Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 DLC-8S

Performance

Shredding, puréeing? Check. Chopping, slicing, grating? Questionable. In professional tests, it does well with shredding and puréeing tasks, but its chopping, slicing and grating performance are only average. One owner at Macys.com describes "fantastic results" with a wide range of tasks, including slicing vegetables, shredding cheese, chopping walnuts and blending frozen fruit smoothies. A few reviews warn that the Cuisinart can't handle thick bread dough, although as one user points out, the instructions do warn against using the machine for any dough too stiff to mix by hand.

Ease of use

"Fiddly" feed tube. To get the machine to lock, owners say food must be precut into such small pieces -- meaning it's often quicker to do the whole job by hand. However, other owners find the Cuisinart easy to assemble and use. Most say cleanup is simple, as all parts are dishwasher-safe; those who have to wash it by hand, however, say the blades and feed tube are tricky to clean. Storage can also be a problem, especially for the razor-sharp blades. A storage case for these parts is available for purchase but is not included with the machine.

Durability

Motor warranty shorter than some. The top-rated Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus DLC-2011CHB (*Est. $200), for example, has a 10-year motor warranty and the rest of the machine is covered for three years. The warranty on this lower-priced model, by contrast, covers the entire machine for just three years. We didn't find many durability complaints about the Pro Custom 11, so the shorter warranty may not be a major issue, but those who had to replace parts warn they are expensive.

Noise

No noise complaints. According to professional tests, it is one of the quietest models available. Users agree, saying this food processor is nice and quiet.

Bottom line

With the Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 DLC-8S, you get reliable, quiet performance for a low price tag. Its performance isn't as consistently strong as the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus DLC-2011CHB, and it does have quirks, but it's still a solid budget choice.