Say Hello To My Onion Mechanical Chopper!

The Mrs. and I are bargain shoppers; unless there is deal to be had, there is no money changing hands.  So despite the fact that I have wanted a small 3-cup chopper for the longest I held off for a deal, and this past week it came my way in the form of a 10% off sale from JCPenney.com, with free shipping to boot!  The chopper, or small food processor as it is know in some circles, is a KitchenAid KFC3100 3-Cup Chef's Chopper.   

Why did I want a 3-cup food processor you ask?  Because I was tired of tearing up when chopping up onions, it sucks as I am sure most of us know.  But that wasn't the only reason, I also cook almost all of our dinners and use loads of fresh vegetables and that means chopping and dicing, and chopping, which is time consuming.     

So I have lusted after a small 3-cup food processor/chopper for a while now and in a battle between KitchenAid and Cuisinart, the KitchenAid 3-Cup Chef's Chopper won, based on style and user reviews like this one. 

The simple KitchenAid 3-Cup Chef's Chopper is a small foot print 3-cup two-blade chopper that features just one button, the pulse/on-off switch.  The cup is removable as is the blade and can be cleaned with warm soap and water.  The chopper has a safety feature in that it will not work without the cup being locked into place. 

Use
 
The 3.4lbs KitchenAid 3-Cup Chef's Chopper is a clear winner and made short work of my onion.  A few short pushes of the "pulse" button made dicing up my onion effortless; almost too effortless, because the first time I used it, the onion came out too finely chopped.  So have a care.     
 
The top of the plastic 3-cup container has two openings in the smallish feed tube: a large opening for dry ingredients and a smaller one for liquids ingredients.  While the dry side works well enough, care must be taken when pouring liquid into the tube to prevent spilling over because the opening is very small. 

It took me a while to figure out the whole locking container thing-no I did not read the booklet-but given time it all made sense.  The included spatula works well at getting food out of the container.  The blade locks in place for use, but is easy enough to remove and clean.  Speaking of cleaning KitchenAid recommends using a damp cloth and warm soapy water to clean the base, but everything else can be tossed in the dishwasher.  There is an opening at the bottom of the base in which to store the power cord. 

Needless to say I love this new little machine, the KitchenAid 3-Cup Chef's Chopper (red). I am glad I waited for the little processor that could, it was well worth the wait.   
 
Product Features
 
Capacity: 3-cups Stainless steel multipurpose blade chops, minces, blends, mixes and emulsifies Powerful induction motor processes tough jobs Sealed, heavy-duty base provides stable, quiet operation Clear, durable work bowl resists staining Clean Touch control pad wipe clean easily