Cuisinart Custom 14 DFP-14BCNY Food Processor Review

The machine earns its place on the counter by doing the everyday jobs without fuss, and by doing a few of them better than the rest of its class.

Chopping

Onions and herbs come out even, and the blade stops the moment you let go of the pulse button. That instant stop is what gives you control: short taps for a coarse chop, a few more for a fine one, and no risk of turning parsley into paste while you look away.

Slicing

The 4 mm disc produces clean, even slices, and the extra-large feed tube takes whole tomatoes and potatoes without pre-cutting. Fewer pieces to trim means less time at the board and more of the vegetable going straight into the bowl.

Pureeing

This is its strongest job. Hummus, tomato sauce and applesauce come out smooth, and the work stays in the bowl rather than up the sides and across the counter.

Kneading

The stainless chopping and mixing blade kneads pizza dough well, and the base stays put during heavy batches instead of walking across the counter.

Noise

It runs quietly for a full-size machine. You can keep a conversation going while it works, which matters in an open kitchen.

Simplicity

Two buttons, one speed, nothing to program. There is no learning curve and nothing to reset.

Cleaning

The bowl is a simple shape with few places for food to hide, and every part except the base is dishwasher-safe.

Stability

Buyers on Amazon most often praise how the machine performs, how the motor drives the blades, and how solid and steady it stays when cutting heavy items. That steadiness is the difference between a machine you trust with a full bowl of dough and one you hold with one hand.

The limits are few but real, and they are the reason some cooks should look at a different kind of machine.

Fixed discs

The slicing and shredding discs are not adjustable. You get one 4 mm slice and one medium shred, with no thin slices and no fine or coarse shred options out of the box. If you want wafer-thin cucumber or a fine grate for Parmesan, this machine will not give it to you without another disc.

Shredding is the weakest job

Shredded cheese in particular comes out less even than chopped or pureed food does, and soft cheeses smear against the disc instead of shredding cleanly. Reviews at other retailers mention the same unevenness on cheddar and mozzarella.

No dough blade and no mini bowl

The box holds no dough blade, so dough is kneaded with the metal chopping blade. There is also no smaller bowl to fall back on when you want to process a small batch.

Size and weight

It stands 14.8 inches high and weighs 18 lb. It needs real counter space, and moving it in and out of a cabinet is awkward.

Practical capacity

A 14-cup bowl is usefully filled to about two-thirds, so the real working volume is closer to 9 cups. That is generous for family batches and double recipes, and oversized for a cup of pesto.

Durability is mixed

The motor is the strong point, but the plastic lid and bowl parts are where one buyer reports breakage. Buyers on Amazon are divided on durability: some describe a machine built to last, while others report the top splitting after months of use. Owners on forums report machines still running after many years, with the lid named as a common failure.

It won't start if not fully assembled

The safety interlock needs the bowl, the lid and the pusher all seated before the motor will run. Many reports of a machine that seems dead on arrival turn out to be an assembly problem rather than a defect.

These are the figures that shape how the machine fits into a kitchen and what it can take on.

The 720 watts and the direct-drive motor are what let it push through dough and dense mixtures without stalling. The 14-cup bowl is what makes it a batch machine. The warranty is what backs the part that matters most.

Setup follows a fixed order, and the machine will not run until every piece is in place.

Assembly

Set the bowl on the base, then the blade or the disc on its stem, then the lid, then the pusher. The bowl, the lid and the pusher must all be seated or the motor stays off. If nothing happens when you press On, take it apart and put it back together before assuming a fault.

The feed tube

Two pushers, small and large, let you drop single items such as garlic or a carrot down the narrow chute or whole vegetables down the wide one. The wide chute is what saves you the pre-cutting.

Pulse discipline

Use short pulses for chops and a continuous run for purees. The pulse button gives you the control; the continuous run gives you the smooth texture.

Liquid limits

Follow the manual's fill limits for thin and thick mixtures. Overfilling is the usual cause of a leak, and the bowl has a marked maximum for a reason.

Dough

Keep batches within the manual's dough limits, add liquid gradually, and stop before dough climbs the shaft. Dough packed into the blade hub is the documented way to lock the bowl, and one buyer reports exactly that after pushing a batch too far.

Cleaning the blade hub

Rinse the blade hub promptly after use. It is the fiddliest part to clean, and dried dough or cheese makes it worse.

The same 14-cup machine is also sold as the Cuisinart 14-Cup food processor in Silver and as the Cuisinart DFP-14UMBY 14-Cup food processor in Umber. The color and finish named for each one are what set them apart, so the choice comes down to which one matches your kitchen. All three share the 14-cup work bowl.