Mini Cuisinart for the Mini Kitchen

Author's Rating:

Pros: Powerful for such a small appliance

Cons: Limited in its versatility.

The Bottom Line: 
For the particular and/or small job it is useful. Would benefit the person who has limited kitchen space.

Author's Review
Preliminary Remarks

Many appliances are variant models by size, color, and finish but each model has a different identification number. The appliance in this review is the Cuisinart Mini-Prep Processor, with the advertised capacity of 2.63 cups. The model number on this appliance reviewed here is DLC-1BCH. The BCH stands for black (stainless) chrome. Other models numbers are DLC-1SS where the SS is for stainless steel and DLC-1 for the plain white version, but the machine is the same.

Purpose

You love to cook but have a small kitchen or perhaps the particular meal or menu being prepared doesn’t warrant the use of a large food processor. This very small, hence the model name mini, is what it says it is – mini small.

Capacity Size

While the advertised capacity is a little more than 2.5 cups, the realistic capacity is a lot less. Filling the container to its limit might be quite messy as the motor is quite powerful and the food will spray around the top of the container. For example, I primarily use this food processor to make cream of any vegetable soup. At the pureeing step, I only fill the container three-quarters to the top. Another reason for not filling the container is that, while the motor is powerful, it is still a mini motor. The specifications on the bottom of the base are 120V(olts), 60 H(ertz) and 250 W(atts). In my experience of making cream of any vegetable soup, this motor is powerful enough to puree cooked broccoli but not as efficient in pureeing cooked carrots. Yet another reason for not filling the container is because the center of the container fits over the drive shaft but when the blade is removed to empty the container, food can drip into the center.

Since the processor is mini and the container is small, it is not very efficient to use this machine to dice and slice. Onions, peppers, celery, carrots and leeks (for example) would need cutting into smaller, more manageable pieces so they could fit into container. Might as well just keep dicing and slicing.

Safety

The blade is reversible. One side is blunt but the other side is EXTREMELY sharp. CAUTION! Since the container and the blade are dishwasher safe, take extreme caution when placing the blade in the dishwasher. If a person unloading the dishwasher is unaware of the blade, it can cause serious injury.

The unit is quite simple. The container locks into the base unit. There is only one way for the top of the container to lock into the engaging switch located in the post at the rear of the base. If the container is not locked into this switch, the motor can not be turned on. The motor has two speeds, LO and HIGH, and for the motor to run these switches must be continually pressed down.

Summary

A handy processor for the small or particular jobs and for a tiny kitchen.

More Information

Cuisinart Link
http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/product.php?product_id=36&item_id=554&cat_id=7