The Expert Prep Pro is Cuisinart’s most advanced food processor, combining the very best performance with total versatility to save you endless time and give you perfect results. It comes with a wide range of accessories for all kinds of food prep – use it to slice and dice for hearty stews and casseroles; grate and spiralise for the freshest salads; mix dips, sauces, cake batters and fillings, and even prepare dough for bread and pizzas. We’ve broken down the features worth considering when you’re shopping around for one of these multi-tasking machines. The Tower processor sits at the lowest price point of all the machines tested and, although not the best on test, it has some great features that anyone seeking a simple, easy-to-use processor for lighter duties would appreciate. It’s not the cheapest processor but far from the most expensive, making this a great-value, super-efficient and good-looking machine. The bowl size of the food processors we’ve tested range from 1.9 litres to 3.7 litres, and the bigger they are, the more features the appliances tend to have. It makes sense that a food processor boasting lots of features will likely take up much more space than one that’s limited to chopping, grating and puréeing.

The base of the Prep Pro was lighter than expected when compared to similarly priced machines, but that in no way affected the rigours of the testing, which were all tip-top with no complaints at all. The processor sits well on the counter with little vibration, meaning it’s also quiet. The Tefal processor has an impressive range of attachments, which at this price is a bargain. It’s sturdy and even on top speed there was little vibration, meaning a very quiet machine. There is also an in-bowl storage box and the cord winds neatly away, making this an excellent space-saving processor. Are you a busy cook making family meals, baking, bread making and entertaining, or, do you merely want to speed up preparing ingredients? Your choice will help determine what functions are essential to you. How much space do you have? The Magimix is the quietest of the processors tested too, as its solidity holds it firmly on the worktop with little or no vibration. This solidity, however, makes the processor one of the largest and heaviest but, if you have a large family to feed, are a fervent baker or avid cook, you’re going to love this machine.Chopping, mixing, grating, slicing, dicing – and more besides – if you’re looking for a food processor that will take big kitchen prep tasks in its stride, you can finish your search right here. Ideal for busy cooks, the Cuisinart Expert Prep Pro food processor will be your best friend in the kitchen, saving you loads of time and effort when you’re batch baking or cooking for a crowd.

We whip cream and blend homemade mayonnaise and, finally, we mix pastry dough and cake batter to see how well the processor kneads and mixes, before baking both to analyse the texture of the finished product. Key specs – Size: 42.5(H) x 21(W) x 26.5(D) cm; Bowl Size: 3 litres; Power: 950w; Attachments: 2 slicing discs, 2 grating discs, dough blade, stainless steel blade, triple pusher and extra-large feeder tube, egg whisk, blending tool and spatula; Additional notable features: Large, medium and small bowl (with blades) When mixing up cake batter to make a dozen small cupcakes it moved across the counter despite being on the low-speed setting, so it’s best to keep a hand on the lid to hold it in place. We also had to stop it and scrape down the sides twice to ensure all the ingredients were fully incorporated, but it did the job. Key specs – Size: 42(H) x 20(W) x 28 (D) cm; Bowl size: 3 litres; Power: 550w; Attachments: 2 slicing and grating discs, mini bowl and blade, dough blade, stainless steel blade, 3-part pusher, large feeder tube, egg whisk, blending tool and spatula; Additional notable features: Touchpad control panel, dicing and spiraliser kitsShredding was a different story, we had mixed results. Cheese shredded well with even medium size shreds, there was a small piece - about 12 percent of the total – that got trapped on top of the disc and not shredded, but overall it was a success. Shredded carrot was fairly even but we did notice some much finer shreds amongst the medium size pieces. Two chunks of carrot were left on top of the disc at the end. Multi-function processors are bulky, some with many attachments. Perhaps a compact style will suit you better.

The Ninja is an impressive food system, which is not just useful to the home cook but to anyone seeking a healthy eating and drinking lifestyle.Key specs – Size: 42(H) x 25(W) x 34(D); Bowl size: 1.5 litre; Power: 600w; Attachments: 1 grating/slicing disc, blender disc and stainless-steel chopping blade; Additional notable features: 1.4-litre blender There is no storage with this processor though and with so many attachments – jugs, bowls etc. – it requires a lot of space. The blades and the slicing discs, as would be expected, are super sharp and with no distinctive safe storage, accidents can happen, as a cut finger here bears testament. Silicone feet stop the processor from moving around the worktop, even when mixing heavier ingredients like dough

The Andrew James machine is good value considering it’s so well-equipped, meaning there is little need for any other gadget. The attachments are not as substantial as the more expensive machines but made short work of all the punishing processes it was put through, with little wastage. Stability: It’s vital that a food processor is stable on a countertop because of the speed their blades spin at. All the models above have non-slip or suction-cup feet to limit movement. There is a recipe chip included in the price, which gives easy access to tried-and-tested, basic recipes displayed on the touchscreen. There’s also a subscription-based service called Cookidoo that provides access to thousands of recipes online. It’s powerful enough to grind up 500g / 18o diced beef without jamming. But unlike in a larger model, we had to stop it and stir the pieces to ensure it was all evenly ground. Again, we used the pulse button for this and kept a hand on the lid to stop it moving.In the small bowl (UK model only) we milled hazelnuts using the high-speed setting, which was slower than we expected. Subsequently, the result was a little uneven with some powder mixed in with larger pieces. Key specs – Size: 23 x 41.5 x 23 cm; Bowl size: 2.4 litres; Power: 800w; Attachments: 8 with 4 grating/slicing discs, blades, whisks, coffee grinder, citrus press, spatula and large 2-part plunger; Additional notable features: 1.5-litre blender litre bowl for mixing and blending bigger batches, and for slicing, grating, dicing and spiralising Chopping onion was easy in the large bowl, resulting in fine, evenly chopped pieces. It also created even breadcrumbs, after we added four slices of bread cut in quarters into the bowl. It took 20 presses of the pulse button until we were happy with the result. There are many parts to the Cuisinart Prep Pro and thankfully storage has been well thought through, with separate boxes for discs and blades. The dicer and spiraliser will need extra room in the cupboard but are worth it.