenAid KFP600 11-Cup Ultra Power Food Processor, Cobalt Blue

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When we went out to buy our food processor I would have bet money that I'd be bringing home the Cuisinart, but a side-by-side comparison quickly convinced me otherwise. The Kitchenaid is much more strongly built, has a sealed surface that wipes clean and comes with this really cool "mini-bowl" for small jobs that we use quite often for things like chopping herbs. The blades are also made by the company that USED TO make great blades for the original Cuisinarts.

We were told that Cuisinart sold their product to another company a few years ago when they had financial trouble, and they now use an inferior blade and a cheaper housing. Visual inspection seemed to confirm this to us. The plastic housing on the "C" was also pretty flexy and riddled with cracks and crevices that would never be easy to clean. It really feels cheap next to the Kitchenaid.

When in use, the Kitchenaid is really powerful, very stable and quiet. It's the class of its class.

When my faithful Cuisinart of over 20 years came to its end last month, I checked out Amazon.com expecting to purchase another Cuisinart, but was convinced by the customer reviews to order this Kitchenaid instead. Wow! This machine is so much better (and my Cuisinart was from the higher quality days before the sale of the company). It's REALLY quiet, chops evenly and quickly without turning things to mush, is easy to use and clean and very powerful. No comparison.

After many years of trying to justify the expense of a food processor, I decided it was finally time! I researched Cuisinart, DeLonghi, KitchenAid, and Krups. Without a doubt, Kitchenaid has beat all the others in horsepower, quality,and ease of use. I purchased a Kitchenaid 11 cup Ultra Power two weeks ago and the only regret I have is "Why didn't I do it sooner?" For all of you researching or trying to justify the expense...KitchenAid is the only way to go! It is the perfect machine for those who love to cook, those who do not like to cook, and those without much time to cook. Get one now...You'll love it!

You don't have to research far to realize that today's Chinese-made Cuisinarts have little more in common with the originals than the name. So the Kitchenaid vs. Cuisinart question was never difficult for me to answer.

But which Kitchenaid? When I bought my KFP600, I don't think the KFP670 was an option (I first saw it appear in stores some months after I bought mine). If I had the choice today, though, there would be no question--KFP670 all the way!

It's not a question of power. My KFP600 is a heavy little monster that has never had any trouble with whatever dough I make in it, or with any hard cheeses I grate in it. It stays solidly in place on the counter while doing it, too.

The problem is with the ... feed tube! It's too small for full-sized items and too big for chopped items. You can't fit a whole cucumber in it to slice. But something like a carrot will be quickly pushed over onto its side by the spinning blade, so that instead of nice little disks of carrot you wind up with some disks and a bunch of lengthwise slices, with the last quarter inch or so spinning around of top of the disc. You have to cut and arrange the items so that they fill the tube and support each other. Argh! If I'm doing all this, why am I using the food processor? I rarely use the discs because of this.

Mind you, it's not the machine I don't like. The machine is great. I wish it didn't have such a stupid feed tube so that I could use it even more. A couple hundred dollar investment in a high quality piece of equipment is nearly undone by a couple of bucks worth of molded plastic.

The KFP670 has a two part feed tube that, at least from the looks of it, should help with this problem immensely. I can't give it a real recommendation, since I haven't had my hands on one, but I really want to! I definitely would NOT make a purchase today without first thoroughly investigating the KFP670. For my part, I guess I'll see if I can just get a replacement 670 work bowl cover that will fit on my model.

I purchased my KitchenAid KFP600 food processor 9 years ago, and I was recently surprised to find that KitchenAid still produces exactly the same model. I shouldn't have been surprised. This is an exceptional food processor. Mine is in great shape after nearly a decade of moderate use (a few times a week), and I see no reason why it shouldn't last a decade more.

The 11-cup work bowl is ideal when cooking for 2-6 people. The spring that holds the work bowl in place and the cover on works as well today as it did when the processor was new. Although KitchenAid says that you can put the work bowl and cover in the dishwasher, I don't recommend it. The hot water causes the plastic to expand, which can make it difficult to lock the lid onto the bowl. Not so difficult that it can't be done, but the lid squeaks quite a bit after it's gone through the dishwasher. I bought the KFP600 shortly after it debuted, and no one had seen a mini bowl before. It looked useful. I thought I'd use the mini bowl to chop small quantities of food, saving myself from having to wash the big work bowl every time. Now I wouldn't buy a food processor without a mini bowl. I use the mini bowl to chop onions and garlic. It's invaluable. Think you can't chop garlic in a food processor? You can in the mini bowl. I prefer the mini bowl for onions, as well, because there is no risk that half the onion will be mush before the other half is chopped. And the mini bowl and mini blade are easy to clean. You can put them in the dishwasher without any ill effect.

The power base of the KFP600 is fairly heavy and stays put when you run the processor. The motor on mine is as good as new. The "clean touch" off/on/pulse buttons don't protrude from the control pad, so they're easy to wipe off. The machine is generally easy to clean. There is a place to coil the cord underneath the power base. It's difficult to get the cord to coil properly, though, and would be frustrating if you had to do it often. I wrap the cord around the base, where it is out of the way and readily accessible.

In addition to the 11-cup work bowl and multipurpose blade, the mini bowl and mini blade, the cover and the feed tube pusher, the KFP600 comes with a few accessories: There is a dough blade, which I confess to never having used in 9 years. I use the regular blade to make dough, and it has done an excellent job. Also included are 3 slicing/shredding discs which are mounted in the processor with a disc stem. There is a medium slicing disc, a medium shredding disc (both 4 mm), and a reversible thin slicing/shredding disc. There is also an oddly shaped, useless spatula. The accessories are contained in a large plastic storage box, 7"h x 7 1/2"w x 10 1/2"d, that is clear on the top and sides. There is space to store the optional egg whip and the multipurpose blade, as well, but the box is unnecessarily large. The instruction book for the KitchenAid KFP600, which has English and Spanish sections, is conveniently spiral-bound, so it will lie flat. The instructions are straightforward and well-illustrated, and followed by 32 recipes.

I have chopped, sliced, shredded, grated, pureéd, liquified, and made pie dough with this food processor for 9 years. I can honestly say that it has never performed less than perfectly. And it's still going strong.

I am buying a blue one today. I have used my mom's white one several times and thought I should finally get my own. This blows away the cheap Hamilton Beach one that I picked up at Walmart a couple years ago it is well worth the extra money. The comparison to Cuisinart is splitting hairs. I like the feed tube design better on Cuisinart but I like the heavy duty cast aluminum base of the KitchenAid and the color choices. And MORE POWER. KitchenAid also has outstanding customer service. I melted the lid to my KitchenAid blender in the dishwasher and they sent me a new one FREE!

I had a cheap food processor. Since I already own a Kitchenaid stand mixer, I had high expectations for the Kitchenaid food processor. I was not disappointed. This things chops, shread and slices with incredible speed and ease. It is well-built; everything fits together solidly and tight (but not too tight so that it's hard to use). The measuring cup that fits inside the food chute is handly and convenient. Even though I initially thought the mini-bowl would be useless, it's actually come in handy a few times already; (I've used it for chopping onions and pickles). I have always made pie crust by hand, but I tried making it in the food processor. I was amazed at how fast it did the job. Cleaning is easy, but you do have to be careful as the blades are extremely sharp (as you would want them to be). My only negative would be the storage container for the blades and disks; it's huge and it only holds 3 disks and the 3 blades that come with the machine. It would be nicer if it were more streamlined. All in all, that's a pretty minor "concern." I am thrilled with the food processor; between this and the stand mixer, I'm all set.

Over the years, I have owned Cuisineart and Braun food processors, but the Kitchenaid I just bought surpasses both in ease of use and cleaning. The stand is solidly heavy, so the processor doesn't skip about during big jobs. The disks are easy to insert, and everything is supposedly dishwasher safe (see note below for more on this.) The best part of this appliance, however, is the mini bowl with its smaller blade, essentially acting as two food processors in one. The first time I used it, I dropped a single garlic clove into the mini-bowl and it did a perfect job of mincing it. You can't get that result with a large bowl. The machine is quiet and efficient, with a flat front touch pad (like the updated Cuisineart's) that is easy to use and wipes clean with a cloth.

So why didn't I give the Kitchenaid five stars? Well, I had one problem, which could have been huge. After the first use, I washed the work bowl in the top rack of my dishwasher, as specified by the instructions. When I removed it, the lid no longer fit the work bowl. One five minute call to Kitchenaid fixed it; they sent a new bowl and top the next day. The customer service representative was pleasant and understanding, as well as prompt with her response. Obviously, I'm reluctant to wash the bowl again in the dishwasher, but eventually I'll get my courage up, especially since I know they stand by their product. Because I haven't noted similar problems in other reviews, I assume my problem was an isolated one (the top fit extremely tightly to begin with.)

Every food processor has its assets and drawbacks, but the Kitchenaid 600 is the closest I've found to perfection.

After all these years, my LaMachine finally bit the dust. During my test drive of the new machines out there, nothing could compare to the Kitchen Aid. It's quiet, easy to clean and chops, shreds like a breeze. Easter dinner for 12 was a snap with this new helper in the kitchen.

Having the Kitchen aid mixer, I without hesitation, when I needed a new food processor invested in the Kitchen aid food processor.

BASIC MECHANICS:

NOT MADE FOR MOVING AROUND:
When you get this machine, the first thing that strikes you is the sturdiness and weight. Ideally, you want to leave this machine on your counter, because if you have to move it around a lot, you are going to hate it.

SOLID AND STURDY:
The base is heavy, which is really handy when running. It is not going to slip away on you. I had an old mixer that destroyed itself once by rocketing off the counter when I let go for a minute.

The controls are simple. Three buttons under a mylar cover. This makes clean up a breeze. A quick wipe with a damp dish rag or sponge on any spills and you are good to go. No sharp edges or button holes to capture batter or food spills.

Most units come with the base, a large bowl bottom, and a small bowl bottom, the top, the plunger, two blades (one metal for cutting, one plastic dough one) and 3 discs. Also you are given a spacer for the discs, the attachment garage and a spatula.

Unlike one of the reviews that critiqued the way things fit together, the unit I received was well fit together and had a good quality feel to it. The parts slipped tightly together without trouble. Mind you I have not put any of these in the dishwasher yet.

DESIGN CONCERNS:
Two criticisms were immediate on my part.

SMALL BOWL USE NEEDS TO BE WITHIN LARGE BOWL:
This to me is not handy. What if you used the large bowl first and then planned on using the small bowl. You would have to either clean the large bowl or have it dirty and possibly effect the use of the small bowl. Also they have a common cover, so this would have to be cleaned between uses. This to me is not handy. I think they should be able to be used separately and should have different covers.

STORAGE CASE SHOULD BE SMALLER OR ABLE TO HOLD ADDITIONAL DISCS:
The storage container for the discs is huge. It seems about twice the size it should be. Ironically, it also has no room for additional discs or blades. This should be redesigned to be more efficient, either one way or another.

COMPARISON TO PREVIOUSLY OWNED FOOD PROCESSORS:
Though I have not extensively used this product, since I bought it, it has performed well for me in what it has done. My previous machines were a Norelco La Machine and a Sunbeam Oscar food processor, I felt the larger capacity and power of the Kitchen aide food processor was very welcome.

The Norelco La Machine had the large bottom bowl cracked when chopping hard cheese. The Kitchen aide was a replacement to this machine. It's bowl seems sturdier, but I'm not sure it would not suffer the same fate, if using the blade to chop hard cheese. I think the shredder attachment however, would keep me from attempting this.

The Oscar food processor is much smaller. When shredding lettuce, it shoots it out the side into a bowl. This is a more messy process than the nice neat way the larger Kitchen aide handles it using a disc and self containing it. It also did a finer and better job. However, given that the small quanities need the small bowl used within the large bowl in the Kitchen aid, I will keep my Oscar processor to do these.

USAGE TO DATE AS A REFERENCE:
I have used this machine to chop artichoke hearts for pasta salad, have shredded lettuce and chopped onions also. It worked exceptionally well for this. I was amazed at how fine it could shred the lettuce. Also the artichoke hearts with their uneven toughnesses did really well and did not slip past the blade as they have on my other machines.

I have only used the large bowl, as the small bowl in the comments above did not seem practical to use.

In general I have never made bread in a food processor (I have a bread machine), so can't speak to that.

Also there are some discs I haven't yet used.

This is very light use, that will change with time, now that the machine is on my counter. In the past I did not use my other machines as much because they had to be dragged out of the cupboard.

I hope this review helps you will your purchase decision. I'm very happy with my machine, so I wanted to take a moment to let you know its pluses and minuses.