Cuisinart DLC-1SS Mini-Prep Processor, Brushed Stainless Steel
Posted on
July 04, 2009 by
piter
Product Description
The Cuisinart ® Mini-Prep ® is the perfect kitchen helper for small food preparation tasks. This compact processor occupies minimum counter space yet offers major advantages: more power than other choppers, 2-speed, large 21-ounce capacity and several colors to choose from.
Product Features
- Powerful chopper/grinder; 21-ounce work bowl; 2 speeds for precision chopping
- Patented reversible blade chops or grinds; brushed stainless steel base
- Dishwasher-safe parts
- Instruction/recipe book
- Measures 6.9 by 5.2 by 8.25 inches; weighs 2.67 pounds
This processor does what you think it should. It chops food well but not too finely. It can handle only about a cup of food at a time. Perfect for making baby food which was why I bought it.
I needed a way to liquify single servings of food to provide nutrition through my mother’s feeding tube. She does not tolerate the commercial nutrition, but does well with her customary food. I tried using a blender, but the end result was inconsistent for bolusing through a feeding tube even after adding additional liquid. We have used the Cuisinart I purchased when they were first introduced to the USA, which worked well but was inconvenient for on-the-spot use and for travel. I read the reviews for this and other mini Cuisinarts and decided to try the “cheaper” one. I am impressed with its performance, ease of use and compact size. It is clearly worth the small price I paid. I most like the ports in the top for slowly introducing liquids. It is perfect for my intended use, and I can envision how to use it in cooking. I highly recommend it.
I am a fanatic about kitchen appliances, specifically Cuisinart. Even though I have two other Cuisinart food processors that work perfectly well, I thought this would be good for small jobs and I couldn’t resist the look. Not only was I not disappointed, but this has become my most-used kitchen appliance. I can mince garlic, make guacomole, turn garbanzos into hummus, and perform a host of other useful tasks. It is perfect if you want to make something quick, and don’t won’t to drag out the heavier, full-sized food processors. There are some culinary batches that you would ordinarily need to process, but are too small for a full-sized processor – this item is your answer. I have found the pulse control to be superior to the larger processors even – you can custom-chop tomatoes and walnuts (a quite difficult task) to your liking. The reason that I would recommend this specific model over other Cuisinart mini-preps is that this one is truly a miniature version of the full-sized processors – same Cuisinart quality, same original design that has worked for years. I have repeatedly washed the removable parts in the dishwasher with no problems – much easier to clean than any other processor I have used.
The only mild complaint I have is that the blade does not seal as well as the larger Cuisinarts – it does make a perfect, restaraunt-quality smoothie, but I would use less than the amount suggested by the recipe book if you don’t want a liquidy mess on your hands. But, it’s better to do smoothies in a blender anyways.
I also own a large food processor (also a Cuisinart) that I use for substantial tasks like making bread dough, slicing vegetables, etc. Because of this, I use this mini-prep processor as a backup when the parts of my larger food processor are in the dishwasher or when I only have a small task that does not justify taking out my large food processor.
Overall I get a lot of use out of this and have found it to be very durable and consistent. I’ve owned it for almost four years now and over that time have used it to do everything from make homemade nut butters to rough chop vegetables to make my own oat flour out of oatmeal. It has performed very well at all of these tasks and years later, still has lots of power and cleans up beautifully. It is fantastic and I could not say enough wonderful things about it.
That said, I do have a couple of caveats. The first is that I would never buy it as a primary food processor. It is just too small for normal tasks. Even when I am making something in a small quantity like a dip I typically find it is too much size-wise for this processor. Using it in an application like this would take forever. However, it’s great for doing basic chopping tasks because it is so easy and light to pull out onto the counter and efficient. I also love how the stainless steel look coordinates with my appliances and other gadgets. Overall it is a great product and if it ever dies I am likely to replace it with another Cuisinart.
The device works, but only in small quantities of food at a time. Example, I can just chop the onions in half the time, even if the cutting of small