One-minute review
When it comes to countertop kitchen appliances, KitchenAid is a firm and trusted favorite. Its reputation for quality appliances that have looks to match, is what makes it such a desirable brand. And while it might not be the best-known food processor brand, it’s got a range of models to choose from and as you’d expect from KitchenAid, they all come in a choice of colors.
The KitchenAid KFP1319 is a 13 cup/ 3.1 liter food processor and it’s the largest model on offer, unless you’re in the UK where you can buy a 17 cup/ 4 liter KitchenAid food processor. Uniquely it includes a dicing accessory, and this is what sets it apart from the KFP1318 which is the same model but without the ability to dice.
In addition to the dicing accessory, you’ll get an adjustable slicing disc, reversible shredding disc, dough blade and stainless-steel chopping blade. These all slot into a storage caddy and then inside the main bowl, giving a neat and easy storage solution. Unlike most food processors, the main lid is hinged, but is also removable and can be replaced with the included refrigerator lid, to store food without tipping it into a separate container.
It offers two speeds as well as a pulse button and the lid contains three removable pushers for inserting different size foods. As an added bonus, everything is dishwasher safe so cleaning is a doddle.
On test it coped well with most foods, slicing, shredding, and dicing with ease although there was a lot of waste when finely shredding chocolate. The sharp stainless-steel blade and the dough blade work well, but there are restrictions on the quantity of foods like dough and beef, so despite being one of KitchenAid’s largest food processors, it’s best suited to smaller households and people who don’t want to process big batches of food.
KitchenAid KFP1319 food processor price and availability
- List price: $249.99 / £299/ AU$49
The KitchenAid KFP1319 is available worldwide direct from KitchenAid. There are no optional accessories available to buy separately. However, if you could do without the dicing accessory, it’s worth looking at the KitchenAid KFP1318. As we mentioned above, this is exactly the same model but because it lacks the ability to dice, it’s slightly cheaper and will set you back $199.99/ £249 (around AU$270) but it’s not available in Australia.
Design
- Two speeds and pulse
- Easy to assemble
- All parts can be stored inside main bowl
The KitchenAid KFP1319 food processor itself is no bigger or smaller than other similar capacity models. It measures 18.3 x 8.7 x 8.7 inches/ 46.4 x 22.2 x 22.2 cm (h x w x d) and weighs 10 lb/ 4.54kg. What makes it feel smaller and more compact is the clever storage solution that we mentioned earlier. Almost all the accessories slot into the caddy which goes inside the main bowl so the refrigerator lid is the only extra that needs storing.
The main hinged lid has three different size removable food pushers, ideal for lots of different foods. The lid removes easily from the bowl and can be replaced with the refrigerator lid to allow you to store food without decanting it into a different container.
As we’ve already noted, the accessories include a stainless steel blade and dough blade. The slicing disc is adjusted via a knob on the lid making it very safe and simple to adjust and there are six thickness options to choose from. The reversible shredding disc offers thick as well as thin shredding. And the dicing accessory cleverly cubes all manner of foods to about 0.4 inches/ 1cm dice. Set up is simple and apart from the dicing accessory, we rarely had to consult the manual to work out how to put it together. All removable parts are dishwasher safe on the top rack.
The round base looks nice on the counter and it’s not too imposing. You can choose between red, silver, black, white and matt black. If you’re in the UK and Australia, cream is available in place of the white. A few design features are immediately noticeable, these include the hinged lid which clips shut with a latch. Additionally, the bowl sits directly onto the base, no awkward twisting motion to get it into position like you’ll see on many other food processors. Our only complaint is that the handle can only be positioned to the right, making it less comfortable for left-handed cooks
Performance
- Not too loud
- Excellent chopping, slicing and dicing
- Can only process smaller batches
We used the large side of the shredding disc for carrot and cheese and it sped through both, producing even shreds fast. A small disc of carrot was left un-shredded and a piece of cheese which amounted to about 13% of the total, but otherwise we were happy with the results.
Chocolate, however, was not so good. We shredded it using the fine side of the shredding disc and disappointingly 35% was left un-shredded on top of the disc, furthermore, there was some melting on the disc as well as some chunks in with the shreds.
The slicing disc is really easy to use and we like that the adjustment knob is on the lid, making it super easy to adjust the size of the slices. It sliced through half a cucumber in seconds, producing pleasingly even slices.
To try out the dough blade, we made a bread dough, but the instruction manual advises against processing quantities of dough larger than 13.5 oz/ 384g, which isn’t even enough for a standard size loaf. We adjusted our recipe down to the right quantity but the dough blade was quite slow to combine the ingredients into a dough and required an extra splash of water to help it come together. The food processor wobbled a little when mixing the dough, but it wasn’t unstable.
The stainless-steel blade aced almost every task we gave it, finely and evenly chopping onion and breadcrumbs as well as mixing a smooth cake batter. Hazelnuts were very finely chopped but with a little powder and we’d have preferred them slightly coarser.
But cubed beef was no match for this blade, it took just seconds to turn it into finely ground meat. But the instruction manual advises that only 0.5lb/ 225g can be chopped in one go, which is half as much as we intended to chop and quite a small quantity given the food processor's overall capacity.
Finally, we tried out the dicing accessory and we were impressed with how fast it diced two potatoes. We had to chop the potatoes in half to fit in the feed chute, but the results were excellent nonetheless and it really does make short work of this labor-intensive task.
It was loudest when shredding with our noise meter maxing out at 84dB, which is the equivalent to the noise experienced when a truck is traveling at 40mph, but during the other tasks, it averaged around 75dB, which is similar to sound level when a toilet is flushed.
Should I buy the KitchenAid KFP1319 food processor?
Buy it if...
You want dishwasher safe accessories
All the removable parts can go in the dishwasher for easy cleaning, but they’re best washed on the top rack and a gentle dishwasher cycle.
You want a dicing accessory
Not many food processors come with a dicing accessory as standard, but this is a game changer for dicing potatoes, fruit, vegetables or cheese quickly, the only downside is that it can only produce dice of one size.
You want a food processor that’s easy to store
Virtually all the accessories can be stored inside the main bowl with the exception of the refrigerator lid. This makes it neat and easy to store and unlike models with a separate storage case, it won’t take up too much space.
Don't buy it if...
You want to use it for big batches
With restrictions on the amount of beef you can grind or bread dough it can mix, this food processor is best for smaller households, if you regularly make big batches of food you’re likely to find it frustrating.
You want a whisk included
If you like to use a food processor for whisking up egg whites or thickening cream, then this isn’t the model for you, there’s no whisk included as standard.
You’re on a budget
If the price is a bit of a stretch, consider whether you really need the dicing accessory. If you’re willing to forego this function you can save $50/£50 by opting for the KFP1318, though sadly this option isn’t available in Australia.
First reviewed: March 2022
- Check out these great air fryer deals
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/eib5Ikt
No comments:
Post a Comment