The Best Food Processors (Eight-Cup Plus)

After testing 76 countertop appliances, we pick our favorites in nine categories, from blenders to espresso makers.

The Winner

Oster 10-Cup 3200 ($90)
An amazing value, it pureed remarkably smoothly and shredded herbs without bruising them. One of the smallest models we tried out. The food bowl is the easiest of those tested to remove from the base (www.shoposter.com).

Runner-Up

Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus ($200)
The mother of all food processors performed well in every test, although purees needed scraping down. Safety latches feel the most sturdy of the models tested; comes with a 10-year warranty (www.cuisinart.com).

Honorable Mentions

KitchenAid KFP750 12-Cup ($250)
Purees required no scraping down to fully blend. Comes with a four-cup bowl, so the machine transforms into a mini chopper. Touch pad is well designed. Bowls are hard to detach from the base (www.kitchenaid.com).

Viking VFP Professional Food Processor ($330)
The single knob makes the machine easy to use. The superthin, straight-edged blades perform the best of the models tested for chopping herbs, but are less efficient for purees (www.vikingrange.com).