Cuisinarts Offers Handy Preparation Board, Simpler Food Processor

In the kitchen, some of the simplest-looking products work the best. Who doesn’t opt for the easier route? No fuss. No mess.

Is this what motivated a giant company with a complex line of food processors and cookware to come up with a plain kitchen utensil? The new Cuisinart PrepBoard Counter Saver/Cutting Surface ($6) is just that. Plain. But its uses are as endless as its long name.

What is the Cuisinart PBCS/CS? It is a white 11-inch square, thin board made of high-density polypropylene with an upward curved rim. According to Carl Sontheimer, president of Cuisinarts, the idea came from his wife. She had a trusted old wooden board from Haiti with the same curved shape and loved the fact that liquids didn’t spill off the board.

Non-Abrasive and Non-Porous

The surface of the Cuisinart utility board is non-abrasive and will not dull the edges of sharp knives. Its non-porous quality makes sense, particularly now that there’s concern about getting salmonella or other bacterial contamination from old, dirty or cracked wooden cutting boards. Dishwasher safe, the prepboard will not chip, peel or crack, nor will it absorb odors.

Another feature of the utility board is the measuring guide on the rim, which is composed of eight embossed dots, one inch apart, to use as guides for accurate slicing to desired width. Lightweight indeed, the board can be taken to a picnic, on a boat or RV, or for backpacking.

I find the prepboard most useful as an organizing tray for cut-up ingredients, particularly when I’m stir-frying. It also works great as a hot pad or trivet. Use it for making sandwiches and double its purpose as an informal serving plate. As a microwave reheating tray, the prepboard will do its job as long as one doesn’t heat greasy or sugary foods for too long a period. In the conventional oven, the tray can be used to warm foods up to 180 degrees.

In another move, after years of rapid development of larger food processors with more intricate features, Cuisinarts has decided to look back to the much simpler, smaller machine that revolutionized the industry. Lending an ear to devotees of the original unit, the Connecticut-based company has developed a very sleek-looking new machine called “The Basic Food Processor.” At a suggested retail price of $125, it is Cuisinart’s lowest-priced, full-size, full-capability food processor.

“I love that very first machine,” we hear from one owner. “It was just the right size for my needs and it was so much easier to work with than the bigger model.” Other homemakers say they would never trade their old Cuisinart for the smaller food processors that are now flooding the market.

“Unlike mini-food processors,” Sontheimer said, “the Basic produces perfect slices and shreds into the 1 1/2-quart work bowl. It’s all self-contained, with no risk of spatter. The motor, which is quieter and more powerful than the original, can run longer without overheating. Patented, the metal blade handles tough jobs like chopping one pound of meat easily.”

Other Advantages

Small processors are also incapable of kneading a normal batch of yeast bread dough. Equipped with a three-quarter horsepower motor, the Basic can prepare about 1 1/2 pounds of yeast dough in three to four minutes. The unit comes with a 6 1/2-inch diameter work bowl and a cover with standard feed tube and pusher. Other standard equipment included are a metal chopping/mixing blade, a slicing disc, a shredding disc and a plastic spatula.

The Cuisinart Basic carries a three-year warranty on the entire machine and an additional 17 years on the motor. A handy informative instruction/recipe book is included, plus an offer of a three-month membership in the Cuisinart Cooking Club. Members can receive the club’s monthly newsletter and other benefits, including coupons for discounts of 15% to 30% on fine food products.

A wonderful summer treat that’s low in calories, this gazpacho is just one of the interesting recipes in the Cuisinart booklet:

ROZY GAZPACHO

2 medium cucumbers, peeled and halved lengthwise

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

2 medium green peppers, cored, seeded and quartered

6 medium firm ripe tomatoes, stemmed, peeled and quartered

2 small cloves garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups tomato juice

1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons salt, optional

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Insert slicing disc to processor. Cut each cucumber section in half lengthwise again, then crosswise, to get 16 pieces total, each about 3 inches long. Stand in feed tube vertically, alternating cut side up and cut side down. Slice in 2 batches, using medium pressure. Transfer to 6-quart mixing bowl.

Insert metal blade and pulse/chop onion until medium-fine. Add to cucumbers. Pulse/chop green peppers until medium fine, about 6 times. Add to mixing bowl. Pulse/chop 3 tomatoes to coarse chop, about 5 times. Add to mixing bowl. Repeat with 2 more tomatoes, saving remaining tomato for later use.

Turn on machine and drop garlic through feed tube. Process until coarsely chopped. Scrape work bowl and add remaining 4 tomato quarters. Process 2 minutes to puree. Add to mixing bowl.

Stir in olive oil, tomato juice, hot pepper sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cover and chill 3 hours before serving. Adjust seasonings, if needed. Makes about 2 1/2 quarts.