Food processors: How we test food processors

All food processors, kitchen machines and mini choppers are tested and rated for the same tasks, but the total test score for food processors and kitchen machines is weighted slightly differently. 

This is to make sure each machine is scored correctly for the tasks it’s most important for that type of appliance to be good at.

You can see the differences between a good and bad food processor and find out what it takes to become a Which? Best Buy in our video:

 

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Slicing

Food processors good whites

Well-whisked egg whites

Using foods with different firmness, our labs time how long slicing takes. We rate evenness and uniformity of slices, and particular attention is paid to how much food is left unsliced, how many slices are whole and how many pieces have been broken or have large chunks missing from them.

Grating

Dubbed the ‘Double Gloucester test’, our lab experts check how fast and evenly the appliances grate cheese and carrots. This tests both hard and soft foods. Points are deducted for any large chunks which escape into the bowl, or remain on the blade, without being touched.

Bad example

Poorly whisked egg whites

Whisking and whipping

Egg whites and cream that have been kept at a specific temperature are whisked and whipped. We record the consistency and time taken. Our labs also rate quality and measure the increase in volume.

Mixing

We test how good each food preparation appliance is at mixing by using cake mix. Lab experts time the mixing, rate the evenness of the batter, and then the cake’s structure when baked. The increase in volume after baking is also noted, as this also indicates how well the batter was mixed initially.

Making homemade mayonnaise is no easy task, as it’s easy to overheat the mixture and ruin it. We put all the appliances that claim to be able to do make mayonnaise through this test.

We look for consistency of the mixture, how long it takes to get it right, and also stiffness and evenness of the results. We also check to see if the mayo has separated after 24 hours.

Food processors good nuts

Well-chopped nuts

Kneading bread

A well kneaded dough will rise properly, so to see how well the dough tools work with food preparation appliances, our lab experts time this task, and rate the evenness of dough mixing.

The dough is then baked to see if it’s been kneaded well enough to rise properly. We also check the consistency of the baked bread to see if there are any large air holes.

Blending food

For food preparation appliances with a blender, our lab experts time how quickly food can be puréed and how well it is blended. Fineness and evenness of blending is checked, and we note if there are any large chunks present or solids left after puréeing

Chopping

Bad example

Poorly chopped nuts

Nuts, onions and flat-leaf parsley are chopped to see how speedy appliances are when coping with different types of food. A good appliance will products results that are fine and even.

Jug blenders

Food preparation appliances that come with a jug blender are tested for drink-making tasks.

Smoothies and soups are blended, but these aren’t ordinary recipes. We include ingredients that are tough to process, because appliances that can handle these, will have no problems blending normal everyday recipes.

The results are inspected to check for any lumps or food that’s escaped unblended, and we’re also looking for the perfect consistency.

For any appliances that come with a citrus press accessory, our orange juice tests assess how much juice ends up in the bowl, how frothy it is and we even check how much separates after it’s been left to stand for a while.

Total test score

The total test score for food processors, kitchen machines and mini choppers ignores price and is made up of the following factors:

Performance 50%
Convenience 40%
Build quality 10%

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