Hamilton Beach Food Processor Review

With a mission to provide innovative solutions that improve everyday living, Hamilton Beach Brands design, market, and distribute various branded electric household and specialty houseware appliances, plus commercial products. Today, it is one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of small kitchen appliances.

Performance Comparison

Puree Quality

Each contender experiences the same test of pureeing various foods, including vegetables, fruits, meats, and grains, to examine puree quality.

The Hamilton Beach has the best puree results with banana, avocado, sweet potato, broccoli, pasta, and partially frozen peaches. However, it did not produce ideal results with raw carrots, which appear minced, not smooth, and with uncooked apple and steamed kale, leaving too many small pieces for a beginner baby to manage.

The machine comes with a removable bowl scraper accessory that, in theory, we would consider a selling point of the product. But, during our testing, we observed that the scraper accessory left fine scratches on the plastic bowl's sides after only a handful of uses. This issue concerns us, given our natural fears that plastic scratches might mean that plastic scrapings could potentially be entering the baby food. While we have no evidence that plastic is actually entering the baby's food, or even if it was, that it would result in a health or safety issue, we can't help but feel very anxious about this issue. For us, in our opinion, this issue is a deal-breaker, and prevents us from considering it a product we would recommend to a friend, or use to make our own baby's food. There are just too many compelling competing products that have no similar issue to choose from. Despite some strengths of this product, we are left with anxiety about this issue that prevents us from recommending it.

Ease of Use

The Hamilton Beach scored slightly below-average in this metric. When unboxing, you will notice a fair amount of parts, but the user manual helps outline the set-up, cleaning, etc. You will be using the chopping/mixing blade to puree, not the reversible slicing/shredding disc. The control knob offers three speeds high, low, and pulse, and with a 450-watt motor, there is enough power to get the job done.

The machine includes a bowl scraper, which we consider a selling point of this product. This accessory is optional and operates when the processor is on or off, moving ingredients that stick to the bowl's sides toward the blade.

The manufacturer states the bowl's capacity is 10 cups. However, the user manual explains that for best results, do not exceed 2 to 3 cups of fruits and vegetables and .7 lb for meat. In our experience, due to the bowl's design with a shorter opening in the middle, that liquid will overflow this part soon after exceeding 4 cups, and this is something to keep in mind if you are pureeing food with high liquid content.

The plastic does not feel the most sturdy or durable, but we appreciate the suction cups on the base's bottom that keep the machine in place. This machine is on the larger side, so you will need to spare counter or storage space.

Health and Safety

The Hamilton Beach has an above-average score for health and safety. It has safety mechanisms, does not have any inaccessible areas to clean and dry properly, and has no steam tank to cause steam burns. However, be aware, the blade and disc are sharp, so use caution when handling, inserting, removing, emptying the bowl of ingredients, and cleaning.

Ease of Cleaning

All of the removable parts, like the bowl, blades, discs, and lid, are safe to clean in the dishwasher (top rack). Alternatively, we prefer handwashing parts in the sink with hot, soapy water. However, we do recommend hand washing as it prolongs a product's longevity. In addition, there is no ongoing maintenance besides occasionally checking parts for wear.

Manufacturer Video

Should You Buy the Hamilton Beach Food Processor?

In our opinion, no.