Since no one has responded yet, I'll bump it.

I'm sure it works well enough. I had a kind of proto-FP given to me when I was young and the real ones were expensive. It was a sad thing, but it worked. That said, my beloved Breville has a small optional bowl and knife, which is a meh combo at best. It’s good for sauces, but not so much for small scale. OTOH, the little micro FP that came with my little stick blender works really really well. I usually just do small quantities by hand with my chef's knife, but the stick blender in its cup for a sauce, or running the micro chopper for veg, is really excellent. I also have my new Chinese standing drum shredder/slicer, which is fab! I've only used it for real for grating cheese, but it does veg too, and has five cutter shapes. I love that it's crank operated and all the food touching parts go easily in the dishwasher. Just to mention alternatives until someone with the real answer comes along...

Chinese standing drum shredder/slicer? oh, maybe like this?

I have this in red. i have the same problem with my big FP. thismworks well and has an opening in the lid to add liquids - very handy. I also have an old cuisinart that won’t die. it still works well but does not have the opening.

A slightly different model, but yes to the drum grater. I don't know how well it'll last but it seems sturdy enough, and it's pretty easy to crank.

I have a different brand and while I like it for coarsely chopping things I find for things like pesto I have to add some of the oil when I first start then scrape the bottom between blades or the mixture does not become smooth. Fine if you want larger pieces in what you are making but not so good if you want smooth. Alternative that has been suggested but I am too impatient is to start with oil then add leaves in small bunches.

I have to add oil part way through or it doesn’t blend well. I’ve been using a very small chopper and winging/eyeballing the amount of fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, parmesan and olive oil. It get pretty smooth. Sometime I should try making a batch in my large mortar with pestle.

Question about the California LEAD (Pb) warning with this Kitchenaid food chopper. Here is the ”warning”

While I am not in California, I don’t want to have lead getting on my hands or into my food.

What degree of danger is there and is the lead warning becausr of lead solder in the wiring?

The Prop 65 warning applies to everything, and is usually no problem at the consumer levels, other than really cheap, off brand imports that slid through undetected—and those wouldn't have the label. It covers a lot more than lead, but heavy metals are the culprit in most of the consumer gadgets. Is the unit a bright color? If so, it could be in the enamel. Not a worry unless you steep your food in alcohol or acid on the exterior of the unit. If it is solder or other wiring, it would be a problem if it melted and aerosolized or oozed out. In general, it's not a worry on something no one (including a baby) is going to suck on and doesn't come into direct contact with food. Restaurants with charbroilers have to post Prop. 65 warnings (about the air). That said, it's real, so ask the CS people to be sure it's something you're comfortable with.

Thanks. A whole lot of people and kids apparently aren’t aware that they should wash their hands well after handling those strings of holiday or party lights. Maybe a lot of people are eating popcorns and cookies while stringing lights.

Now, I am considering getting the 5-Cup. That onw has a whisking gizmo. It will also do smaller batches — you aren’t supposed to fill much beyond half way in any case.

Maybe what I’d like is a personal chef and endless options. Or, better yet, I’d like my younger body back, except for a few things.

There is a cordless KA 5-Cup that has a li ion battery, but that is more expensive and hard to say how well or long that battery will last. And all have thin plastic work bowls.

I have a small Ninja. It sits on my kitchen counter and takes up no space. I use it all the time. I throw a clove of garlic in it...zip, chopped perfectly.

Throw an onion, two onions, chopped perfectly.

It's small about 2 cups and takes up no space. Always plugged in, I use it for chopping everything.

Jane

New Question, if I might.

I have a very small good chopper for garlic, etc. and a bit larger one. that is beginning to wear.

I think I want a % cuo (fits more like 3 cup effectively) and one with a hole at top for adding oil. The KA 5 Cup looks good, but here is a new question. I found a vendor that has some described as ”USED” for about 1/2 the price. I’ve noticed with these KA modles that there seem to be a lot of buyers who just cannot either grasp or follow the directions or are mechanically and intuitively handicapped. So they just send a good unit back, insisting that it is ”defective” when it is their error.

Have you ever bought a used or open box device (modest in price) with good outcome?

Thanks.

PS ”Vendor is not inclined to carefully test a returned unit for resale especially if chopper will be sold at a steep discount.”

So I will get new one.

Timely post. Yesterday I made some home made spaghetti sauce and used my full size Cuisinart to chop a bit of onion and mushroom and then a can of stewed tomatoes. My little chopper bit the dust this year and I have been mulling what to replace it with. My full sized Cuisinart is often too much space and power for most of my needs. It's also not fun to clean because it takes up so much space in either the dishwasher or drying rack . . . I was looking at some electric "mincer" type choppers but then yesterday I was thinking I would get more multiple uses out of a smaller Cuisinart food processor . . . sigh. I have so little space in my kitchen, I really have to mull any type of additional kitchen gadget purchases, I just don't have room to store rarely used stuff. That said, I still keep my mother's copper chafing dish around . . . . I don't recall her ever using it and I sure don't! But I like the idea that some day I might have a fancy party and serve lobster thermidor out of it . . . or crepes Suzette . . . My mother got it as a wedding gift, it was aspirational in 1959. I'd get more use out of it using it as a planter for succulents . . . but I don't have space for that either . . .

I pinkmountain, I understand. I have too much stuff.

I have a Cuisinart Custom 11 full food processor that I don’t use much, but is nice to have when I want it. I have found other work arounds.

For making spaghetti sauce, I just smash whack garlic cloves, quickly chop onion with a che’f knife. After it’s added to the tomatoes and cooked, I use an immersion blender on the pot of sauce. Works like a charm.

I used to use a tiny sunbeam chopper for garlic and ginger for stir friea, but nowadays, just use a sharp chef’s knife or similar to quickly smash or mince.

One more thing, pink. Sometimes an imersion blender comes bundled with a little chopping work bowl with which it can work, as well as a sortof frappe’ or smoothie tumbler. That might be a good option for you if you can do any more robust chopping (cabbages, onions, carrots) with a chef’s knife.

Here is one, but I think you can get better prices/deals.

https://www.kohls.com/

got one for the kids when they got a new flat ... they seem to use it and have not mentioned getting an industrial sized one.

I recommend that you check our Americas Test KItchen reviews for processors. I think that they did a really good job of finding the pros and cons of the different ones.

The only problem with reviews like that is that they actually have the machine right there and can examine it and see for themselves some of the more subtle details of how it is made that sets one apart from another, and we dont have that advantage of actually having the machine right there to see these details. These are not the details that are printed on the side of the box. These are details that you may only judge by actually having the machine right there and experiencing for yourself.

One example is that they talk of the amount of space between the outer reach of the blade and the bowl. There is an advantage to having just the right spacing between the blade and the inner edge of the bowl. But, that is not ever going to be one of the details that you will find in the advertising or specifications of the product.

Another specification that they talk about is how quickly the blades respond to "off". This makes a difference as they point out. Once again, that is not information found on the box.

Overall they do a good review.

I, too had settled on the KA one but am still considering if I want to add anything to my downsized and streamlined kitchen.

I have no need for the big ones and the smaller ones have no ability to grate cheese, which is one of the reasons that I want one. Mostly I have used my old Cusiinart one for grating cheese and making my home made bread crumbs. I bought it at a yard sale decades ago and it is old and ugly and the grating ability has now broken. But, I used it for maybe about 20 years.

I want one that is small and can grate cheese and do the other standard tricks. It seems that you have to buy a big one to get all the tricks, and I have no use for a big one. Often the full sized machines dont so as good a job with smaller amounts. And, they are big to store and take up counter space.

So, like most all purchases that I make anymore, I just think about it an awful lot before I actually buy. Most times i just dont buy ,at all. There is so much that we think we need, but we dont really.

I'll probably just keep the old one for bread crumbs and get a drum grater for the cheeses. It is old. I am old . We will see who lasts the longest.

I don't have this brand but the one I have I love. Back in the day I had a one cupper. I made all my own baby food with it, chopped all my holiday nuts for baking it's a marvelous invention. I'm not one for a lot of kitchen appliances--I just do not have the room but this is one I will always appreciate!

I have that small KitchenAid food chopper of it works very well. That is when I can get it open to use Don't know why I have to struggle with getting the container twisted and unlocked to add items to. I should have sent it back. Hoping y'all might have some suggestions for me as to how to really get it open.

First, Walnutcreek, a lot of people have had difficulty with getting this KA opened, but if is sper easy — so easy that it might be what confuses some. I will try to include a link that is excellent and demonstrating this. But, for now, here is a simple narrative for putting on and removing the KitchenAid (KA) mini chopper:

Leave the spindle and the blade out of this for now, and have the unit unplugged.

With the chopper facing you, and with the handle to the right or in front of you I should say, set the bowl down on the unit with the handle at about the 4 or 5 o’clock position. You may have to swivel it around a bit to find the notched out area and you will hear it fall into place. When it has clicked into place (muffled, click, not a sharp click and you can sense it as well as hear it), turn the handle counter clockwise until the handle is it the 3 o’clock position. This position also will make a slight audible muffled click.

For the cover, do this. In a similar way to the work bowl, put the cover on at about the same orientation so that the part of the cover (that black portion with the little thumb hollow) is out about the 4 o’clock or 5 o’clock position in relation to the top of the work bowl. Then, without pressing down on anything, gently rotate the top the cover counter clockwise until it is over the handle of the work bowl. You may hear a little bit of a click or a muffled clicking noise. It should now be in the proper place.

The work-bowl and the cover must be in the proper alignment for the unit to turn on and work. The cover does not contain a switch, but lines up over a thin metal rod in the work-bowl that in over a switch in the body of the chopper. Depressing on the thumb hollow on the handle will mechanically depress the rod in the work-bowl that will then make contact with the switch in the body of the chopper. These parts need to fit together in a precise way for the chopper to turn on and to only turn on when the parts are aligned so that there are no injuries to the operator.

To REMOVE the cover: without depressing the hollow thumb area, just give that area of the cover a little push forward so that is slides clockwise away from the work-bowl handle. Once it is clear of the work bowl handle, the cover can be removed.

It’s very easy. Just understand how it must work (the logic of the mechanics), and remember to not apply any downward pressure to the cover at the thumb area when removing, turning it.

Here is a good video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cBLE1rPUPk:

Good points, Claudia. I also look at lots of reviews.

I have other choppers and grinders of various sizes. I bought the 5 Cuo KitchenAid after reading reviews and watching videos.

The 6 cuo size will suit my needs for making the preferred amounts of pesto, hummus, and maybe baba ganoush. It has an opening at the top for adding things like oil. It also has a whipping disk that makes whipped cream in under 30 seconds.

These units work best when not overfilled, so a 5 Cup chopper really wants to be filled only about half way so that, with pulsing, it will get all of what’s in the work-bowl, not just the material at the bottom. And it I only put three cloves of garlic in the work-bowl, that will also get chopped.

I already have a Cuisinart Custom 11 processor as well as a couple of small Sunbeam or Oster choppers and a blender. I have a mandolin and hand held nut and cheese graters. Salvation Arm and Goodwill stores usually have small tools like this that are easy to clean and good buys.

The KA 5 Cup mini food chopper is fast, fairly quiet and easy to use. It made smooth pesto in no time at all and I cold get a lot more leaves into the work-bowl than the larger of my Sunbeam or Oster choppers. You can pulse, chop or puree and whip. There is a recess at the bottom of the base for storing the cord. The cord is on the short side.

I predict that I will get a lot of use from this little chopper.

By the way, a handful of other vendors will match the big A store’s prices and delivery options, so keep Bed Bath and Beyond, and Walmart and other vendors in mind. I got much faster delivery from the online Not-A store.

Here is some of the pesto (Joy of cooking recipe with a bit of modification).

Taken in very low light

We made about 6 of these deli containers full. size is about a cup. I will freeze some. (BTW, defrost works best in a bowl of warm or hot water. The microwave might give uneven thawing and melting.)

@petalique, thank you so much. I am saving this to a Word document to use in the kitchen.

Another, shorter video explaining some of the precise alignment required. Safety feature — so you want this.

Thank you.