Cuisinart: the food processor pioneer, and our guide to spices, tea and ice cream

In America, "Cuisinart" is a word people use the way Britons say "Hoover". For a lot of US households, a Cuisinart simply means a food processor, whoever made it. That's the mark one product can leave when it changes how people cook.

In the UK, Cuisinart is a smaller name, but it has a loyal following among keen home cooks. Its products tend to be aimed at people who care about the details: the right water temperature for a delicate tea, freshly ground spices instead of a jar that's been open since 2019, or homemade ice cream with no ingredients you can't pronounce.

We sell three Cuisinart products at Clean Smile Home: the Spice and Nut Grinder SG21U, a 1.7 litre glass kettle with variable temperature control, and the Solo Scoops ICEM10U ice cream maker for one or two people. This guide covers Cuisinart's story (which includes one of the great kitchen-gadget rivalries), what the brand is good at, each product in detail, and a lot of practical know-how: grinding and toasting spices, brewing tea at the right temperature, and making ice cream at home. There's a care section and a FAQ at the end.

The short version

• Cuisinart was founded in 1971 by Carl Sontheimer, an American engineer who loved French cooking. Its first product, a food processor launched in 1973, changed home cooking in the United States.
• Since 1989, Cuisinart has been owned by Conair, a US company. It's headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.
• The brand suits people who enjoy cooking and want tools that give them more control.
• For fresh spices, nuts and seeds, buy the Spice and Nut Grinder SG21U.
• For tea and coffee at exactly the right temperature, buy the 1.7L Glass Kettle with Variable Temperature Control.
• For small batches of homemade ice cream, gelato, sorbet or frozen yoghurt, buy the Solo Scoops ICEM10U.

The Cuisinart story

An engineer who loved French food

Carl Sontheimer was an MIT-trained engineer and inventor with a passion for French cooking. In the early 1970s he came across a machine made by Robot-Coupe, a French company that made food processors for restaurant kitchens and sold a home version under the Magimix name.

Sontheimer saw that a machine like this could do for home cooks what it did for professional chefs: chop, slice, grate, purée and mix in seconds. He founded Cuisinart in 1971, took the French machine, reworked it for American kitchens and brought it to market.

1973: a slow start

Cuisinart launched its food processor at a housewares trade show in Chicago in January 1973. It didn't fly off the shelves. People didn't know what it was for, and it was expensive.

Things changed when the food magazine Gourmet gave it a glowing review. Then celebrity cooks started championing it, most notably James Beard, one of America's best-known food writers and a close friend of Sontheimer. By the mid-1970s the Cuisinart food processor was a must-have for anyone serious about cooking at home.

Design for real people

Cuisinart hired the industrial designer Marc Harrison to work on its products. One of his changes was using larger fonts on controls for people with poor eyesight. That sounds small, but it's an early example of designing kitchen appliances so more people could use them comfortably. You can still see that thinking in Cuisinart's clear controls today.

The battle of the blades

Cuisinart's machines were originally made by Robot-Coupe. When the contract ran out in 1980, Cuisinart switched to a Japanese manufacturer and launched its own machine. Robot-Coupe, meanwhile, started selling its own food processors in the US, and in 1979 it hired Cuisinart's former marketing director as its president.

The rivalry got heated. In 1981 the New York Times and Time magazine both covered the "food machine rivalry". A court stopped one Robot-Coupe advert, and Robot-Coupe switched to a line along the lines of: there are many food processors made in Japan, but the original is still made in France. It's a lovely piece of kitchen history, and a reminder that the gadgets on our worktops have stories behind them.

Ups, downs and Conair

Sontheimer sold his stake in the company in 1987. Two years later, in 1989, Cuisinart filed for bankruptcy, and Conair Corporation bought it. Under Conair, Cuisinart expanded into a much wider range: blenders, coffee makers, toasters, kettles, cookware, ice cream makers and more. Sontheimer died in 1998, aged 83.

Today, Cuisinart is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and sells cookware, kitchen tools and small appliances around the world.

What Cuisinart does well, and where it doesn't

Strengths

Tools for people who like to cook. Cuisinart's products tend to give you a bit more control than the average appliance: a precise temperature on a kettle, two bowls on a grinder so you can keep coffee and spices apart, a bowl for small-batch ice cream.

Good materials. Stainless steel grinding bowls, double-walled borosilicate glass on the kettle. These feel well made and are easy to clean.

Thoughtful details. Sealed storage lids on the grinder bowls. A one-cup marker on the kettle. A wide funnel on the ice cream maker for adding chocolate chips while it churns.

Where Cuisinart isn't the right pick

If you want the cheapest option. Cuisinart isn't usually the budget choice. You're paying for extra control and nicer materials.

If you need big quantities. The Solo Scoops makes about eight scoops. Families who want a tub of ice cream for a party will need several batches, or a bigger machine.

If you're serious about espresso. The spice grinder can grind coffee beans, but blade grinders don't give the even grind espresso needs. For espresso, you want a burr grinder. For cafetière or filter coffee, a blade grinder is fine.

If you want wet chopping. The SG21U is for dry ingredients like spices, nuts and seeds. For onions, garlic, herbs and dips, look at the Ninja Stackable Chopper.

The Cuisinart range at Clean Smile Home

Cuisinart Spice and Nut Grinder SG21U

The SG21U grinds spices, nuts, seeds and coffee beans. It comes with two stainless steel bowls that seal for storing what you've ground.

What it does:

• A 200 W motor with one-touch pulse control.
• Two stainless steel grinding bowls with sealed storage lids.
• Holds about 90 g of spices or 75 g of nuts.
• A safety lock: it runs only with the lid locked in place.
• Dishwasher-safe bowls, blades and lids.

Who it's for: curry lovers, bakers, anyone who wants fresher-tasting spices, people who make their own nut flours or seed mixes, and anyone who grinds coffee for a cafetière or filter.

Why two bowls matters: spices leave strong oils and smells behind. Use one bowl for spices and the other for coffee, nuts or sweet things, and your morning coffee won't taste of cumin.

Read our guide Fresh-ground flavour: how to use the Cuisinart Spice and Nut Grinder SG21U for more.

Cuisinart 1.7L Glass Kettle with Variable Temperature Control

The Cuisinart glass kettle lets you choose the water temperature for different teas and coffee.

What it does:

• Choose any temperature from 50 to 100°C.
• A 3 kW rapid boil.
• A 1.7 litre capacity, up to eight cups.
• Double-walled borosilicate glass that's BPA free and stays cool to the touch on the outside.
• A red light ring that shows when it's on.
• A 240 ml one-cup marker.
• A no-spill spout, a wide hinged lid, a 360-degree swivel base and cord storage.

Who it's for: tea drinkers who love green, white and oolong teas, coffee drinkers who use a cafetière or pour-over, and anyone who wants a glass kettle that doesn't get dangerously hot on the outside.

Why double-walled glass matters: a single-walled glass kettle can get very hot on the outside. A double wall keeps the outer surface much cooler, which is safer, especially with children around. It also helps keep the water warm a little longer.

See our guide Cuisinart glass kettle with temperature control: perfect herbal, green and black tea.

Cuisinart Solo Scoops Ice Cream Maker ICEM10U

The Solo Scoops is a compact ice cream maker for one or two people. You freeze the bowl, pour in your mix and it's ready in about 25 minutes.

What it does:

• Makes ice cream, gelato, sorbet and frozen yoghurt.
• A 475 ml freezer bowl, about eight scoops.
• Ready in about 25 minutes.
• A wide funnel for adding chocolate chips, nuts or fruit while it churns.
• One-touch churning.
• A dishwasher-safe paddle and lid.
• A storage lid and a recipe booklet in the box.

Who it's for: singles and couples, people with dietary needs who want to control exactly what goes in (dairy-free, lower sugar, no additives), families with one ice cream fan, and anyone who'd like to experiment with flavours.

Worth knowing: the bowl must go in the freezer for at least 12 hours before you use it. Make space for it, and if you're keen, keep it in the freezer permanently so it's always ready. Read Homemade ice cream for one or two: the Cuisinart Solo Scoops ICEM10U.

All three at a glance

Product	What it is	Capacity	Standout feature	Best for
SG21U	Spice and nut grinder	About 90 g spices or 75 g nuts	Two steel bowls with storage lids	Fresh spices, nuts, coffee
Glass kettle	Temperature control kettle	1.7 L	50 to 100°C, double-walled glass	Tea and coffee lovers
ICEM10U	Ice cream maker	475 ml, about 8 scoops	Ready in about 25 minutes	Small batches, any diet

The spice grinding guide

Why grind your own spices?

Ground spices lose flavour much faster than whole ones. The flavour comes from aromatic oils, and once a seed is ground, those oils are exposed to air and start to fade. Whole spices keep their flavour far longer. Grind them just before cooking and you'll notice the difference immediately: cumin smells warmer, coriander smells almost citrusy, and black pepper has a proper bite.

It also saves money over time. Whole spices often cost less per gram, especially from world food shops and the world food aisle of supermarkets.

Toast first, then grind

For most seed spices, toasting before grinding brings out deeper flavour.

1. Put whole spices in a dry frying pan over a medium heat.
2. Shake the pan often. Toast for one to three minutes until they smell fragrant and darken slightly. Don't let them smoke or blacken.
3. Tip them onto a plate to cool for a few minutes. Grinding hot spices can make them clump.
4. Grind in short pulses in the SG21U until fine.

A simple homemade garam masala

Recipes vary from family to family, but here's a straightforward starting point:

• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon green cardamom pods (seeds only, or whole for a stronger flavour)
• 1 small cinnamon stick, broken up
• 6 cloves
• Half a teaspoon of fennel seeds

Toast everything except the cinnamon gently, add the cinnamon for the last 30 seconds, cool, then grind. Store in one of the sealed bowls and use within a few weeks for the best flavour.

Other things to grind

• Black pepper: grind a batch for cooking, keeping it separate from your table grinder.
• Chilli flakes: pulse dried chillies briefly for flakes, longer for powder. Open the lid away from your face.
• Flaxseed (linseed): ground flaxseed is easier to digest than whole. Grind small amounts, as ground flax goes stale quickly.
• Nuts: almonds and hazelnuts for baking. Pulse briefly; grind too long and you'll get nut butter.
• Sugar: pulse granulated sugar into a fine caster sugar for baking.
• Coffee: for cafetière or filter coffee. See below.
• Dried herbs: for rubs and seasoning blends.

Five more spice blends to try

Once you've made garam masala, other blends are easy. These are simple starting points; tweak them to suit you.

• Chinese five-spice: star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, cloves and cinnamon in roughly equal amounts, with less clove as it's strong. Lovely on roast pork or duck.
• Simple curry powder: coriander, cumin, fenugreek seeds, black pepper and a dried chilli, ground and mixed with turmeric and ground ginger.
• Cajun seasoning: black pepper, dried oregano and thyme, ground together, then mixed with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne. Great on chicken and potatoes.
• Baking spice: cinnamon, a little nutmeg, cloves and allspice berries, ground and mixed with ground ginger. Use in crumbles, cakes and porridge.
• Dukkah: toasted hazelnuts, sesame seeds, coriander and cumin seeds, pulsed coarsely with salt and pepper. Dip bread in olive oil, then in the dukkah.

How to store spices

• Keep whole and ground spices away from heat, light and moisture. A cupboard away from the hob is better than a rack above it.
• Use airtight containers. The SG21U's sealed bowls are fine for short-term storage of a freshly ground batch.
• Grind small amounts often rather than big batches occasionally.
• Label homemade blends with the date. Most ground spices are at their best for a few weeks to a few months.
• Smell test: if a spice smells of very little when you rub it between your fingers, it won't taste of much either.

Grinding coffee in a blade grinder

A blade grinder chops beans rather than crushing them evenly between burrs. That gives a mix of particle sizes. For cafetière and filter coffee, that's fine, and freshly ground beans will taste much better than pre-ground coffee that's been open for weeks.

• For a cafetière, pulse briefly for a coarse grind, shaking the grinder gently between pulses.
• For filter coffee, pulse a little longer for a medium grind.
• For espresso, a blade grinder isn't the right tool. Buy pre-ground espresso coffee or a burr grinder.

Use your second bowl for coffee only, so spices don't flavour your brew.

The tea and coffee temperature guide

The Cuisinart kettle lets you choose any temperature from 50 to 100°C. Here's how to use that range.

Drink	Water temperature	Steep time
Delicate green tea (such as Japanese sencha)	About 70 to 75°C	1 to 2 minutes
Chinese green tea	About 75 to 80°C	2 to 3 minutes
White tea	About 80°C	2 to 4 minutes
Oolong	About 85 to 95°C	3 to 5 minutes
Black tea	100°C	3 to 5 minutes
Herbal and fruit infusions	100°C	5 minutes or more
Cafetière or pour-over coffee	About 90 to 96°C	About 4 minutes for a cafetière

These are starting points. Tea packs often give their own advice, and personal taste counts for a lot.

Loose leaf or tea bags?

Tea bags are quick and tidy. Loose-leaf tea usually uses larger pieces of leaf, which have more room to unfurl in a pot or infuser, and many tea lovers find it gives a fuller, more rounded flavour. A temperature kettle helps both, but you'll notice the difference most with good loose-leaf green, white and oolong teas.

Store tea in an airtight, opaque tin away from heat, light and strong smells like coffee or spices. Tea absorbs odours easily, which is a good reason to keep it well away from the spice rack.

Water quality and taste

Hard water can make tea look cloudy and form a scum on the surface, and it can mute delicate flavours. If you live in a hard water area and drink a lot of green or white tea, filtered water from a jug filter often makes a noticeable difference. Descale the kettle regularly too, as scale on the base plate can affect taste.

Why lower temperatures matter for green tea

Green tea leaves aren't oxidised the way black tea leaves are. They contain compounds that turn bitter and astringent when they meet very hot water. Cooler water draws out the sweeter, grassy flavours without the bitterness. If you've ever thought you don't like green tea, try it at 75°C for two minutes before you give up.

What about the lower settings?

The range down to 50°C is useful for more than tea. Some people use warm water for making up drinks for children (always check temperature before serving), warming a teapot, or blooming yeast for baking, which likes warm rather than hot water. For baby formula, follow NHS guidance, which says to use water that has boiled and cooled for no more than 30 minutes so it's still at least 70°C.

The homemade ice cream guide

How the Solo Scoops works

Ice cream makers with a freezer bowl work by putting a very cold bowl in contact with your liquid mix while a paddle stirs it. The bowl has a cooling liquid sealed inside its walls. After at least 12 hours in the freezer, it's cold enough to freeze the mix as it churns. The stirring keeps ice crystals small, which is what makes ice cream smooth instead of icy, and it folds in a little air.

After about 25 minutes, you'll have soft-serve texture. Eat it straight away, or put it in the freezer for an hour or two to firm up.

Golden rules

1. Freeze the bowl for at least 12 hours, ideally overnight or longer. Shake it: if you can hear liquid sloshing, it isn't ready.
2. Chill your mix. A cold mix freezes faster and smoother. Make it the night before and keep it in the fridge.
3. Start the paddle before pouring. Switch on, then pour the mix in through the funnel, so it doesn't freeze to the sides straight away.
4. Don't overfill. Ice cream expands as it churns. Follow the maximum in the manual.
5. Add extras near the end. Chocolate chips, chopped nuts or fruit pieces go in through the funnel in the last few minutes.

A simple no-cook vanilla ice cream

This makes enough for one Solo Scoops batch. It's a "Philadelphia-style" ice cream, which means no eggs and no cooking.

• 150 ml double cream
• 100 ml whole milk
• 40 g caster sugar
• Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• A tiny pinch of salt

Whisk the sugar into the milk until it dissolves, then stir in the cream, vanilla and salt. Chill well, then churn. Adjust quantities if your mix comes close to the bowl's max line.

Strawberry sorbet

• 200 g ripe strawberries
• 50 g caster sugar
• 50 ml water
• A squeeze of lemon juice

Heat the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves, then cool. Blend with the strawberries and lemon. Sieve out the seeds if you like. Chill, then churn. In sorbet, sugar also keeps the texture soft and scoopable. Cut it too far and you'll get a block of ice.

Quick frozen yoghurt

Mix 250 g of Greek yoghurt with two or three tablespoons of honey or sugar and a little vanilla. Chill and churn. Add berries through the funnel at the end.

Dairy-free ice cream

Full-fat coconut milk makes a rich dairy-free base. Mix a can of coconut milk with sugar to taste and a flavouring like vanilla, cocoa powder or mango purée. Chill thoroughly before churning. Lighter plant milks make icier results on their own, so blend them with something rich, like coconut cream or cashew butter.

Flavour ideas

Start with the vanilla base above and change one thing at a time:

• Chocolate: whisk two tablespoons of cocoa powder and a little extra sugar into the milk before adding the cream.
• Coffee: dissolve a teaspoon or two of instant coffee in the milk.
• Mint choc chip: add a few drops of peppermint extract, then drop chopped dark chocolate through the funnel at the end.
• Cookies and cream: crumble a couple of chocolate sandwich biscuits through the funnel in the last few minutes.
• Salted caramel: swirl a spoon of caramel sauce and a pinch of sea salt through the finished ice cream.
• Raspberry ripple: fold through crushed raspberries mixed with a little sugar after churning.
• Mango sorbet: blend ripe mango with a sugar syrup and lime juice.
• Lemon sorbet: lemon juice, zest and sugar syrup. Bright and refreshing after a heavy meal.

A tip: taste your mix before churning. Cold dulls sweetness, so the mix should taste slightly too sweet at room temperature.

Why homemade ice cream goes hard in the freezer

Shop-bought ice cream contains stabilisers that keep it soft. Homemade ice cream doesn't, so it freezes harder. Take it out of the freezer 10 to 15 minutes before serving. A spoon of alcohol (like a liqueur) or a little extra sugar also keeps it softer, though leave the alcohol out for children.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

With the grinder

• Holding the button down. Continuous grinding heats the spices and the motor. Pulse in short bursts and shake the grinder between pulses for an even result.
• Grinding hot spices straight from the pan. Let them cool for a few minutes first, or they can clump and turn pasty.
• Using one bowl for everything. Keep one for spices and one for coffee or sweet things.
• Grinding too much at once. Stay within about 90 g of spices or 75 g of nuts.

With the kettle

• Using 100°C for everything. The whole point of this kettle is choice. Try lower temperatures for green and white teas.
• Reboiling the same water over and over. Fresh water makes better tea, because reboiled water loses some of its dissolved oxygen and can taste flat.
• Ignoring limescale. In hard water areas, descale regularly. Scale affects taste and slows heating.

With the ice cream maker

• Not freezing the bowl for long enough. Twelve hours is the minimum.
• Using a warm mix. Chill it thoroughly first.
• Overfilling. The mix expands as it churns.
• Adding mix-ins too early. Chocolate chips and fruit sink and clump if added at the start. Add them in the last few minutes.

Five easy dishes that show off fresh spices

If you're not sure fresh grinding is worth it, cook one of these twice: once with jar spices and once with freshly ground. You'll taste the difference.

1. Dal: red lentils simmered with turmeric, then finished with a tarka of cumin seeds, garlic and chilli fried in oil or ghee. Grind a little extra cumin and coriander to stir through at the end.
2. Roast carrots with cumin and honey: toss carrots in oil, freshly ground cumin, salt and a little honey. Roast until caramelised.
3. Pepper-crusted steak: coarsely grind black peppercorns, press them onto a steak with salt, then sear. Pre-ground pepper simply doesn't have the same punch.
4. Chai: lightly crush cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and black pepper, simmer with water, ginger and black tea, then add milk and sugar to taste.
5. Spiced porridge: stir a pinch of your homemade baking spice into porridge with grated apple.

Better coffee with the glass kettle

Boiling water straight onto coffee grounds can scorch them and bring out bitter flavours. Water just off the boil, around 90 to 96°C, usually gives a sweeter, rounder cup.

1. Set the Cuisinart kettle to around 93°C.
2. Grind beans coarsely in the SG21U's coffee bowl for a cafetière.
3. Use roughly a tablespoon of coffee per mug, or about 60 g per litre.
4. Pour a little water to wet the grounds, wait 30 seconds, then add the rest.
5. Stir, put the lid on, wait about four minutes, then press slowly and pour.

Freshly ground beans plus the right water temperature is the cheapest big upgrade most coffee drinkers can make.

Safety notes

• The SG21U blades are very sharp. Handle the bowls carefully and keep fingers away from the blades.
• The grinder only runs with the lid locked. Never try to override the safety lock.
• Open the grinder lid away from your face after grinding chillies or strong spices. Fine powder can sting eyes and noses.
• Don't overfill the kettle past the MAX line, and keep its cord out of reach of children.
• The ice cream bowl is extremely cold straight from the freezer. Use a cloth or gloves if you need to hold it for long.
• If you're making ice cream with raw eggs, be aware of the food safety advice for pregnant women, young children, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system. The no-cook recipe above avoids eggs entirely.

How to look after your Cuisinart products

Spice grinder

• Unplug before removing bowls.
• Bowls, blades and lids are dishwasher safe. For quick cleaning between spices, grind a tablespoon of uncooked rice or a piece of dry bread, which picks up oils and smells, then tip it out and wipe.
• Wipe the motor base with a damp cloth. Never put it in water.
• Don't overfill: about 90 g of spices or 75 g of nuts is the maximum.
• Don't run it for long stretches. Pulse, rest, and pulse again.

Glass kettle

• Descale regularly. Glass shows limescale clearly, which makes it easy to see when it needs doing.
• Use citric acid or a kettle descaler, then rinse thoroughly.
• Wipe the outside with a soft cloth. Don't use abrasive cleaners on glass.
• Keep the base and controls dry.

Solo Scoops

• Let the bowl come up to room temperature before washing. Hot water on a frozen bowl can damage it.
• Wash the bowl by hand. Don't put it in the dishwasher. The paddle and lid are dishwasher safe.
• Dry the bowl completely before putting it back in the freezer. Water left on it turns to ice.
• Never use metal spoons to scrape ice cream out of the bowl, as they can scratch the surface.
• Wipe the motor unit with a damp cloth.

Cuisinart compared with the other brands we sell

Kettles: the Ninja KT200UK is the other temperature control kettle we stock. Ninja gives you presets, a live temperature display and Hold Temp. Cuisinart gives you a glass body and a wide range from 50 to 100°C. Prefer to see the water? Cuisinart. Want to see the exact temperature and keep it warm? Ninja.

Choppers and grinders: the Ninja Stackable Chopper is for wet ingredients like onions, garlic, herbs and dips. The Cuisinart grinder is for dry ingredients like spices, nuts and seeds. Many keen cooks own both.

Treats: pair the Solo Scoops with the Breville DuraCeramic waffle maker for the ultimate dessert at home.

Before you buy

For the grinder

• Do you cook with spices at least once or twice a week? If so, you'll use it plenty.
• Would you use it for coffee too? The two bowls make that easy without flavours crossing over.
• Do you want to chop onions and herbs? That's a job for a chopper, not this grinder.

For the kettle

• Do you drink green, white or oolong tea, or brew coffee by hand? Then temperature control will make a daily difference.
• Do you like seeing the water? Then glass suits you. If you'd rather see a number on a display, look at the Ninja kettle.
• Do you live in a hard water area? Glass will show scale, so plan to descale regularly.

For the ice cream maker

• Do you have freezer space for a bowl? It needs to stay in for at least 12 hours before each use.
• How many people will you make it for? About eight scoops suits one or two people well.
• Do you want to control ingredients? This is the big reason to make your own.

Cuisinart as a gift

• For a tea lover: the glass kettle, with a few loose-leaf teas and a note of the right temperatures.
• For a home cook who loves curries: the spice grinder, with a bag of whole cumin, coriander and cardamom.
• For a couple or a student with a sweet tooth: the Solo Scoops, with a printed copy of the vanilla recipe above.
• For someone with dietary needs: the Solo Scoops again. Dairy-free, lower-sugar or allergy-friendly ice cream is much easier to make than to find.

Why we chose Cuisinart

Cuisinart has been making tools for people who love cooking since 1971. We picked three products that bring a bit of that thinking into everyday kitchens. Fresh spices make home cooking taste noticeably better. Tea brewed at the right temperature tastes how it's meant to. And making ice cream at home means you know exactly what's in it. Each product is a small step up from the basics that's easy to notice.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Cuisinart?

Conair Corporation, an American company, has owned Cuisinart since 1989.

Is Cuisinart a French brand?

No, it's American. The name sounds French because the founder loved French cooking, and the first Cuisinart food processor was based on a French machine made by Robot-Coupe.

Can I grind coffee in the SG21U?

Yes, for cafetière and filter coffee. Use your second bowl for coffee only. For espresso, a burr grinder gives a more even grind.

Can the SG21U make nut butter?

It can grind nuts finely, and if you keep going, the oils will start to release. For small amounts, yes. For a jar of smooth peanut butter, a bigger food processor is better. Pulse with rests so the motor doesn't overheat.

Can I grind wet ingredients in the SG21U?

It's designed for dry ingredients like spices, nuts, seeds and coffee beans. For wet ingredients, use a chopper.

How hot does the outside of the Cuisinart glass kettle get?

The double-walled glass is designed to stay cool to the touch on the outside, even when the water inside is boiling. Still, take care around the lid and spout, where steam escapes.

Does the Cuisinart kettle keep water warm?

The double wall helps water stay warm longer than single-walled glass. Check the manual for details of any keep-warm function on your model.

How long does the Solo Scoops bowl need in the freezer?

At least 12 hours. Many people keep it in the freezer permanently, so it's always ready.

Why is my ice cream not freezing?

The most common reasons are that the bowl wasn't frozen long enough, the mix wasn't chilled, or the kitchen is very warm. Make sure you can't hear liquid when you shake the frozen bowl, and chill the mix overnight.

Can I make two batches in a row?

Not usually. The bowl needs to refreeze between batches. If you want two flavours, make one, put it in the freezer, then refreeze the bowl for the next day.

Can I make sugar-free ice cream?

You can use sweeteners, but sugar does more than sweeten: it keeps ice cream soft. Sugar-free ice cream tends to freeze harder and icier. Let it soften before serving, and try recipes designed for your chosen sweetener.

Find your Cuisinart

• Cuisinart Spice and Nut Grinder SG21U
• Cuisinart 1.7L Glass Kettle with Variable Temperature Control
• Cuisinart Solo Scoops Ice Cream Maker ICEM10U

If you cook a lot of curries, start with the grinder. If you drink a lot of tea, start with the kettle. And if you've ever stood in the supermarket reading the long list of ingredients on a tub of ice cream and wished it were simpler, start with the Solo Scoops.

Sources for the history: Cuisinart and Carl Sontheimer entries on Wikipedia, including references to the New York Times (1981) and Time (1981). Product figures such as capacities and timings are manufacturer specifications. Baby formula guidance: NHS.