Black & Decker EHC650 2-Speed Food Chopper with 3-Cup Bowl
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Black & Decker EHC650 2-Speed Food Chopper with 3-Cup Bowl
Customer Review: EHC650
Summary: 3 Stars
This all started a few months ago. I purchased a Magic Bullet. After like two uses O ring broke on blender and chopper very soon after. After that it leaked without seal when using liquids. Not good. Gave it away.
Next bought a cheap blender from Target. If I put more than 1 cup of tomato sauce or liquids it leaked through center opening post. Returned it to target.
Then I purchased a Girmi from Amazon. This thing is powerful. Did a good job however if I added more than a cup of liquid it came out through center opening post down to rotator. and when I tried to pour a thick mixture from Girmi into a small opening it was difficult. Easy to clean. I will be giving it away soon.
Then I purchased Hamilton Beach 80384 Deluxe from Amazon. This does a great job as did Girmi at chopping Ceylon cinnamon sticks and Flax seed except same problem if you start using liquid or more than a cup it squirts out from top around stainless bowl and out. not good.
I tried using some cat food lids to cover stainless bowl and then using a paper clip, push activator switch in real of unit. Not good. And not a good idea for preschool children. Then found a cat/dog food lid at Petmart. You can see it at [...] it is one with like two recess edges and slit in top. It fits perfectly into top of Stainless bowl then using plastic outside cover of HB 80384 fitting into recess in top of plastic lid giving a greater seal. However you still have to use a paper clip to activate switch at rear. And not good idea for preschool children to be let alone to try. A little annoying using clip so decided I need a larger bowel and more sealing and chopping but not much more than a one cup bowl
Point of all this I am trying to mix Ceylon Cinnamon sticks with powdered Cocoa and Water or tomato sauce and spices with flax seed. Blenders will not chop up flax seed or Ceylon Cinnamon to a powder. I do have a blender however it is too much trouble to first chop sticks in chopper and then transfer results to a blender for final blend. I'll be giving this one away too if Black & decker EHC650 works.
Now I purchased this Black & Decker EHC650 Ergo 3-Cup. Cup size is more than 1 which is good and less than 8 which is good.
Black & Decker EHC 650 is totally useless at Almonds, flax seed or Ceylon Cinnamon sticks. I could do a better job at chopping Cinnamon Sticks if I put them in a plastic bag and ran back and forth over it with my BMW. I put unchopped mix of sticks from EHC650 into my HB 80384 until they were thoroughly chopped which took a few seconds and tossed results back into EHC 650 with some water and powder Cocoa. This makes a mess at bottom of motor as it faces plastic bowl gets splash up from swirling Cocoa mix or later tomato sauce I tried and you can't just put motor housing under faucet to clean.
It appears to be easier to first chop almonds, flax or Cinnamon Sticks using Hamilton Beach 80384 then toss results into a cheaper Hamilton Beach basic blender with plastic cup and lid for final processing.
Someone needs to come up with a good Chopper/blender doing more than a cup and less than a pint and be liquid tight.
Customer Review: Powerful but not great blender
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a powerful little guy! (Smaller container than I expected) Anything I've put in it so far has been finely diced. That being said - I would recommend using the low button b/c it does *too* good of a job finely dicing/mincing. I was making a veggie soup but didn't want my veggies pureed, just chopped.
My qualms are regarding noise, design flaws, cleaning, and chopping mechanism.
Cleaning is a cinch, but as others have noted the top part that's connected to the motor/wire cannot be washed in the dishwasher (for obvious reasons). So wiping with a damp towel by hand is needed. I don't really mind this BUT what I do mind is that are two places that food has already gotten stuck - a little hole/screw area and the middle of the apparatus that connects to the blades. I tried using a Q-tip but to no avail. There's still some food stuck in there. I just hope it doesn't get moldy!
The other two issues: this isn't too noisy but it isn't quiet either. It's definitely quieter than a blender, and for the job it does I don't mind at all. Plus, I doubt any of us will be standing there for too long anyway, esp. with how fast this thing works. One thing no one mentioned is that the top motor/handle bit isn't *securely* attached to the canister. It just "rests" on top of the container! Not very sturdy, but not a reason for alarm. I guess I just expected more from this thing.
Also be careful - those blades are very sharp! I cut myself while drying them for the first time. The wire is also short, which is for safety reasons I assume, but not very convenient.
The chopping is great except you definitely have to chop your veggies into small pieces (about an inch) or else it won't chop evenly! I put tomatoes in about 2 inches in size and half of it was pureed and the other half was still there, unchopped.
My main issue, however, is with the blending this machine does. After reading someone's review about making a single serving of guacamole in the container I was inspired! Yet the ingredients don't mix well - I had chunks of avocado at the top that just wouldn't blend! And all my garlic was at the bottom which was *not* a pleasant surprise. And, to top it all off, as I went to store my guac in the same container, I realized the "top" / rubber bottom didn't fit properly over the container (nor is it airtight). I've only used this machine twice now, including making the guac, and had hand washed all parts both times so it shouldn't be warped!
I'm considering returning this and buying the Cuisinart (3 cup capacity) instead. The main difference is that the Cuisinart is about $10-$20 more (2 different models), a little bigger b/c it looks like a normal food processor and has an opening to add ingredients (ie salad dressing), has a more powerful motor. However, unlike this little guy it doesn't allow you to make, serve, and store your culinary delights in it.
Overall, for the price I think it's not a bad purchase.
Customer Review: Best chopper for a shopper ever!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Black and Decker has a super winner here. I owned this chopper for almost 3 years now, possibly even longer.
1st. Chopping...This chopper chops everything fast and slow and pulse, You do this by holding down the top with your palm and pushing the 2 blue buttons on the top with your finger( 1st button fast, 2nd button slow). The ergonomics of this is so comfortable to any hand anyone can use it.
The power of the motor allows you to cut meat, CHEESE ALL OF IT, vegetables,fruits, you can puree or leave chunks all depending on you. Blending dough with bread crumbs or crackers to a fine detail for for crust. Say good by to a slicer or hand chopping or rolling.
The motor on this chopper destroys the competition in this size probably because there are not to many out there. This is Black and Decker using Power Drill Technology on a chopper. These people know motors. Recently I thought after 3 yrs the motor was going bad. It was not, under the lid is a switch which engages the cup were food sometimes gets stuck I cleaned it and it runs like a champ.
2nd. SIZE This is the most convenient chopper out there and for the price top of the line. What do I mean?
A food processor is big, a blender is big. This is 4 cups maybe. You don't take this out of a closet put it together, read a manual about what position to put the cap in for it to work.
You take the top off, put in whatever, put the top on, and push the button. What so great about that?
you don't put it away. It takes 10 seconds to clean it.You don't need a manual. It rocks.
So here it is if you hand grind, if you mortar and petal, if you chop, get rid of the grinder.
3nd. The most important thing is this food chopper is for survivors. Its not for big projects that require the food processors. It's for everyday people who come home and and need to chop it right now.
I'm not paid for this or belong to a vine. So think for yourself before you buy and don't listen to someone else without your own Experience. The only thing I can ask here is ...Trust. This is one good thing in a billion of garbage. Simple..Easy... and works.
Customer Review: One of the most useful purchases I've made for my kitchen
Summary: 5 Stars
A friend of mine had an older model of the Black & Decker Ergo 3-Cup Food Chopper. While I was staying at her house, I used it to make smoothies. It is just right for a single serving (I prefer a 16oz pint glass, but it can be split into two 8oz servings). It is also much easier to clean than a blender. As I emptied my glass, I began to think of all the other potential uses of this great little kitchen tool. I had to have one of my own.
My friend did not remember where she purchased her's, she'd had it a while (which is a testament to it's durability). I searched all over town without success. That's when I sat down with my computer and expanded my search. As it had in the past, Amazon came through.
Since the Food Chopper arrived in the mail, I have used it frequently. In addition to my morning smoothie, I have used it to make salsa, pasta sauce, veggie filling for dumplings and omlettes, bread crumbs, and even more things I can't recall at the moment.
Black & Decker has made improvements since my friend's older model, which pleased me even more. I think the older model had some problems with the pivot point that the blade sat upon. This is no longer a problem as they have added a metal rod in order to better secure the blade. The rubber pad that fits on the bottom of the cup to eliminate movement during use is better than my friend's as well.
The only cons I can think of are it's small size and perhaps power. I only need it for myself and my girlfriend, so it's capacity is fine for most of my uses. We have a larger food processor for larger projects. I read some complaints about a lack of power for thicker recipes such as hummus. I have not yet experienced this because I use the larger food processor for that (we eat a lot of hummus). If this is an issue, it's a minor one.
I highly recommend this useful piece of equipment. It's a great buy for $20 with everything it can do. If you're in the kitchen as often as I am and prefer fresh homemade foods as much as I do, it is likely you will be pleased with the Food Chopper's ease and variety of use.
Customer Review: Serious design flaws!!
Summary: 1 Stars
I am MYSTIFIED at all the positive reviews the Black & Decker EHC650 2-Speed Food Chopper has received. Based on those positive reviews, I purchased this item and quickly discovered that it has two serious design flaws that render it a complete waste of money. First and most serious of all is the fact that the blade is designed to "float" above the bottom of the bowl until the weighty lid (where the motor is housed) is placed on top of it. The unit will not function unless the blade makes contact with the bottom of the bowl, which can only happen AFTER you have put the lid on the bowl. But while you are adding things to the bowl, the space under the floating blade can (and does) become filled with almost anything you may want to chop, including nuts, sugar, veggies, etc. This food then prevents the blade from making contact with the bottom of the bowl when the lid is applied, which in turn prevents the unit from working. This is reason enough not to purchase this item, but it also has another design flaw which in my opinion is very serious: as I mentioned above, the lid houses the motor. This means that you cannot immerse the lid in water - to wash it (and you certainly cannot put it in the dishwasher). Yet the underside of the lid comes into direct contact with whatever food you might manage to chop; even if you are only chopping a small quantity of food that does not reach the level of the lid, the inevitable splatter/spray kicked up by the blade will coat the underside of the lid. So, either you meticulously wipe down the underside of the lid with some sort of disinfectant after each use, or you run the risk of cross-contamination. And even if you do adequately clean the underside of the lid, you cannot clean inside the part of the lid that mates with the stem of the blade, and that part is also exposed to, and accumulates, whirling food particles. I purchased the Cuisinart Model #DLC-2A to replace this unit last weekend, and I am very happy with its design.