Editor’s Note: This product has been removed from our side-by-side comparison because it has been discontinued. You can still read our original review below, but Top Ten Reviews is no longer updating this product’s information.
The Cuisinart Pro Classic (DLC-10S) is a reliable 7-cup food processor with surprising power for its small size. Though it struggles to cut up soft cheeses and emulsify dressings, its simple design and high-power motor allow it to easily break down a variety of foods. Because it's so small, it isn’t ideal for larger food processing jobs, but it is less noisy than other devices on the market and is ideal for small cooking projects.
Although this isn't our top-rated food processor, it has convenient features and is easy to use. and offers indicators on the body for aligning the bowl to lock it in place. On the front of the processor is a single switch that allows you to toggle between off, on and pulse. The included recipe and instruction book tells you which blade or disk to use for certain purposes. The food processor only comes with a single blade, though it comes with a slicing disk and a shredding disk. Between these three options, you can cut, shred and emulsify numerous foods and liquids.
This small food processor is significantly quieter than the majority of other units we tested, measuring just 93.1 decibels. This is surprising considering the Cuisinart's powerful 600-watt motor that can move the blade through hard vegetables like potatoes and carrots. The motor hardware is covered by a five-year warranty.
Despite its strong motor, this blender food processor struggled to perform in several of our hands-on tests. The blade was too high from the bottom of the bowl to fully emulsify salad dressing, which made it disappointingly difficult to mix liquids. When we used the processor to shred cheese, some pieces came out finer than the rest. Semi-soft cheeses got stuck in the shredding and slicing disks, making it difficult to slice cheddar.
The Cuisinart Pro Classic is one of the best food processors on the market because of its compact design and consistent results when cutting food. Though it may struggle with softer foods and liquids, it still performs well against a variety of other food types. When you factor in the reasonable warranty period for the motor, this food processor is an ideal accessory for many home kitchens.
