Are you in the market for a food processor. The popularity of the food processor has risen greatly over the past couple of years as their ease of use, efficiency and how quickly food can be prepared has been discovered and exploited by consumers.

A food processor with the right attachments can prepare food in seconds that would take a person with a knife minutes.

So what do we look for in a food processor to know it is the one that will provide the best bang for the buck. Here is a list of features to consider that should help you decide which food processor will be the one for you.

1. Safety features – Be sure the pusher assembly tabs that connect the push assembly to the bowl are durable. Over time, this is what will wear out first

2. Power – For things like kneading bread dough. Some machines say they can knead dough, but they have a hard time which will shorten the life of your food processor

3. Blade Variety – A good variety of blades of a sturdy heavy metal is what you are looking for. Cheap units come with what sometimes looks like tin. Avoid this.

4. Ease of Cleaning. – you want to be able to thoroughly clean the unit. Look for rounded edges and simplicity when selecting your food processor

5. Cup Capacity – I have seen cup capacities of 7, 10, 11, 12 and 14 cups. Which size do you require.

6. Max length of food that can be placed into the food shoot – With older units, you could shove a full sized cucumber, carrot or celery stick right into the food shoot and expect it to be shredded. With some of today’s units, the food that will be processed has to be inside the shoot, so the pusher can engage the motor. This is a big complaint with many newer units, but is viewed as a safety function by manufacturers.

7. Food Pusher Functionality – There are some pushers that will not fully bottom out on the inside of the food shoot. This can result in large chunks of leftover food that could otherwise have been processed.

8. Effectiveness of Shredding Function. – During shredding, is there a uniform and complete shred or cut to the food being processed. Sometimes, with lesser quality models, gaps between the blade and the housing will allow large amounts of partially processed food to get past the blade and into the bowl. Make sure the blades are sturdy and strong enough that they do not bend during the processing function creating this gap that causes this problem.

When these factors are taken into consideration, you will find that the cuisinart food processor and the kitchenaid food processor lines have the industrial strength manufacturing that will provide years of quality use with no need for replacing parts or the need to purchase a new food processor.