Food Processor Review: Magimix Compact 3200 XL

Looks

I love how minimal the design is, the sleek silver colour and it’s compact size. It’s footprint is not huge (H39.5 x W19 x D22.5 cm), so it fits on my kitchen counter no bother at all. I also love the practical design – all three bowls fit inside each other, so you’re not having to reach into the cupboard every time you want to use a different one.

Controls

It only has three buttons, so you don’t have to keep referring to the booklet to find which program you should be using. It only works if the lids and bowls are correctly placed on the body of the machine, so it certainly feels safe.

Features

Chopping, slicing, grating, mixing, blending, beating, whisking, kneading, mincing, emulsifying… it does the lot!

• Mini Bowl: equipped with a metal blade for blending, chopping, mixing and emulsifying small amounts.
• Midi Bowl: this is designed to be used with the chopping and grating discs, so this is what I use to prep veg and grate cheese
• Main Bowl: this has a few options… you can use the metal blade with it for mincing, blending, emulsifying and chopping. There’s a BlenderMix rim that you fit to the top of the main bowl when you’re wanting to blend soups or other liquids. There’s a dough blade for mixing and kneading and there’s also a whisk to whip cream or beat egg whites for things like meringues, mousses and soufflés.

You can see in the picture the discs that came with it – two sizes of grater and two sizes of slicer (2mm and 4mm), the dough blade, the larger chopping blade (the smaller one is in the bowl in this pic), the whisk and the handy spatula which really helps turn the food out of the bowl with its special shape. All of the accessories come in an attractive plastic storage box that keeps them all together and protects them from getting damaged. Although I’ve somehow managed to crack the lid of that already!

What have I made so far?

I’ve had the Magimix out on my kitchen counter for a week now, and I’ve used it at every available opportunity to see how it would perform. Here’s what I’ve used it for so far…

• Shortcrust pastry – for my Vegan Mushroom, Roast Pepper and Walnut Tart – see the recipe here
• Curry paste – effortlessly blended the ingredients together to form a smooth paste for a Slimming World Curry
• Grated cheese – much cheaper to grate your own rather than buying it pre-grated, and the processor makes really quick work of it.
• Chopping onions – god I hate doing this manually, so I shall be doing this every time!
• Prepping Veg – shredding and slicing mushrooms, carrots, leeks, courgettes – you name it, I’m going to be slicing it in my processor from now on!

What will I make next?

• More pastry
• Pesto
• I fancy giving Mayonnaise a whirl too!

Cleaning it

I rinse it off as soon as I’ve used it. The plastic is really easy to clean with a washing up brush and some warm soapy water, as are the various blades – just mind your fingers! The manual says you can put the detachable parts in the dishwasher at the minimum temperature, but I prefer washing my gadgets by hand.

Value for money

This is an investment piece, but if you’re a busy cook who likes to make things from scratch it’s well worth the £259.99 price tag (cheaper if you opt for a different colour)

Overall verdict

This powerful food processor has quickly earned its place on my kitchen counter. Chopping stinky onions in seconds, creating lush curry pastes from scratch, grating a week’s worth of cheese and knocking up fiddly pastry in a matter of minutes, I know I’m going to get a huge amount of use out of the Magimix. Size-wise it’s just right at 2.6L (working capacity of 1 litre) for cooking for my family of four, but if I was regularly cooking for larger crowds I’d be tempted to go for a larger model. I won’t be putting my blender away anytime soon, as it’s so handy preparing soups, smoothies and pancake batter in a pourable jug, but in terms of chopping, grating and pastry making, I’m totally sold!

Disclosure: I have been sent the Magimix Compact 3200 XL for the purpose of this review. I get to keep the food processor, but rest assured all views expressed are my own.