Over the last couple of weeks, we decided that we would like a food processor. We have a mini one for chopping, but it does not have a feed tube for slicing or shredding. That one works fine for chopping nuts, cranberries, etc., but I can not feed a cucumber in through the top and get nice thin slices of cucumber.

I did a little research on-line. ConsumerReports.org said that one of the processors in the KitchenAid line up tested best. I also checked out epinions.com, and everyone was really happy with it, and it works great, glad I got it, etc. etc.

It has a big huge powerful motor for kneading dough, and it is computer circuitry to sense torque, load, and speed, and adjust the amount of power it delivers. Wow! That sounds great. It was $240, but with all the good stuff people were saying about, and the fact that it has such a heavy duty motor, I figured it would last us a life time.

We were walking through Wal-Mart the other night, and on a whim I wanted to walk down their appliance isle just to see what processors they carried. They had a fill sized model from GE for $38. (see picture to the left) It suddenly dawned on me that I was not going to use it for kneading dough; I have a heavy duty KitchenAid stand mixer for that. I am not going to use it all day every day in a professional kitchen; I am a weekend warrior. I want it for slicing nice tender vegetables. And not too often at than. Then I realized that I could burn through 6 cheap food processor motors and still be spending less money than with the one KitchenAid food processor. So we went ahead and bought it. I have used it so far to slice cucumbers and onions for the salad I made to eat while watching the Fiesta Bowl. It works great! I could stick the whole cucumber in the feed tube; I didn't have to slice it in half lengthwise to make it fit.

One interesting thing I noticed on the bottom of the unit and in the printed on the last page of the instruction booklet, is the Wal-Mart logo. I wonder why they had a custom-made unit? Does it have less power or is it not as well built as other GE models? That wouldn't make sense to GE, because then if someone had a bad experience with other GE products? Is it just to make it easy for the returns desk at Wal-Mart to make sure it was bought there, and not somewhere else?

I just went out to the GE website, and on the start page of their small appliance web space they have this interesting paragraph:

Available only at Wal-Mart and Walmart.com, this high-quality line of household, personal and kitchen appliances will add style to your home. The product line includes everything from irons and roasters to four-slice toasters. With these easy-to-use products, you can enjoy the quality you trust from GE at the value you expect from Wal-Mart and Walmart.com.

So I guess that explains the Wal-Mart logo that I found.