Hamilton Beach 70730 10-Cup Food Processor Review

The Hamilton Beach 70730 model is pretty much a standard food processor at a decent price, but with a couple of extra quirks that make it worth looking at. The first of these is a built-in (but removable) three-spatula bowl scraper that can be accessed from outside. Three spatulas are necessary, as the feed chute prevents you from rotating the connected lever through 360°.

This scraper does not extend all the way to the bottom of the bowl, but that part will generally be covered by food anyway. In other words, you won’t have to remove the lid and twiddle a spatula around when making purees, dips, etc. (or not nearly as often, anyway). With some sauces, leaving in chunks by being too hasty can be a real problem. This functionality also makes this food processor a good choice if you plan to make tons of baby food.

All the Basics

Another fairly cool feature is a wide feed chute to handle larger amounts at once. However, this assumes the food is soft enough for the motor to handle: the manufacturer recommends using a knife to cut food into 1-inch-wide strips or cubes before processing.

This extra step slightly spoils the convenience factor that induces people to buy a food processor in the first place. In addition, since it lacks an insert to make the tube narrower and keep thinner veggies like celery and carrots vertical, these may not be sliced into consistent shapes.

In terms of functionality, you can choose between one reversible disc that slices on one side and shreds on the other, and an S-blade used for chopping, mixing and pureeing.

Look and Feel

As far as its appearance goes, this food processor is kind of squat, but not unattractive with its stainless steel and black plastic housing. It’s possible to invert the lid for placing in a cabinet, though it doesn’t lie completely flat

Control is provided by a basic twist knob that allows you to select between two speeds or operate it in pulse mode for chopping. This is less convenient than the large switches on the 8-cup Hamilton Beach 70820, but works well enough as long as you pay attention.

You can also order this appliance along with a scale, dough scraper, hand mixer or set of sieves. This makes it a little more suitable as a gift for newlyweds, for example, but chances are that you already have these items in your kitchen if you’re in the market for a food processor.

Everything above the motor is dishwasher safe, but no more durable than you can expect at this price. The scraper in particular is prone to breaking.

In terms of noise, the relatively small motor means that you’ll certainly be aware of it running, but the sound it makes is no louder than average. Four sticky suction cups on the base help to keep the vibration down even on wooden countertops (one instance in which you actually want a part of your machine to suck).

Working with the Hamilton Beach 70730

While the 10-cup capacity should be enough for many families, you should keep in mind that the smallish motor will overheat if you use it continuously. Remember, too, that this 10-cup food processor is really designed to only handle about 3 cups of roughly chopped vegetables at a time and less when it comes to liquids.

This is because the blade attachments fit over the bowl’s open central tube, which is therefore not really sealed at the bottom. This tube is only about 2½ inches high, making it possible for splashing liquids to leak onto the motor unit. Furthermore, there’s no real seal on the lid, so things will definitely get messy if you add too much liquid at a time.

As the motor isn’t all that powerful, the user must chill cheese before shredding especially if it’s a soft type, nullifying the advantage of this food processor over a hand grater when you’re short on time. It can, however, make nut butters and cookie dough, though trying to knead bread dough with it is definitely not advisable. It chops and slices vegetables about as well as you would expect and is excellent for making purees.

Does What It Should, Not Much Else

You’ll find that even the slow speed is somewhat fast, so you will probably have to use the pulse function not only when chopping but also to avoid over-processing some other foods. The slicing/shredding disc works well enough, but without a wider selection of attachments, you’re pretty much limited to one texture.

In summary, the Hamilton Beach 70730 is great as an inexpensive first food processor that covers all the major bases. Experienced chefs, however, who are a little more picky about the appearance of their food or want to try advanced techniques will not be satisfied.