Cuisinart DLC-2ABC Mini Prep Plus, Brushed Chrome | 
| Brand: Cuisinart
List Price: $60.00
Buy New: $34.00
You Save: $26.00 (43%)
New (11) Used (1) from $20.00
Rating:  93 reviews
Sales Rank: 408
Color: Brushed Chrome
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 8.2 x 5.6
Legal Disclaimer: Sale Ends: 05-18-2008. You may return or exchange merchandise purchased from Macy's @ Amazon by mail only. Certain items are covered by warranty as indicated. To obtain a copy of the warranty prior to purchase, please write to: macys.com Customer Service Dept.; P.O. Box 8215; Mason, OH 45040; Small Ticket Department-Warranty;
MPN: DLC-2ABC
Model: DLC-2ABC
UPC: 086279000323
EAN: 0086279000323
ASIN: B0000645YM
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: No Box , never been used.
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| Features:
| • | Ideal for making pesto, grinding cheese, chopping onions, herbs | | • | Chops and grinds with patented reversible blade | | • | Blade's sharp edge chops soft foods, blunt edge grinds hard foods | | • | 3-cup plastic work bowl is dishwasher-safe | | • | Compact, just 9 inches high |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Powerful, versatile, and blessed with sleek good looks, this processor packs a lot into a small package. The 3-cup workbowl is convenient for many prep tasks and the exclusive SmartPower Blade auto-reverses to chop or grind at your command. Unlike larger models, this machine takes up very little counterspace, so leave it out to help you with daily meal prep like chopping onions, making garden fresh salsas and more.
Amazon.com Review
This little 250-watt workhorse comes in handy when a full-size food processor is unnecessary. The 3-cup work bowl is just right for making pesto or a salad dressing, and two receptacles in the lid have pinholes for one or two oils to stream into the bowl while the processor is blending a perfect emulsion. It's also ideal for chopping and grinding. Pressing the "chop" button deploys the sharp edge of Cuisinart's patented reversible blade to chop onions, herbs, or bread crumbs. Pressing the "grind" button whirls the blade in the other direction so its blunt side can grind nuts, coffee beans, or cheese. Compact at just 9 inches high and lightweight (it has a plastic body), the Mini Prep Plus can be tucked away in a cabinet, and the little spatula accompanying it goes into a drawer. It carries an 18-month warranty against defects. The plastic work bowl and lid are dishwasher-safe, but the stainless-steel blade should be hand washed to protect its edges. --Fred Brack
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| Customer Reviews: Read 88 more reviews...
Cuisinart Vs. KitchenAid Mini Choppers September 25, 2004
S. Burch (Texas)
509 out of 516 found this review helpful
When I starting searching for a mini-chopper I was surprised by the huge rating difference between the Cuisinart DLC2 and the KitchenAid KFC3100, so I bought both and did a side-by-side comparison. The only explanation I can give for the ratings difference is that Cuisinart buyers must have higher expectations. For most operations they have nearly identical performance and for some operations the Cuisinart is the clear winner.
Onions: Many Cuisinart reviewers panned its performance here, claiming it made onion puree, but most KitchenAid reviewers praised its onion chopping ability. I found almost no difference between the two. Maybe its an issue with the instructions - for chopped onions you must use a few short pulses. A few more pulses and you get minced onion - more than this and both give you onion puree. I wouldn't say either is great at chopping onions, but both are equally mediocre.
I also tested chopping nuts, and making breadcrumbs with similar results. Both performed about the same for a course chop, although the Cuisinart produced a more even chop on the nuts, but its when you want a really fine chop that the Cuisinart starts to shine. The first reason for this is the grind feature found only on the Cuisinart. This spins the blade in the opposite direction which allows the flat, back-side of the blade to impact the food. More importantly, it redistributes the food, so if you've got a couple of chunks that refuse to be chopped, a short pulse in the opposite direction helps it drop into the blade. For perfect, fine breadcrumbs I alternate between the normal chop mode for a few seconds, and grind for one second.
The other reason the Cuisinart gives a better fine chop is that it does a much better job of cycling the food through the blade. This is a real key when you're working with softer foods like spreads, pates or purees. When I made a cream cheese spread in both choppers the Cuisinart did a far quicker and better job of pulling the ingredients down the center and into the blade. The KitchenAid kept larger chunks bobbing on top. If you're making dips, spreads or baby food, the Cuisinart is the hands-down winner.
On the practical side, both choppers were equally easy to clean. Both have small holes in the lid for pouring in liquids on the fly, but only The KitchenAid has a slot for dry or thick ingredients - if that's important to you. Overall, I found the Cuisinart easier to use for several reasons. First, the Cuisinart blade drops on easily, while the KitchenAid blade is keyed and I found myself turning it several times before it dropped in. Second, the KitchenAid lid must be removed first before you can lift off the bowl, but on the Cuisinart, the bowl and lid can be detached as an assembly. Finally, the Cuisinart blade has a "handle" that extends to the top of the bowl like a popsicle stick allowing you to remove the blade without getting your fingers in the food.
After all my testing, I really can't understand the large ratings difference between these two. Neither is perfect - you'll never get a perfect, even, course chop with things like onions or chocolate, but they do come in handy. For many uses either one will give you pretty much the same results. Because of its advantage with softer foods and its ease of use, I recommend the Cuisinart.
 so... you want a food processor? July 15, 2002
S. Rasco (Austin, TX)
93 out of 98 found this review helpful
I have the Mini-Prep and I have the big guy version, but I use the MP 10x as much. It does everything! Want chopped garlic? peel a couple heads, add 2-3T of olive oil and about a 1/4-1/2tsp. of salt. It keeps in a jar in the fridge and tastes a heck of a lot better than the store kind! Fresh herbs, nuts, peppers without burning hands...it's great! When I'm done, I just rinse it out. This is my favorite appliance after my blender, and if this made smoothies and margaritas, it would be my favorite!
I love my MiniPrep, it's a great help! November 28, 2005
Vyshtia (CA, USA)
72 out of 73 found this review helpful
I got this as a gift from my boyfriend and have been using it regularly. This is one of those things that you don't think you ever need (and I did give this topic extensive thought), but once you have it, you would really miss it.
The good is that it is really good at FINELY chopping things.
The bad is that it is really good at FINELY chopping things.
Keeping this in mind, I've learnt when to use and when to just use my knife. For instance, when chopping walnuts for banana bread, I put a cup of walnuts into the processor and hit "Chop" - it immediately chopped the walnuts into good sized chunks, but there was a couple of walnuts that didn't get cut yet, so I hit the "Chop" button a couple more times, but that turned the rest of the walnuts to a very small almost "powder" consistency. I tried it again, with about the same results. I guess I could try putting in less walnuts at a time, but then that would defeat the purpose of "less work" since I'd have to put in a small amount, chop, dump out the first batch, repeat. It's much easier in this case to do a coarse chop with knife. Chopping Mushrooms in this device also was lacking, it kind of made a mushroom puree.
Where it shines though is in my daily meals where I'm making some kind of pan sauce. Just about all my pan sauces or pan meals start with butter/oil, then saute'ing some garlic and onions. I'll just peel a few cloves of garlic, coarse chop an onion, dump it all into the MiniPrep, and presto, it's done! When I'm ready to dump it into my pan, just remove the co, remove the blade and use a mini-silicone spatula to dump the contents directly into the pan. A quick rinse of the lid, blade, and work bowl, and the processor can be put away. That can't be any easier.
For larger meals and more ingredients, it's great to just coarsely chop your items, dump into the processor, let it do it's work, and then fill up your prep bowls with the different ingredients - making everything easier once you're cooking.
I find the "Chop" and "Grind" feature to be pretty much the same thing, just in opposite directions. The opposite direction thing is helpful to get the food to drop down to the blade. If you don't put too much in the processor, once the piece is chopped, it gets flung to the sides of the work bowl and sticks there, creating empty space for the unchopped foods to drop into the blade. Everything gets chopped evenly...it just gets chopped very finely too.
The entire unit is very easy to use and clean. The blades are extremely sharp, so be careful when washing those. The clear plastic work bowl does get a little scratched up and not so clear anymore after a bit of use...but then, it's a work bowl. The buttons are under a protective plastic, sealed - so no chance of anything getting under the buttons, just a quick wipe and it's clean!
Overall, the unit is small, solid, quiet, easy to use, and easy to clean. It's great for fine chops to puree, not so great for coarse chops/dice. Perfect size for meals for 2 people. For making larger meals you may want to look at the larger cup sized processors, or just make a couple of batches.
New and Improved Mini-Prep April 25, 2001
Michela (Seattle, WA, USA)
58 out of 59 found this review helpful
As I have a full-size Cuisinart, I debated about buying a Cuisinart Mini-Prep Food Processor. However, I soon discovered that the Mini-Prep was ideal for chopping onions (without tears), making pate, chopped liver, and chutney. Soon I purchased a second plastic work bowl, so that when making pate I could use one for chopping lightly braised chicken livers, and the other for chopping onions and hard-cooked eggs. I do not recommend the Mini-Prep for grinding hard cheeses; I would use the plastic Zyliss rotary cheese grater instead. Also, I do not use the Mini-Prep for chopping or mincing herbs because it is too easy to bruise them; I use either a chef's knife or a rolling mincer, like the Pedrini Acciaio.The Mini-Prep is very easy to use, and it has a strong pulsing action. You use it the same way that you would use the larger Cuisinart. After a brief pulsing, you use a small plastic spatula to scrape down the sides of the container and pulse again. The ingredients are always chopped uniformly. If you want something minced or pureed, you just pulse it a bit longer. With this new and improved Mini-Prep, you can reverse the blade without taking it out of the container. There are now two pulsing bars: 'chop' and 'grind.' The booklet that comes with the Mini-Prep is very informative about which side of the blade works best with different items. Also, you can now pour oil into the container through two small holes in the top, which is perfect when making mayonnaise, aioli, or pesto. One caution: one side of the Mini-Prep's blade is very sharp! I cut myself the first time I used it. So now I handle it with care. I wash the blade by hand, but I put the containers in the top rack of the dishwasher.
A time for every seasoning......, July 30, 2006
Southern Review (USA)
46 out of 49 found this review helpful
A time for every seasoning......and a utensil for every purpose. The Cuisinart Mini Prep does not serve well as a primary processor for heavy jobs. That was not its intended design, or function. It is not a parmesan cheese grater nor does it compete with a sharp French knife for uniformly chopping onions.
I obtained my first mini prep as a promotional gift with a DLC-7 purchase. For many years they have been contributing to my cooking enjoyment as a problem-free, complimentary team in a busy kitchen. When their lexan lids eventually chipped, (which admittedly is a major cause of aggravation with Cuisinart's products) I opted to replace them rather than spend up to 50% of their new cost for replacement bowls. I upgraded the old DLC-7 that is still mechanically perfect, with a MP-14 TM Limited Edition.
The Mini Prep perfectly compliments larger processors.
The mini prep makes delectable, creamy homemade sauces and dressings. It performs equally well making pesto, creamed butter, chopped fresh herbs, including garlic, chopped nuts, small portion purees, deviled eggs, spreads, and speedy fresh salsas. It has a fast and slow lever whose function I like because they may be "pulsed" on and off with an instantaneous response. This offers a demanding cook tremendous control over several types of prep functions conducive to small processors.
Mini Prep seems perfectly designed to make small portions of emulsified sauces and dressings, such as cilantro mayonnaise for grilled fish, or a dollop on fresh grilled corn salad.
Here is a basic example of how I use this workhorse.
Herb mayonnaise: place dry seasonings, a dab of honey, poupon mustard, flavored vinegars, or lemon/lime juice in the jar. Pulse to mix. Add about a tablespoon (who measures?) of Just Whites, dry pasteurized egg whites to the liquid (no cholesterol, calories, or salmonellae fears) ---pulse to mix---add a hand full of fresh herbs (cilantro, or dill, or tarragon is nice)----pulse to chop slightly. Then use the wonderfully designed lid that holds oil and has two holes on the top that will drizzle in the oil of your choice, without opening the lid, or fiddling with additional attachments that drizzle oil. You have the additional control to shift the motor speed instantaneously from high speed, to slower, or pulse mode, in direct accordance to your temperamental sauce's precise requirement as it thickens.
Result: Restaurant quality chef's sauces come together effortlessly in minutes! Large processor's work bowls are too large for this type of job. One must repeatedly scrape the bowl's sides, and the motors are additionally too powerful to make small portions described above as successfully as the Mini Prep's performance.
The Mini prep is very lightweight which makes it a delight to store in the pantry. It assembles and disassembles quickly and effortlessly. I especially love the function of the two (tiny) holes on the lid, along with the ease of the lid's removal for ingredient additions. The design and function permit those who love to cook an opportunity to enjoy their creativity in the kitchen without fighting with obstinate, dysfunctional appliances.
It is a great convenience and a breeze to use. I love this little workhorse.
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