The Cuisinart PowerBlend Duet Blender/Food Processor BFP-10CH gives you control over a wider assortment of kitchen food prep tasks.

This unit is actually two appliances in one. It comes with a powerful 500-watt motor base, a large 7-cup (56-ounce) glass jar with rubber lid and removable cap, plus a separate 3-cup (24-ounce) food processor attachment, along with a cover with feed tube, slicing and shredding disc and chopping blade.

We loved the versatility of the PowerBlend Duet, which gave us the option of choosing the container (work bowl or jar) best suited to the task at hand. Although the blender component is capable of chopping nuts and other items, the work bowl of the processor handled those tasks with the flair of an expert. Plus, the slicing/shredding disc offers a task that blenders simply cannot manage.

The blender carafe was the better choice for mixtures that were predominantly liquid. The no-spill rubber lid keeps all of the liquid inside the jar where it belongs. The unit's high-speed motor worked its way through fresh, flavorful smoothies and frozen cocktail drinks quickly and effortlessly. The instructions state that foods should be cut into 1-inch pieces for a more uniform result. For fresh fruit, however, we found that larger (2-inch) pieces worked fine. With frozen fruit, smaller pieces are essential for more effective processing.

We loved the look of this machine, which has a shiny chrome exterior, accented with black. A smooth touchpad panel has seven dedicated speeds and a pulse option that works with any of them. The highest speed is a powerful ice crush setting, which pulverized ice cubes and frozen fruit into the smoothest frozen drinks around.

The glass blender carafe is effective with shakes, soups, gravies and more. Its 56-ounce capacity lets you process larger batches. The glass jar is heavy, but not overly so. It weighs just over 3-1/2 pounds when empty. A full carafe, however, weighs more than 7 pounds, which might need to be supported by two hands. Another feature worth mentioning is the collar design, which fits over the base and has a self-aligning lip to help the jar slide into position. The only negative design element we discovered was the square carafe, which dripped slightly with thicker mixtures.

The food processor work bowl accommodates up to 3 cups of sliced or shredded cheese or produce. There is a designated food processor speed, which is quite fast. We liked using the pulse option with the food processor speed, so we could start and stop the motor after short bursts. The processor turned out beautiful, even slices of fruits and vegetables, including onions, which are typically difficult to put through a food processor chute. The foods had to be cut in narrow pieces to fit within the 1.5x2.5-inch opening of the feed tube.

The Cuisinart PowerBlend Duet BFP-10CH offers both versatility and practical, efficient results for many everyday kitchen prep tasks.


Pros: Two-appliances in one: 56-ounce glass blender carafe; 3-cup food processor work bowl; 500-watt motor
Cons: Square carafe can drip if poured too quickly