A food processor is a staple in every chef’s kitchen, able to chop, blend and — so important for bakers — knead with ease. But you don’t have to drain your savings in order to get a great machine, as legendary TV chef Ina Garten, shows. Her go-to food processor — listed on the official Barefoot Contessa Equipment List, along with other brilliant kitchen picks from the Great One — rings in at just $159, a fraction of the price of many popular food processors; we've seen some at $400 that are not nearly as powerful or sleek.
Why this Cusinart food processor is so great (my hot take):
The Cuisinart Custom Pro 11-Cup Food Processor is powered by an industrial quality motor (625-watt) for optimal speed and consistency and comes with a wide variety of accessories: a stainless-steel chopping/mixing blade, a stainless-steel shredding disc, a stainless-steel medium slicing disc, a detachable disc stem, a compact flat cover and a spatula. The upshot? Endless versatility: Chop, shred, slice, mix, puree and knead dough quickly and efficiently.
I especially like how this food processor’s generous work bowl accommodates larger quantities (up to four cups of flour, or a pretty hearty loaf), without taking up much counter space. Because it disassembles easily, you can put away the parts you don't need. And the machine is incredibly easy to use. The opening on top is large enough to accommodate whole pieces of fruit.
What Cuisinart food processor reviewers are saying:
All that being said, you don’t have to take it from Ina (or me!). The Cuisinart Custom Pro Food Processor also comes backed by more than 15,000 Amazon reviewers.
“Powerful and easy to clean,” wrote one verified customer. “This is the brand recommended by America’s Test Kitchen. This particular model is easy to clean because it doesn’t have all the nooks and crannies that other models have. The capacity is great. I use it to make great pie crusts among other things. Appears to be built very sturdy and should last many years.”
“The iconic kitchen workhorse,” said another. “I finally got rid of my old Cuisinart food processor after many years of use. That one was smaller, so I decided to replace it with this larger (14-cup), more powerful version. So far, I love it … It did a great job shredding mozzarella using the disc, and a decent job of grating parmesan using the chopping blade (pink bowl picture) …”
“Sturdy and powerful machine,” added a third. “... So far, it has made perfect pie crust, perfect cookie dough, perfect cracker dough and crushed oreo cookies for pie crust … “
“Very happy with my purchase,” confirmed a fourth. “... I’ve made pizza dough that turned out wonderful and so fast. I make cauliflower rice all the time. It’s so fast and easy. It's definitely better to try to have your florets all cut about the same size. I make butter every week, which is delicious and fun, and I make homemade peanut butter that my husband loves. I’ve also used it several times now for pie dough and empanada dough. It’s super fast and easy and has turned out perfectly every time. It’s very sturdy and doesn't move at all on the counter while I make my dough. It also grates cheese evenly and with very little waste …”
In a video for Food Network, Ina shared that she uses her food processor for things like potatoes, breadcrumbs and even thinly-sliced Brussels sprouts.
She says it's just in her DNA. The rest is history: She didn't attend cooking school or learn from a grandmother, but she picked up skills out of necessity while running her specialty food store, Barefoot Contessa. It started out as a way to try a new career and ended up giving her her well-known moniker.
Today, at age 63, Ina is a celebrity chef who never attended cooking school nor worked in a restaurant! Like Dario Sattui, she used her MBA as a stepping stone to a magnificent dream. It gave her the job that gave her the funds to buy a brick-and-mortar store, but Ina taught herself to cook and to manage the business.
Barefoot Contessa hasn't produced new episodes since 2021, and anyone who still has cable knows that Food Network doesn't show Garten's TV shows as often as we'd like. However, Garten recently announced that she's working on new episodes for the cooking network.
If you want to outfit your kitchen with dinnerware similar to the cookbook author's, Garten shares on her website that she gets some of her favorite serving pieces from the likes of Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel. She writes, "They both have a huge range of white china.
Garten is Jewish by birth and heritage, as is her husband, but rarely refers to her religion and ethnicity, though they are showcased through the inclusion of classic Jewish cooking in her television show and cookbooks, when she makes such dishes as rugelach, challah, and brisket.
Ina and Jeffrey Garten have been married for over 50 years, having tied the knot in 1968. Throughout their marriage, the couple have lived in many places together including Paris, Washington, D.C., Manhattan and East Hampton, New York.
In a new interview for Julia Louis-Dreyfus' podcast, Wiser Than Me, Garten admitted that it "wasn't a struggle at all" to decide against having children. "I had no interest in having children," she told Louis-Dreyfus. "I had a terrible childhood, and it was nothing I wanted to recreate.
Born Ina Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City and grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, Garten was one of two children born to Charles H. Rosenberg, a surgeon specializing in otolaryngology, and his wife, Florence (née Rich), a dietitian.
- a sensible, comfortable design. Ina Garten Says that the two most important ingredients in a meal are "salt and pepper" Ina consistently uses PepperMate on her Food Network cooking show. See the video below as Ina relies on PepperMate's Traditional Pepper Mill to spice up her meal in "Ina's Perfect Roast Chicken."
If you're looking for a Barefoot Contessa-approved set, check out the Maison pattern from Crate and Barrel, a mainstay Ina has said she owns over the years. Another, pricier option is the White Dinnerware set from Pillivuyt, a French brand Ina recommends for serving ware as well.
“I think if you can cook, you can cook on any stove,” Garten wrote. “The Lacanche keeps a very steady heat and it's a total pleasure to use. Functional and beautiful at the same time!”
Hobby: Web surfing, Rafting, Dowsing, Stand-up comedy, Ghost hunting, Swimming, Amateur radio
Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
