CA – MAR 16 : COVER STORY
Pick the right food processor
Whether you are a homemaker or a chef, your best companion in the kitchen today is the versatile Food Processor. A good Food Processor can do repetitive and time-consuming tasks like dicing onions and chopping coriander in a jiffy. Food Processors can perform many more functions as compared to food mixers and blenders.
So, are all Food Processors the same? No. We tested 14 models of 11 popular brands and found differences in performance, convenience and, of course, price. Time and again our test findings have busted the myth that more the price, better the product.
Our test results for Food Processors once again shows that the most expensive brand Black & Decker is not the b
est performer. Morphy Richards at less than half the price has performed much better. The major edge Black & Decker has over other brands is that it has given instructions on disposal/recycling.
Best Buy: We recommend Morphy Richards as the Best Buy as it topped in both performance and convenience. Though Black & Decker was the top scorer overall, its price was very high and it scored less than Morphy Richards in performance.
The 14 models were tested for performance, convenience, construction, safety and environmental criteria. (Results for the top 3 models are given in the table)Â
Performance: We used the food processor models to do certain tasks and found out how well and how quickly they were done. The tasks were: (i) citrus juice making (ii) slicing – carrots and cucumbers (iii) grating – cheese and carrots (iv) mixing – dosa dough (v) chopping – coriander (vi) grinding – dry coconut and (vii) blending – masala lassi and banana lassi.
Overall, Black & Decker, Morphy Richards, Glen (GL-4051) and the two Reconnect models were found to be good performers. Among the poor performers was Inalsa Maxie DX as slicing of carrots was found to be very uneven even after 69 seconds. Rico (FP-102) performed poorly in the test for grating of cheese as the cheese particles were much thicker compared to other models. Singer and Rico (FP-102) took one minute to chop coriander but it was still badly chopped with mashing of leaves.
Convenience: The 14 models were assessed for convenience which included ease of use, storage and cleaning. Black & Decker, Glen (GL-4051), Morphy Richards, Reconnect (both models) and Rico (KP-603) were found to be convenient to use. Among the brands that did not too well in this parameter was Inalsa Wonder Maxie Plus in which the on/off switch was very inconvenient to operate.
While speed selection was tough in Prestige and Sunflame, fixing and removal of grinding bowls was difficult in Singer. Accessories and attachments of Sunflame, Inalsa Wonder Maxie Plus and Singer were not easy to clean.
Construction: Among the factors assessed in this parameter were quality and positioning of controls, blades and fitting of lids and accessories. Construction quality of Black & Decker, Morphy Richards, Glen (both models), Reconnect (both models) and Rico (KP-603) was found to be good.
Safety: Since safety is of paramount importance, we were relieved to note that all the models conformed to the six safety tests we conducted.
Environmental criteria: The three criteria considered were energy consumption, sound power level and disposal/recycling instructions. The Morphy Richards model consumed more energy and did not give any disposal/recycling instructions. Hence it scored much lower than Black & Decker in environmental criteria.
Grahak Sathi’s conclusion: It is worth purchasing a food processor for your home especially when you are preparing food in bulk for guests or during a festival. Though Grahak Sathi has recommended a best buy, while selecting your model, also consider the attachments you need and how frequently you will be using the appliance.
|
Brands |
Overall Score1 (%) |
Price2 (Rs.) |
————————   SCORES    ———————— |
|||
|
Construction quality |
Performance |
Convenience |
Environmental criteria |
|||
|
Black & Decker (FX-1000) |
88.2 |
16395 |
98 |
77 |
92 |
95 |
|
Morphy Richards (Select 500) |
85.5 |
6995 |
96 |
81 |
92 |
60 |
|
Reconnect (RHFPB 1001) |
83.7 |
7990 |
94 |
78 |
88 |
66 |
|
Weightage (%) |
100 |
30 |
40 |
20 |
10 |
|
| 1 Overall score calculated after giving weightages to four parameters as per table. Since all brands conformed to the safety requirements this parameter has not been considered for rating | ||||||
| 2 Sample price is the MRP marked on the packaging | ||||||
