Cuisinart Elite Collection 2.0 14-Cup Review
Pros: Slices great
Cons: Average at shredding, expensive
Bottom line: A costly, average food processor that is exceptional at slicing
Editors' Rating:
Bowl Size: 14 Cup and, 4.5 Cup mini bowl
Dimensions: W: 8.5", H: 17", D: 10.5"
Manufacturer: Cuisinart
Our Verdict
The Cuisinart Elite Collection 2.0 14-Cup is an alright food processor, but it didn't particularly impress us. While this model scored average or above in each of our testing metrics, it still was outperformed by the majority of the models that we looked at and had a substantially higher retail price than its peers. However, this model did stand out for its slicing performance, where it earned the highest score.
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Our Analysis and Test Results
Review by:
David Wise and Austin Palmer
David Wise and Austin Palmer
Last Updated:
Thursday
March 2, 2017
Thursday
March 2, 2017
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This model performed in somewhat the opposite way from the top scorers — excelling at slicing and doing an alright job in our other tests, where the others did well at everything and then faltered at slicing. This might make it a model to consider if you are looking at a food processor primarily for slicing, but it is on the pricey side and there are much less expensive options, such as a mandoline .
We spent about two months evaluating and testing these products, ranking their performance in over 25 distinct tests. The Cuisinart Elite landed near the bottom of the pack, as you can see in the chart below.
We further detail exactly what the Elite did well, and what it didn't, in the sections below. Our tests were grouped into six weighted metrics, each receiving an individual score, that was then combined to determine the overall score.
A dislike of chopping onions may be the primary reason that you are even considering getting one of these products in the first place. Even if you don't mind shedding a few tears during food preparation, any good food processor should handle chopping things with ease. The Cuisinart Elite did alright in this metric, earning a 6 out of 10 for its performance at chopping onions, carrots, almonds, and for the level of control offered by the "Pulse" button.
This model did about average at chopping onions, with the majority of two quartered onions being finely chopped with six pulses, except for the three very large chunks that remained un-chopped.
The Elite did worse at chopping carrots, actually tying for the lowest score of the group. This model struggled to chop all of the carrots, either leaving a bunch of large chunks and some correctly chopped carrots or over-processing a large portion of the batch to eliminate the residual larger pieces. It did substantially better at chopping almonds, producing a third-tier quality product. The almonds were chopped, but it took a little longer than other models and the Elite produced a lot more pulverized almond dust than we would have liked.
This model did offer some of the most precise control, with the blade stopping immediately upon the release of the "Pulse" button.
The Cuisinart Elite did equivalently well at mixing, earning the same score of 6 out of 10. We evaluated and ranked the pie crust dough, mayonnaise, and pizza dough produced by each appliance.
This model did an acceptable job at mixing pizza dough, though it did require some intervention with a spatula to knock the ball down to keep mixing. The ball of dough kept dragging on the lid and staying too wet, rather than adequately mixing before we intervened. It did a little better with pie crust dough, though there was some side sticking while mixing. The dough did have some dry spots in it when rolled out, evidence of insufficient mixing.
We could not successfully make mayonnaise in this model, but it would mix the lemon and egg in our 1-Cup recipe. We felt that it would be possible to make mayo in this model if you were much more experienced than we were.
Continuing its trend, the Elite scored a 6 out of 10 for pureeing. We compared the hummus, nut butter, tomato sauce, and applesauce that each machine made, using a panel of tasters to determine the scores.
The hummus created by this machine was very smooth and was rated as the third-best overall by our panel, tying with the Cuisinart Elemental. It did about average at grinding nut butter, though it did take some babysitting in the beginning, producing a satisfactory finished product in around 16 minutes.
The tomato sauce was of above average quality, similar to the Breville or the Braun. The applesauce was a little worse, producing a product that was chunkier than the Braun and left a large chunk of apple un-pureed. This model didn't do the best in our leak test, with water slowly dripping out around the seal.
The maximum fill line was at close to 10 cups of water in the bowl, which may have been a little ambitious.
The performance of the Elite dropped when it came to shredding, with this model only earning a 5 out of 10. We compared the shredded cheese, carrots, and potatoes created by each food processor, as well as comparing and contrasting the level of shredding adjustability provided by each machine.
The Elite has both a fine and medium shredding option. It didn't do the best at shredding cheese, tying for the lowest score with the KitchenAid 9-Cup and the KitchenAid Pro Line.
This model did about average at shredding potatoes, with around 80% of the shredded potato being high quality, and the rest being small and stringy. The Elite even further improved when it came to shredding carrots, with the actual shreds being very nice, with only a small part being a mutilated mush.
It also neglected to shred a handful of pieces, dropping its score slightly.
This model would fit a 2lb block of cheese in the chute without trimming. However, a relatively large chunk of cheese managed to squeeze through the shredding disc without being shredded and the shredded cheese produced had plenty of crumbles, reducing the quality.
This is the single metric where the Elite truly shined, earning an 8 out of 10 and tying for the top score. We tested each machine by slicing tomatoes, zucchini and potatoes and the Elite did a great job at shredding all three. We also really liked how the disc on this model was easily adjustable for slicing thickness, with millimeter increments marked out.
The sliced potatoes were about as perfect as we could hope for, with only a minuscule bit of taper on some slices. The sliced tomatoes were also fantastic, and the chute was large enough to fit even the largest tomato we tested with, even though it was a bit tight.
The zucchini slices were also impeccable, though the large chute made skinnier objects prone to fall over. Regardless, the slices were very consistent and had almost zero taper.
Resuming its previous trend, the Elite earned a 6 out of 10 for its ease of cleaning. The bowl, lid, blades, and discs are all dishwasher safe, though the manufacturer recommends using the top shelf only. The blade was of medium length and was of comparable difficulty to the Cuisinart Elemental to wash manually. The lid and bowl both were simple to clean, with no annoying plastic details for food to become snared in.
This model isn't a great value — it scored somewhat poorly and had a higher retail price.
While this model did excel at slicing, it failed to impress in our other tests. While it might be a good option if you only want to slice things, the price tag seems quite high for a slicing only machine.
The Cuisinart Elite was on the expensive side, and didn't score terribly well.
Performance Comparison
We spent about two months evaluating and testing these products, ranking their performance in over 25 distinct tests. The Cuisinart Elite landed near the bottom of the pack, as you can see in the chart below.
We further detail exactly what the Elite did well, and what it didn't, in the sections below. Our tests were grouped into six weighted metrics, each receiving an individual score, that was then combined to determine the overall score.
The chopping blade installed on the Elite.
Chopping
A dislike of chopping onions may be the primary reason that you are even considering getting one of these products in the first place. Even if you don't mind shedding a few tears during food preparation, any good food processor should handle chopping things with ease. The Cuisinart Elite did alright in this metric, earning a 6 out of 10 for its performance at chopping onions, carrots, almonds, and for the level of control offered by the "Pulse" button.
This model did about average at chopping onions, with the majority of two quartered onions being finely chopped with six pulses, except for the three very large chunks that remained un-chopped.
The three residual large chunks brought down the score for this model.
The Elite did worse at chopping carrots, actually tying for the lowest score of the group. This model struggled to chop all of the carrots, either leaving a bunch of large chunks and some correctly chopped carrots or over-processing a large portion of the batch to eliminate the residual larger pieces. It did substantially better at chopping almonds, producing a third-tier quality product. The almonds were chopped, but it took a little longer than other models and the Elite produced a lot more pulverized almond dust than we would have liked.
This model did offer some of the most precise control, with the blade stopping immediately upon the release of the "Pulse" button.
The mixing blade set up on the Elite.
Mixing
The Cuisinart Elite did equivalently well at mixing, earning the same score of 6 out of 10. We evaluated and ranked the pie crust dough, mayonnaise, and pizza dough produced by each appliance.
This model did an acceptable job at mixing pizza dough, though it did require some intervention with a spatula to knock the ball down to keep mixing. The ball of dough kept dragging on the lid and staying too wet, rather than adequately mixing before we intervened. It did a little better with pie crust dough, though there was some side sticking while mixing. The dough did have some dry spots in it when rolled out, evidence of insufficient mixing.
We could not successfully make mayonnaise in this model, but it would mix the lemon and egg in our 1-Cup recipe. We felt that it would be possible to make mayo in this model if you were much more experienced than we were.
Pureeing
Continuing its trend, the Elite scored a 6 out of 10 for pureeing. We compared the hummus, nut butter, tomato sauce, and applesauce that each machine made, using a panel of tasters to determine the scores.
The hummus created by this machine was very smooth and was rated as the third-best overall by our panel, tying with the Cuisinart Elemental. It did about average at grinding nut butter, though it did take some babysitting in the beginning, producing a satisfactory finished product in around 16 minutes.
The tomato sauce was of above average quality, similar to the Breville or the Braun. The applesauce was a little worse, producing a product that was chunkier than the Braun and left a large chunk of apple un-pureed. This model didn't do the best in our leak test, with water slowly dripping out around the seal.
This model leaked slightly, but not a catastrophic amount.
The maximum fill line was at close to 10 cups of water in the bowl, which may have been a little ambitious.
The Cuisinart Elite set up to shred.
Shredding
The performance of the Elite dropped when it came to shredding, with this model only earning a 5 out of 10. We compared the shredded cheese, carrots, and potatoes created by each food processor, as well as comparing and contrasting the level of shredding adjustability provided by each machine.
The Elite has both a fine and medium shredding option. It didn't do the best at shredding cheese, tying for the lowest score with the KitchenAid 9-Cup and the KitchenAid Pro Line.
There were a handful of small and stringy shreds bringing down the overall score for this model.
This model did about average at shredding potatoes, with around 80% of the shredded potato being high quality, and the rest being small and stringy. The Elite even further improved when it came to shredding carrots, with the actual shreds being very nice, with only a small part being a mutilated mush.
The Elite produced acceptable shredded carrots, with only a small portion of mush.
It also neglected to shred a handful of pieces, dropping its score slightly.
The Elite was much less efficient at other models, neglecting to shred a handful of pieces.
This model would fit a 2lb block of cheese in the chute without trimming. However, a relatively large chunk of cheese managed to squeeze through the shredding disc without being shredded and the shredded cheese produced had plenty of crumbles, reducing the quality.
The slicing blade on the Elite did an exceptional job.
Slicing
This is the single metric where the Elite truly shined, earning an 8 out of 10 and tying for the top score. We tested each machine by slicing tomatoes, zucchini and potatoes and the Elite did a great job at shredding all three. We also really liked how the disc on this model was easily adjustable for slicing thickness, with millimeter increments marked out.
The sliced potatoes were about as perfect as we could hope for, with only a minuscule bit of taper on some slices. The sliced tomatoes were also fantastic, and the chute was large enough to fit even the largest tomato we tested with, even though it was a bit tight.
The Cuisinart Elite produced some of the nicest sliced tomatoes of the group.
The zucchini slices were also impeccable, though the large chute made skinnier objects prone to fall over. Regardless, the slices were very consistent and had almost zero taper.
The Elite drying out after the cleaning test.
Cleaning
Resuming its previous trend, the Elite earned a 6 out of 10 for its ease of cleaning. The bowl, lid, blades, and discs are all dishwasher safe, though the manufacturer recommends using the top shelf only. The blade was of medium length and was of comparable difficulty to the Cuisinart Elemental to wash manually. The lid and bowl both were simple to clean, with no annoying plastic details for food to become snared in.
The included accessories with the Cuisinart Elite.
Value
This model isn't a great value — it scored somewhat poorly and had a higher retail price.
Though a little pricey, the Elite score fine.
Conclusion
While this model did excel at slicing, it failed to impress in our other tests. While it might be a good option if you only want to slice things, the price tag seems quite high for a slicing only machine.
—
David Wise and Austin Palmer
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