The Cuisinart Mini-Mate Plus "Food Processor" might well be a perfect choice for someone, but it's not right for me. If you really, truly like to cook, this particular small appliance won't enhance your experience and may just serve to clutter your counter more than is necessary in any culinary escapade.
So, What Made Me Pick This? I did not achieve ownership of a Mini-Mate Plus of my own volition. It arrived as a "plus" with a free disc holder received from Cuisinart, a special offer with just the return of a reply card and UPC code from the box of my
Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus Food Processor which I stand by through thick dough or through thinly-grated cabbage.
Therefore, while the Mini-Mate didn't arrive by my choice, it did arrive and what's a girl to do? Regifting felt right, but it was an appliance and well ... you may not know this, but I am an appliance addict. There isn't a 12-step program for people like me, yet, but the time is coming.
Mini-Mate Isn't First Rate So, it arrived on my doorstep in this pseudo-invited fashion and I felt behooved to try it. Easy assembly and a long cord made it simple to put together in about 40 seconds, so why not try the grinding function and do up some coffee beans? I planned to set right to it after washing/wiping down the parts right out of the box.
According to the user manual, only 1/2 cup of coffee beans should go into the cup of the Mini-Mate at one time. This can be a lot for some users and far from enough for others. For me it was a good amount. I like coffee, and have been comparing grinders for quite some time. I hoped this freebie would end my hunt and be good enough to give me the grounds I required on the grounds I wanted them: fine or as near to fine as possible ... right next door to espresso texture.
Following the instructions I inserted the blade stem with the grey/black end facing down to make use of the grinder (the opposite side of the blade on this contraption), and poured in some coffee beans. Inserting the white end first makes use of the sharp blade in the Mini-Mate.
I had to pour the beans back out because some had gone into the center of the blade stem -- a no-no in Mini-Mate usage. Not a big deal, not a major set-back, just a few more seconds before the trial run.
So, I reloaded, being careful to place one fingertip atop the blade stem to avoid entry of coffee beans. Upon placing the motor housing on top of the clear plastic grinding cup, I prepared to plug in the Mini-Beast and watch as my finely ground coffee appeared before my ever-hopeful eyes.
I chose "High" from the two buttons available on the Mini-Mate (High and Low), as stated in the manual for the processing of coffee beans. The little gizmo started up with the usual clatter of nuts, beans or other hard/course items being whizzed around at light speed in a plastic container, then the noise settled to that of sandblasting on the sides of the container.
I let go the control button -- which you do have to hold at all times, not only for power but to keep Mini-Mate from meeting with an untimely end on your kitchen floor. This little thing is top-heavy, and works upside down in configuration, compared to other chopping devices. It's far from hands-free and should never be near a counter top edge as it can take a topple at any time.
I looked through the clear plastic cup to check the progress of my vanilla-flavored coffee beans. Still pretty coarse.
Let's keep processing, shall we?
I did. I pushed the power button for another 30 or so seconds and smelled more motor than coffee. Yuck. Still, not very finely ground, more like chopped to smithereens with many large chunks still lounging around in the mix, refusing to conform with the rest of the group.
Thirty seconds later, still chunks. I feared liquid coffee beans if I continued to pulse, so I left the grounds "as is" and progressed to the coffee maker. Not a pleasant experience ... back to the coffee grinder drawing board.
Verdict: Cuisinart Mini-Mate would not take the place of a coffee grinder -- keep coffee grinder on the list of future purchases.
Chopping Veggies Might Be More to It's Liking It should have tipped me off then and there that when I feel that I need to tailor the use of an appliance to less than what the package states it's not going to surpass itself in any of the other uses.
The Cuisinart Mini-Mate pulverized most of the onion I threw into it after following the instructions to use no greater than a half-inch dice inside the cup (1/4 c. is not much to chop) and to "pulse" the power button to get an even dice. To get that kind of dice out of this little corded mishap is really a gamble. With my luck in using the Mini-Mate it's a sure thing I won't be headed to Atlantic City or Vegas anytime soon.
Instructions dictate to pulse foods for which you'd like an even chop, but all you get is an interesting rhythm pattern of your own making and still non-uniformly chopped food. I'm not Martha Stewart perfect by any means, but I can chop this much food faster and more accurately with a paring knife. Probably even a dull paring knife.
Pluses of the Mini-Mate Plus •
dishwasher safe
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small to store, small space used on counter top
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high and low chopping speeds
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2-year limited warranty on manufacturer defects
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long cord
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cute
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mine was free
Uses Are Limitless/ed While the Mini-Mate boasts the ability to take care of many small chopping jobs, I believe this to be a statement of hope rather than one of fact. I hardly believe that testing at Cuisinart was very thorough on this particular gadget.
For a beginning cook who is just learning the ins and outs of seasoning and cooking times, the Mini-Mate might be a good starting place, but Black & Decker makes a more versatile and higher quality mini-chopper at a better price.
According to the instruction manual, I found more "Useful Operating Techniques" to learn for this tiny appliance (no kidding -- it's circumference is about 3-1/2 inches and it's 7 inches tall with its shoes on) than I did for it's larger Prep 11 cousin.
I learned that supposedly, the blade of the Mini-Mate is even faster than a large processor and works at lightning speed. I'm still trying to determine what the job is that it's doing so quickly, as it certainly wasn't grinding my coffee beans. Cuisinart states,
"In order to use the Mini-Mate Plus Chopper/Grinder effectively, try to think about time in a new way: everything happens in seconds or even fractions of seconds." Quite obviously, the Mini-Mate is working with New Math.
I found this "fraction of seconds" claim to be true only in the time it took for me to lose interest in this machine.
In regard to Pulsing Action,
... operate the unit for only a fraction of a second ... one to three pulses are enough to chop most food. If you operate the motor longer, you will get a watery paste instead of a fine, dry chop." Ain't that the truth -- even when you're following the directions.
There are many limitations that make this more a nightmare than a mate: chocolate must be frozen, refrigerated or ground in very small amounts, depending on the type of chocolate (in other words, keep the user manual handy at all times -- you can't operate without it). Cheeses require much the same treatment, and if freezing a soft cheese to use in this you'll lose the consistency you wanted from it in the first place, as freezing the item breaks it down somewhat.
Cutting everything to a half-inch dice is probably the most perplexing. Sure, when using a larger food processor or any other chopper like this, smaller pieces must fit into the units in order for them to work. But, by the time I achieve a half-inch dice I can just go the distance, chop it myself with a knife and have to wash only the knife and cutting board surface. By using the Mini-Mate I raise my cleaning needs to the knife, cutting board, Mini-Mate blade, cup, motor housing (do not immerse!) and tiny plastic spatula (included and cute but small-handled).
Hand me my knife, please.
