With practice, I've been able to get decent results chopping onion and peppers in a food processor - its a question of not putting in too much and 'pulsing' the blade. Even then there are always a few larger pieces that need to be chopped again. They also work well with mushing up garlic - but you have to be doing enough - like 10-20 cloves. When I'm making a batch of 12 quarts of tomato/onion/pepper/garlic sauce, and cutting up a dozen onions and 18 or so peppers, the food processor saves an awful lot of time. I have enough nerve damage in my hands that it would be impossible to chop that much up w/o a food processor.

Solid state Kitchenaid mixers were introduced in 1978 (the K45SS and the K5SS). In 1986 the line was sold to Whirlpool and all the Artisan, Classic etc. mixers sold today are basically the same models as made in 1986 (some improvements and efficiencies in the machining but anyone who has an old "original" K45SS or K5SS can repair it using today's parts). The Pro line was developed as something entirely new so it doesn't have the same history, but the company has worked very hard to upgrade and improve the model since its inception. There was a period of time when people were having a lot of trouble with their Kitchenaid mixers and the company had to work very hard to restore the reputation of the product. That's when they instituted the one-year no-questions-asked full replacement policy. It's still the best guarantee in the business (my opinion). I'm not convinced the old Hobart mixers are inherently superior to the Kitchenaids made today. I think there's a lot of mythology attached to the brand, but my take on it is people have trouble with the newer mixers because they ask them to do more than they were designed for, especially kneading bread. 50 or 60 years ago women (and it was women in the home kitchen) fortunate enough to have mixers used them for cakes, cookies, meringues, whipped cream, etc. They didn't use them for bread dough, which was generally kneaded by hand. My MIL baked 4 loaves every other day and her old Dormeyer never saw the dough. There's a lot of discussion on The Fresh Loaf about people who burn out their mixers with stiff doughs mixed at speeds higher than the recommended "2" setting. Bread is not the KitchenAid's strong point, though you can mix a perfectly fine one or two-loaf batch or autolyse a portion of a bigger recipe and finish by hand. For bread the Bosch (stiff doughs) or the Ankarsrum/Electrolux Assistant/Magic Mill, etc. (wet doughs) are more suitable. Getting back to the original discussion, the two attachments I use most often on the KA are the grinder and the colander/sieve. The colander/sieve is wonderful, but you have to purchase a vintage one and the K5 is the biggest mixer one will fit. Why the company doesn't offer a new colander/sieve for the 6 quart I do not know. The Viking/Cuisinart/De Longhi (all the same machine) did have a colander/sieve attachment available. I use the shredder attachment less frequently, but I do use it, and even though I have a 14-cup Cuisinart, I prefer the shredder attachment because I find since the mixer is already on the counter, it's less fuss for me to use. Just one of those individual quirks we all have. Carol

I exchanged the food processor and the new one does the same thing!!! We experimented with it quite a bit and found the motor is nice and smooth with no blade or any blade but the chopping blade. When we inserted a small piece of paper inside the post hole of the blade before putting the blade on, there was no noise. We called Cuisinart and they are sending us a new blade free (we do not need to send the defective blade back). I have heard many complaints about Cuisinart's customer service but I have called them four times and always got an answer with very little wait. They were very helpful.

Hi Cotehele, I do not have the plastic blade on my foodprocessor so I use the metal one for pasta and it works great. I only find that if I make a wet dough I never get the the pasta on the right consistance afterword. I can always add a little more water but never comes out right if I have to add flour... Cynara.