Compare Mini Chopper-Blenders - Proctor Silex, Black&Decker, Cuisinart, Hamilton Beach or KitchenAid?
 Mini Chopper Blender (Photo Credits: Black&Decker)
Mini chopper-blender units are not as popular as traditional food processors or stand mixers, yet they fulfill some very specific cooking related functions that can not be conveniently and successfully achieved by traditional blenders or stand mixers. Once you start using a mini chopper-blender, it becomes one of the most useful cooking gadgets in your kitchen which you get to use almost every day.
You will find the tool to be very useful in particular when you prepare salad dressings and sauces, when you need to chop tomatoes, herbs, onions and garlic, and even when you need to grind nuts. When you want to blend small quantities of ingredients to make a salad dressing or a sauce, the traditional food processors/mixers can not do the job well. Because of the larger size of traditional food processors and the small quantity of ingredients used in dressings and sauces, when the unit is turned on, the ingredients get splattered all over the bowl's interior walls, and you need to wipe and collect them repeatedly with a spatula to get them back together. And the result is rarely satisfactory. On the other hand, in a mini chopper-blender, the ingredients stay together and combine easily to produce a homogenous and perfectly smooth dressing or sauce within seconds! Here is an example: When you want to prepare the classic French salad dressing, you would normally need to mix thoroughly a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup of virgin olive oil, a couple of garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Try mixing that in a traditional blender or food processor! We promise you will be quite frustrated with the process and not happy with results. With a mini chopper-blender the results are immediate, and you will get a perfectly homogenous dressing with no splatter and no waste. The unit will chop the garlic and blend it with the rest of the ingredients into a perfectly smooth dressing within seconds! If you eat salads a lot, this tool will soon become one that you use most! The rest of this article will compare five carefully selected popular mini chopper-blenders to help you choose the one that will respond best to your cooking needs. The units that will be compared are the Cuisinart DLC-2A, Hamilton Beach 72705, Kitchen Aid KFC3511, Proctor Silex 72500RY and the Black&Decker HC306. The brands and models selected here are not only extremely popular among Amazon buyers, but they have also received the best user reviews. The five selected mini chopper-blenders are shown below: |
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Comparing the Selected Mini Chopper-Blenders
When buying a mini chopper-blender you should make sure that a number of important must-have features come with the product. The main features you should be looking for are:
The following table compares the features of the selected mini chopper-blenders:
- Stainless steel blade.
- A capacity of 1 cup or more, but not exceeding 3.5 cups.
- Pulse function.
- Not less than 60-watts of power.
- Dishwasher safe parts.
- BPA free bowl.
The following table compares the features of the selected mini chopper-blenders:
Table Notes 1-4 Explained :
Note 1: This feature is useful for adding oil when making salad dressing, mayonnaise or other preparations that require the gradual addition of some liquid. If your unit does not have this feature, you can always stop the mini-blender, add the liquid and blend again. So, not having this feature is not a show stopper, but it is definitely a nice to have.
Note 2: All parts except the electrical base of these units are dish washer safe.
Note 3: All warranties are limited manufacturer's.
Note 4: Prices are approximate as they can change any time. Also prices depend on the colors chosen. To see exact prices, please click the product images in the Amazon section below.
Note 1: This feature is useful for adding oil when making salad dressing, mayonnaise or other preparations that require the gradual addition of some liquid. If your unit does not have this feature, you can always stop the mini-blender, add the liquid and blend again. So, not having this feature is not a show stopper, but it is definitely a nice to have.
Note 2: All parts except the electrical base of these units are dish washer safe.
Note 3: All warranties are limited manufacturer's.
Note 4: Prices are approximate as they can change any time. Also prices depend on the colors chosen. To see exact prices, please click the product images in the Amazon section below.
So which Mini Chopper-Blender to Choose?
When buying a mini chopper-blender make sure that the bowl is not larger than 3.5 cups. With larger bowls, the efficiency that can be observed when chopping and blending small amount of ingredients in small containers will be lost, and you will get food splattered all over the interior walls of the bowl. All 5 units described here have bowls with capacity equal to or less than 3.5 cups.
All five units provide the must-have features listed above. However, if you want to have an oil dispensing opening on the unit, then you should go for either the Cuisinart DLC-2A, the Hamilton Beach 72705 or the Kitchen Aid KFC3511, as the other two units do not come with this feature. Other than that, it is really a question of aesthetics and price which are a personal matter.
In terms of quality and customer satisfaction, please review the following table which is a compilation of all Amazon customer reviews (at the time this article was written) for the five products selected:
All five units provide the must-have features listed above. However, if you want to have an oil dispensing opening on the unit, then you should go for either the Cuisinart DLC-2A, the Hamilton Beach 72705 or the Kitchen Aid KFC3511, as the other two units do not come with this feature. Other than that, it is really a question of aesthetics and price which are a personal matter.
In terms of quality and customer satisfaction, please review the following table which is a compilation of all Amazon customer reviews (at the time this article was written) for the five products selected:
Because the Cuisinart DLC 2A has had the most reviewers (624!) with 80% of reviewers giving it 4 stars and more, and because it comes with all the must-have features listed above, it makes sense to consider it as your top choice when comparing mini chopper-blenders.
The selected Mini Chopper-Blenders are available right here on Amazon:
The compared Mini Chopper-Blenders Proctor Silex 72500RY, Black&Decker HC306, Cuisinart DLC-2A, Hamilton Beach 72705 and Kitchen Aid KFC3511 can all be bought below on Amazon.
Please click the selected product to check the exact price or to purchase.
Please click the selected product to check the exact price or to purchase.
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