Cuisinart DLC-2009CHB Review

Not everyone needs a big food processor. For singles, couples, and small families a smaller food processor like the Cuisinart DLC-2009CHB provides everything they need. A smaller food processor requires less counter space or cabinet space when stored away making them ideal for people who live in smaller homes, apartments, or for people with small kitchens. If you are choosing to buy a smaller kitchen machine you do not need to skimp on features or power. This Cuisinart food processor is packed with features which might make it perfect for your kitchen.

 

Small Size with Big Power

 

The DLC-2009CHB has a small footprint but is not short on power. The food processor is powered by a 600 watt motor which is equal in size to many 10 and 12 cup food processors. Cuisinart never leaves their buyers short on power. The food processor takes up less than a square foot on your countertop but can still manage to power through a yeast dough using 4 cups of flour, enough to make 3 loaves of bread.

The food processor uses a simple control system using only 3 buttons, the on switch, off switch, and a pulse button. You will need to use the pulse button when you need greater control of the mixing or slicing operations.

A common complaint of people with small homes and tight kitchens is the amount of noise a food processor, kitchen machine, or blender make. The DLC-2009CHB is amazingly quiet. You will not startle family members or pets when you blend, chop, and mix food using the food processor.

When you have a powerful food processor you need to have safety, also. Cuisinart built in a secure dual cover and bowl interlock mechanism. The bowl and cover must be securely locked on the bowl before you can start using the food processor. An important part of staying safe is to always follow the instructions in the manual. This includes never trying to overcome the interlock devices on your food processor.

 

Small Bowl with a Big Mouth

 

At first glance you may think this 9-cup food processor has a small bowl, but for most of us the capacity is very adequate for our cooking needs. One thing which makes this bowl outstanding is the Cuisinart Supreme Wide Mouth feed tube. The tube is large enough to handle most full sized fruits and vegetables with ease, including small to medium potatoes. This can greatly reduce your food preparation time since you will not need to cut your vegetables down to size before slicing or shredding.

There is an important safety factor to keep in mind with any wide mouth food processor feed tube. You must always use the food pusher and not your fingers or other utensils. You could easily severely injure yourself if you are not careful. This is not a limitation to the Cuisinart, but to all food processors with a wide mouth opening. Cuisinart goes to great trouble to remind their users of this fact and provides you with a great reason to never need to try it. Their pusher assembly works smoothly and easily. The assembly has a center tube which allows you to feed smaller items with ease, also. Make sure you take the time to read the safety instructions carefully before using.

As one further note on safety, Cuisinart includes a training video with the food processor to make it even easier to learn proper usage. Just insert the DVD and you will quickly know all the important usage facts without ever cracking the user manual open.

 

High Variety of Uses Straight from the Box

 

The DLC-2009CHB comes bundled with the common blades and discs you need for everyday use. It starts off with the multipurpose chopping and mixing blade. This is the blade you will probably use the most. A medium shredding disc is included in the box which is perfect for shredding potatoes for hash browns or to shred cheese for your Mexican food and pizza.

The medium slicing disc included in the bundle works perfectly for creating carrot slices, apples, and will even slice a stick of pepperoni or salami beautifully. The final attachment is the dough blade. You may be thinking you are not planning to bake bread, but consider what the food processor can do for you. You can mix up a batch of pizza dough to make a great homemade crust. You can slice your pepperoni for that extra fresh flavor. You can chop some onions and green peppers for some added flavor. Then go ahead and slice up some fresh mushrooms to make the pizza fabulous. Who does not love a great homemade pizza made with a wonderful fresh crust?

If you do enjoy baking bread you will really love this Cuisinart food processor. Even though it is tiny it still can help you knead the dough for 3 loaves of bread with ease, as we mentioned before. The combination of power and small size make this ideal for people who want to do some fast weekend baking without destroying the kitchen.

 

Easy Clean Up and Storage

 

You need to keep something in mind when you are buying a smaller food processor to save space. It does not always mean you are going to save a lot of room in your kitchen once you consider the base unit, bowl, lid, slicing blades, and other parts. This Cuisinart food processor does not include a storage case like some of their more expensive units, so you may wish to add one. The parts can all be stored in a small kitchen drawer, while the bowl, lid, food pusher, and base unit can be stored in a small area on your kitchen counter. The small size makes it easy to slide under the cupboards into a small corner of your counter.

The bowl, lid, food pusher, blades, and other accessories are all dishwasher safe, or can easily be hand washed. Make sure if you will be hand washing to use extreme caution. The blades are extremely sharp including the edges on the grating and shredding discs. The base unit can be wiped clean with a damp soapy cloth.

 

Great Warranty, Customer Support, and Assistance

 

Cuisinart bundles this mixer with the longest warranty offered on the market. You get a 10 year limited warranty on the motor and a 3 year limited warranty on all other parts. You will discover calling Cuisinart support for usage questions and support is straight forward. We will talk further about calling for service when we get to our consumer ratings section below.

Cuisinart is a leader in providing support assistance for their customers. You can find evidence of this immediately once you have unboxed your food processor. You will find the highly information DVD which gets you up and running fast. The manual is very well thought out and gives you clear and easy to follow instructions. Additionally Cuisinart makes sure you do not get stuck trying to decide what to try first. Their manual is packed with page after page of great recipes and directions on how to create them using your new food processor.

 

Dimensions, Weight, and Color Options

 

The size of the Cuisinart DLC-2009CHB is one of the best features of all. The smaller size makes it ideal for many owners. The physical specifications of the food processor are listed below:

• Height – 13”
• Width – 9.5”
• Depth – 7”
• Weight – 9 pounds (Base Unit)
• Shipping Weight – 31.4 pounds.
• Color Options – Available in black, white, blue, red, purple, and brushed stainless.

 

An Additional Feature with Great Value

 

There is one feature in the box which has surprisingly high value which most people will overlook. It is the owner’s manual. Cuisinart hit a homerun with this manual. It covers all of the normal basics of how to assemble the food processor, cleaning procedures, proper storage, and the standard lists of warnings. What make it outstanding though is the cooking instructions which are added to the manual.

Cuisinart took the time to right up instructions on making pastry, mayonnaise, beating egg whites, food preparation for using the food processor, and a variety of other items which most new owners struggle to learn. They did not stop with just instructions, though. They went ahead and added in 48 pages of recipes in the user manual. The book gives you an outstanding reference on the proper way to use a food processor and then gives you dozens of recipes to try out.

 

Included Accessories

 

We discussed briefly the included blades and discs earlier, but following is a list of all the standard parts you will find in the box:

 

• Base unit with cord storage area.
• 9-cup work bowl.
• Bowl cover with the Cuisinart Supreme Wide Mouth feed tube.
• Pusher Assembly.
• Medium shredding disc, approximately 4mm shreds.
• Medium slicing blade. (4mm)
• Multipurpose chopping and mixing blade.
• Dough blade.
• Instructional DVD.
• User manual with instructions and recipes.
• Plastic Spatula.

 

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Optional Accessories You Might Enjoy

 

• Cuisinart BDH-2 Blade and Disc Holding Cabinet.
• DLC-DH Disc Holder – A smaller disc holder perfect for storing in your cupboard or on the countertop.
• Thin Slicing Disc. (2mm)
• Thick Slicing Disc (6mm) – Perfect for thick sliced fried potatoes or apple slices for your pies.
• French Fry Disc.
• Julienne Disc.
• Extra Work Bowls.
• Fine Grating Disc – Great for shaving ice, grating parmesan cheese, and other hard food items.

One thing you need to be aware of when buying discs for the 9-cup Cuisinart food processor is that many of the accessories are listed as being for either a 7-cup or an 11-cup food processor. Most 7-cup accessories will work with the DLC-2009CHB, but please verify before ordering.

 

The Advantages and Disadvantages

 

Let us run through a few of the positive and negative points we discovered on the Cuisinart DLC-2009CHB.

 

Pros

 

• Small footprint makes it ideal for tight kitchens and smaller families.
• Longest warranty offered on food processors.
• Powerful slicing, shredding, and mixing with the 600 watt motor.
• Amazing capability and capacity for a 9-cup food processor.
• High quality training video and user manual including recipes.
• Sturdy bowl made from shatterproof Lexan.
• Wide mouth feed tube makes feeding whole vegetables easy.
• Easy cleanup with all parts being dishwasher safe.
• Multiple color options allow you to match your kitchen décor.

 

Cons

 

• Ship-in warranty only. No cross-ship option.
• Slicing sometimes leaves uneven pieces or larger chunks fall through gaps.
• Liquid capacity is very low, only 3-cups of thin liquids and a maximum of 6 cups of thick liquids.
• No storage case included.
• Some liquid leakage has been reported.

 

Consumer Ratings

 

This Cuisinart food processor manages to score some very high marks from buyers. Over 85% of respondents rate the food processor as above average to excellent. Over 90% mark it as at least average or above. Then final 10% have experienced problems we listed in our Cons section above and felt highly disappointed.

One common complaint is liquid leaking from the bowl. This is most likely caused by people exceeding Cuisinart’s recommended maximum amounts of liquid. It would be easy to exceed 3-cups of thin liquid when attempting to blend drinks.

 

Price for the Cuisinart 9-Cup Food Processor

 

The price of the DLC-2009CHB is slightly higher than comparable sized food processor from many other vendors, but that should be expected with a Cuisinart. You will find the food processor priced well under $200, but we highly recommend you double check the price before buying one.

Keep in mind, while the food processor is slightly higher priced you are getting additional power, a superior product, and the longest warranty in the industry. The value of the food processor is very respectable.

 

Conclusion

 

If you are a single person, couple, or family of four the Cuisinart DLC-2009CHB is an excellent choice for your kitchen. The small size makes it easy to store for people with tight apartment kitchens or who lack storage in their kitchen.

The combination of high quality, power, and size make it a great choice for many people.

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