BLACK+DECKER 8-Cup Food Processor, Black, FP1600B

UPDATE: The new one is a worthy successor. A bigger bowl, one lid for all the functions, and an improved safety system are great improvements. The Black and Decker Food Processor I’ve used since 1990 – 33 years ago, isn’t working quite as well as it did last year. The motor works fine, but the spindle is off center, so the chopping blade isn’t as effective and the top slicer so handy for grated cheese or shredded cabbage doesn’t work. Sadly, I need to buy a new processor. It was far and away the cheapest model available back then when I couldn’t afford much more. I never dreamed it would grow old with me. So, I took a look at what was available – there are a lot to choose from. When I looked at Black & Decker’s it had the same functions as mine, and it had a more modern look. It also looked to have solved the minor issue I had with its predecessor. The white housing was a little fussy to clean. The new one has a black housing and looks to be molded. Just like mine, all the parts can go into the dishwasher. Several of the reviewers marveled that it has lasted 8 or more years. Well, that’s what they do. Thirty-two years of service out of a machine that I think was about $18 in 1990. And in those 32 years, there was never a recipe it failed me on. While writing this, Amazon sent an alert that my new one has shipped for tomorrow delivery.

I bought my Black + Decker Food 8-Cup Processor in 2008 after I had signed up for a vegetable-only full CSA share and realized I'd be doing a tremendous amount of soup, sauce, and pesto making. Over the years my faithful food processor was also used for other things, most notably: buffalo chickpea dip, nut cheeze, fruit purees for baked oatmeals, and homemade Irish cream. Actually, it was the last of those things that caused her untimely death. However, I paid $25ish for her then, and I whole-heartedly believe I got my money's worth. Went to buy a new food processor and realized... why go with something else? So, for another $25ish (why didn't the price go up in the past ten years? I don't know, but I like it!) I bought another Black + Decker 8-Cup Food Processor. Some things have changed in the past decade, but all for the better, like how it's much easier to clean then it used to be because of the redesign of certain parts. Yes, this is a VERY, VERY loud machine. My significant other won't be in the same room with me when I'm having a food processing party. However, it's idiot proof. There are two buttons: ON and OFF/PULSE. It's easy to assemble. You can easily store the blade, the lock, and the black cover inside the bowl if you just flip everything upside down (so don't listen to those other reviewers, 'cause that's a moot point). And it gets the job done effectively and perfectly time and time again. I admit, sometimes she leaks a little, but I'm pretty sure this is user error ("8-Cups? HAH! I can get 9-Cups in!"). So - if you want a reliable food processor to make your ham salads, macadamia nut ricotta cheeze, or fruit-only smoothies (WARNING: don't attempt a kale smoothie in this unless you like drinking chunks of cruciferous veg), the best bang for your buck is this. My first one lasted me eight years with heavy use, so I expect to be back here in 2024 to buy another!

chops good

A great food processor for the price. Some of the food gets stuck in places and parts can be difficult to clean. However, it is so much less than the higher end food processors and gets the job done. If you cannot afford the better food processors, this is a great alternative.

This is a great food processor for most jobs. I had an earlier model from years ago that I had to dispose of when I moved into a place that turned out to be roach infested. Before I could get the roaches under control, they had taken up residence in the motor and laid eggs. I cleaned it and aired it out and could never get rid of the roach smell. I had stopped using it and the next time I moved, I disposed of it. I wish I hadn't waited so long to buy a new one. It shreds, chops, and slices beautifully. Like a few reviewers said, some food does get stuck in the corner by the chute. I do find that in this model the food chute seems higher up so the presser doesn't go close enough to the blade and I end up with a chunk of whatever I was processing spinning around or getting stuck in the corner by the chute. It's a minor thing to deal with, so I'm still very pleased. It's a great value for the price. One other thing I found odd is that the food chute in in the back of the food processor instead of the front. If you try to put the lid on so it's in the front, it won't engage the safety mechanism. I like the safety mechanism which prevents it from turning on until you engage the lid. The suction cups on the bottom are super strong and keep it steady. I shredded apples to put on top of a salad and they were delicious! That would make a good snack too with some raisins. It's shreds carrots perfectly. Zucchini came out good too! It's wonderful for folks who like to eat raw and makes the salads easier to eat without so much chewing. I used to chop up frozen banana's too to make "banana ice cream" when I had my old one. Bon Appetite!

I was looking for a dependable yet inexpensive food processor, and this has fit the bill perfectly. I find it much easier to put together and start than other processors I have had (you know--when you have to put the lid on 80 different ways to finally get it to start?!). I love that there is an insert for the tube in the middle of the bowl so I don't have to worry about food getting down into the base of the processor like I have had to with others. Yes, it is louder than more expensive models, but after being startled the first time I started it up, it doesn't bother me anymore. Clean-up is fairly quick and easy, and the couple times I did have issues with food getting up inside the stem of the blade and being hard to reach, I believe it was my fault for adding too much food to the bowl. So far I have only used the shredding/slicing blade once, and it perfectly shredded cabbage for sauerkraut. I have used the standard chopping blade over and over again; for milling fine nut and seed flours, making ground pork and ham into a very smooth paste, coarsely chopping nuts and seeds, combining seeds and dried fruits until they were the perfect consistency for making energy bars or bites, and processing homemade sriracha until it was so smooth that straining it was unnecessary. I have been incredibly happy with its performance each and every time. While function is what's most important to me, I do appreciate that this processor looks nice and sleek, much more so than many other processors in this price range.

This is a great food processor. I use it for dips, veggies, fruits and anything I don't want to chop. It also made a great pesto for pasta. I saves the rest and put it into mason jars and froze it. It cleans up well by hand and in the dishwasher. I would get this as a gift if someone needed one.

3/8/2014 - Update - After posting this review, as I think most folks can see, a comment was sent from Spectrum Brands about helping me further with this. I didn't think too much of it - again, after spending only $20, I figured I would just cut my losses. Eventually, though, I did send them the information they were asking about which model I bought, thinking that maybe they had a lousy batch of these things and this might help them pinpoint them. I sent my info via email, and got no reply back. That's fine, I wasn't expecting much. Lo and behold, 10 days later, this ginormous box shows up for me, and inside of it is a different Black&Decker Food chopper / blender thing. Huh? I was reading the reviews for that product, and apparently it too is a piece of junk. So now I have two B&D boat anchors to donate to a local charity with the hopes that maybe they can at least put them to some use. I would rather have just had my money refunded, which they would have known if they had contacted me to "further assist" me as their email stated they would. *~*~*~*~ Even at a super cheap price, this thing is, well, super cheap. The motor is truly deafeningly loud. A long time ago I had a different brand (expensive) food processor, and it was nearly silent. This one, you better wear ear plugs. It chops ridiculously inconsistently sized chunks, if at all. It cannot handle things like dried fruits at all. It is fiddly to clean - I can see that there must be a way to get the plastic insert out of the blender bowl, but I'll be damned if I can figure out how. Food gets trapped nicely in there. Food also gets trapped in the handle of the bowl, and I can't see any way to clean that except to run a lot of water through it and hope for the best. I bought this when it dropped to something like $20, and I'm regretting paying even that much for this. Don't waste your money, splurge a little bit and get a more expensive food processor - that way, you'll only make one purchase, instead of like me, now going back to buy the one I should have in the beginning and dumping this one.