With a bargain basement price tag, the Black & Decker FP1600B Food Processor may first appear to be a real bargain, but is it? Could such an inexpensive machine really work? Could it do a good job of chopping, slicing and shredding?
It comes in a sleek black color, is compact and lightweight (weights only 6lbs) and budget friendly, so what more can you ask for? My review gives you the highs and lows of this food processor, which will hopefully help you decide if it is right for you.
Capacity
The Black & DeckerFP1600B Food Processor has a 8-cup plastic work bowl. You should know that the bowl is not shatterproof, so be careful how you handle it because if it falls it will most likely break. To replace it costs almost as much as buying a brand new one. Also it is not BPA free.
The work bowl is considered mid-size and can hold up to 3 cups of liquid and 6 cups of non-liquid foods.
Size of Feed Tube
The feed chute which is part of the work bowl cover is about average. It cannot take a whole potato or tomato unless they are very small like red potatoes, so you’ll have to cut them into smaller pieces to get them to fit.
The included food pusher is used to push the foods down the feed chute and into the bowl. You can remove it if you need to add any liquids or additional ingredients while the processor is still running.
Knead Dough
The Black & Decker FP1600B food processor does not come with a dough blade and from my research there is no option to buy it separately. So if kneading dough is on your must have feature list, then this machine is not for you.
Controls/Speed
It has a touchpad control which is conveniently located on the front of the machine. The touchpad is smooth, which makes it very easy to clean unlike raised buttons. It has just two speeds:
1. Off/Pulse – use this button for for foods that do not require a lot of processing. Pressing the pulse button on then off, gives you more control over how the food turns out.
2. On – when you press this control button, the machine will run continuously until you hit the off button. Useful for pureeing fruits and vegetables.
Power
The FP1600B is only 450 Watts, which is adequate for what the machine is designed to do and that is chopping, slicing and shredding, not for instance knead dough which requires a much more powerful motor.
Blades
The Black & Decker FP1600B food processor comes with just two blades:
1. Stainless steel chopping blade – use for pureeing, chopping, mincing and grinding.
2. Stainless steel reversible slicing and shredding disc – the slicer is 1/8 inch or 3mm. Some of the reviews mentioned that it has a hard time shredding cheese and certain vegetables.
The size of the slicing/shredding disc is not specified either in the user manual or on the disc itself, so I made a quick call to B&D product support and was told the size of the disc is 1/8 inch. These blades are very sharp so take care whenever you are handling them. Some brands like Cuisinart makes disc holders for their blades but I could not find any for the Black & Decker.
Black & Decker FP1600B Food Processor Dimensions
Height: 15.3 inches
Width: 7.5 inches
Depth: 10.7 inches
Weight: 6lbs
Power Cord: 31 inches to end of the prongs per B&D product support.
Additional Features
This little budget-friendly machine has quite a few nifty features. You’ll appreciate:
- The built-in Safety Interlock System, which does not allow the machine to start unless all the parts are put together correctly and in the right order. Some people found this to be a hassle though.
- The power cord though short, tucks nicely under the base of the machine for storage, so it wouldn’t be hanging down off your counter when not in use.
- All the parts are dishwasher safe
- Comes with four non-skid suction feet to anchor the machine securely to the counter to prevent it from moving around when you are processing. A nice feature though some reviews claim that it gets in the way when you are trying to move the machine or take it out of the cabinet.
- Once you get the hang of putting the machine together it is easy to use
Black & Decker FP1600B Food Processor Included Accessories
8-Cup plastic workbowl
Stainless steel chopping blade
Stainless steel reversible slicing and shredding disc
User manual
Pros
- Compact and lightweight (weights about 6lbs)
- Inexpensive
- Easy to clean
- Blades are really sharp
- Dishwasher safe
- Power cord stores underneath the base
Cons
- Very noisy
- Short power cord
- No indicator light, can’t tell when the machine is off or on
- Off and pulse is one button
Black & Decker FP1600B Food Processor Reviews and Ratings
This processor gets a mixed bag of reviews and some very strong reactions from those who love it and from those who hate it.
In my opinion the customers who had good things to say about it are happy with the price, recognize the limitations of the machine and are willing to live with it.
While the detractors probably had too high expectations for the product in the first place, expecting it to perform like a more expensive machine.
A couple of things were consistent among all of the reviews though, and that is:
1. This machine is very LOUD. Some customers said that they wear earplugs when using it
2. The power cord, while it conveniently stores under the base of the machine, is way too short. However, according to the manual this was deliberate “to reduce the possibility of tangling in or tripping over a longer cord.” They recommend using an extension cord if you want a longer cord.
3. It’s a basic food processor with none of the bells and whistles that come with a more expensive machine. In fact it only comes with two blades:
(i) a stainless steel chopping blade and
(ii) a reversible slicing and shredding disc
4. It cannot handle heavy tasks on a consistent basis
5. It does an average job of chopping. Chunks of food always seem to get stuck on top of the blade and doesn’t get chopped, sliced or shredded.
6. Quite a few customers also mentioned that this machine was not good at shredding cheese. Maybe it’s the type of cheese they were shredding, but you may want to take this into consideration if you plan to shred lots of cheese.
7. Another recurring theme is that the machine did not work right out of the box and had to be returned for a replacement or refund.
8. Quite a few reviews complained that the machine quit working after about a year or so even with light usage.
Black & Decker FP1600B Food Processor Price
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Prices on this machine are all over the place. I’ve seen it for under $30 to as high as $70. At the time of writing this review, Amazon has the lowest price.
Summary
The Black & Decker FP1600B Food Processor is a basic, no frills machine. This machine got mixed reviews when it came to chopping but it’s strong point seems to be slicing and shredding. For sure it won’t break the budget and it is going to save you time versus manually chopping and slicing by hand.
If you’re thinking of buying one of those small food choppers, stepping up to this model instead is a smart choice, you’ll get more bang for the buck, it is more versatile and can do a lot more and besides they cost just about the same price. If you’re looking for an inexpensive basic food processor and you don’t need to mix dough and can live with the noise it makes, then this maybe the machine for you.
I’ve found it to be a reliable machine that does everything I want it too. I’ve had it for over 3 years, processing everything from pasta dough (a lot quicker than kneading by hand) to doing up vegetables. Very happy with it.