Product Review: Rival 1.5-Cup Mini Chopper MC-67BL

Photo courtesy of http://www.walmart.com/

Sleek, cute and most definitely mini - this would be perfect for a small kitchen or a household that has small children. The entire mini-chopper has only five parts; the mechanical base, the container, the blade, and the top. Like most food choppers, it has a clear top with opposite ridges and an easy to control base that makes it simple to process or chop your food. It also holds only a small quantity of food, so after you snap your base on (it won't start otherwise) - it is very unlikely for anything the spill if it should fall. I mostly use this for egg sheets and hummus, but it never gets a proper blend  unless it is almost to the brim and you hold the button for long enough. If you're looking to make some mushroom balls or something similar this is great for you because it can easily leave a chunky texture if you only pulse a few times - its very easy to control because of its one button.

Price I Paid: $2.00

Suggested Price from Sellers : $2.84

The Cons:
There are a few problems with this mini chopper. The hardest part for me being the top - which has the amazing ability to lock and will only start once you hear a nice "click!" after sliding its sleek ridge underneath the machine's black nook. It is a bit hard to master at times, as sometimes the ridge will get past the nook and slide into place, but the click won't happen. At other times, it may be that the larger and shorter ridge won't be in the correct position or the top won't grip onto its container correctly. The last time I made guacamole - it took me about five minutes for each component to be married into the dish because the top would keep snapping the wrong way. You really have to make sure that your two little edges (seen in the front and back of the photo) facing the correct way or else it will take you forever to get  have solid food already in there it is very easy for it to get stuck underneath and jam the food processor. Its a really gross process to get it out so that you can face the blade the correct way and not allow it to get stuck with food. You may want to initiate the processing with a few dry practice runs so that everything is okay, then add your food in small batches.

The second issue is quantity - although it says that it should be able to contain about 1.5 cups of food, it is safer to place only about 3/4-1 cups of food within the dish. If you do not want a paste, you do still have to turn the food around a bit more, even if you are using a small quantity. This is normally shared with other brands of cheaper food processors - as well as the fact that water can easily mess with the function of the chopper. Although it is a coated base with a long spool in the middle to place itself on top of the machine, it still has a tendency to leak fluid that has not touched anywhere near the whole, so you need to be more careful or add less liquid. You may find that you have to scrub a ring (no matter how clean it is) from the middle where the blade goes, this may be due to constant wear and tear or overheating due to the quantities I first used. It is still fine at this time.

The Pros:
The size of this food chopper is about the size of one of my fists, making it a very small chopper. This means that it can be easily stored and the pieces are also similar to most other basic choppers - blade, top, container and electronic base. I've also (accidentally) dropped this a few times and it is very sturdy, I have had no cracks in the past five months that I have had this and it is very easy to clean. It is also see-through so you can see most of your mistakes easily despite the size and its easy to carry from room to room. "Meaty" products such as spongey vegetables, mushrooms and nuts go perfectly with the size of this processor and are beautifully turned into powders, sauces and much more - it goes wherever your imagination takes you.

It has only one blade and one button so using it and cleaning up afterwards are a breeze. Soaking in a bleach or vinegar solution afterwards will keep it extra clean and beautiful.


Product Summary: Overall, with the given price this is an okay processor - but don't expect to be making fantastic egg sheets or giant quiches anytime. This is a great processor for single-serving to double-serving foods but it leaks with too much liquid from time to time while the ring inside is very hard to scrub away. This is very simple and pretty since you can look through it, but its size makes it a bit hard to get to every little bit of food when you're processing so this is not good with especially big hands or it most definitely isn't safe for children as it is a food processor where things often get stuck. If I was given the choice to buy this again or given this knowledge beforehand, I probably would save my money and buy a slightly bigger food processor - but that isn't to say that I don't enjoy its usefulness when I want to make a few veggie burgers and can't be bothered to pull something big and heavy out that takes up a lot of space.

I would not recommend this product for a full-time job and I would barely recommend it for any other kitchen activities.

I was not contacted by the Rival Company to do this post - this is of my own, free and unpaid time.

What else would you like me to review? Did you enjoy this one?