I normally go cheap and cheerful with food processors, but Sage has convinced me otherwise

The Sage Paradice 9 Food Processor is a stand-out kitchen hero. It's versatile, heavy-duty, and elegantly designed. I don't say one-of-a-kind lightly, but this is something really special.

It’s widely accepted that the best food processors are often the biggest. There are some aspects that can’t be designed out of these appliances, for example, having a 2-litre bowl requires a set amount of space. However, storage of the accessories and the overall shape is something that’s very much in control of the brand. The people who do it best is the team at Sage.

I’ve tested enough appliances from Sage and enough food processors to know when a duo will make the perfect pair. Having had a quick skim through the Sage Paradice 9's CV, you’ll see that it’s trying to cover the needs of a professional food processor in the shape of a basic model. How well does it achieve this? As well as you would expect from Sage.

Specifications

Unboxing

Sage does a very impressive job of packing the food processor into a relatively reasonably sized box. Every aspect of the box is recyclable, which is great from a sustainability perspective. It’s rare that brands manage to keep food processor packaging eco-friendly. It’s also a good result for your bins — you would hate to see how much polystyrene comes with most of the other food processors that I tested. 

The box felt a bit like a magician’s hat. Every time I pulled out a part or a different layer, I uncovered something else that I could pop on the counter. By the bottom of the box, I could categorise the Paradice 9 into three main parts: the base, the work bowl, and the storage unit. The storage caddy is perhaps the most impressive part of the whole food processor because it sits nearly inside the Sage Paradice 9's work bowl and yet you can keep every accessory stored in it. My mind would normally boggle at which part goes where — I don’t want jigsaw in my kitchen — but Sage colour codes all the different aspects, so I could easily assemble and reassemble all the parts. It’s very clever.

Who would it suit?

If you like versatility in the kitchen, this is perfect for you. It covers your every need, from different width slices, different grating teeth, and a cubing press. The accessories are second-to-none and they're really easy to use.

Even though the Sage Paradice 9 is expensive, it's worth the investment. The motor is one of the most heavy-duty that I've tested and the whole of the base feels robust. It promises to stand the test of time and then some.

I'd recommend the capacity and functions in particular for large families, because you can mix up how your cooking and prepping without needing to worry about the work bowl overflowing or the accessories putting any limits on you. Even though it's big enough to cater to families of four and more, the storage caddy stacks away really neatly. I'm smitten, if you can't tell.

What is it like to use?

After admiring all the different accessories, I was like a kid in a candy shop. I couldn’t wait to work my way through all the different parts that Sage has to offer. They were unanimously impressive, but I did have a few favourites.

Test 1: chopping and blending

The main blade of any food processor is the first thing that I test. I look for consistency and speed, which is best demonstrated by the humble onion. After peeling and quartering one onion, I set the Sage running. It quickly and effectively chopped my onion into consistently small pieces in 16 seconds. I tried again with three onions and achieved similar results. 

I moved through different grades of viscosity with the blending blade to see how it would chop and blend at different liquid contents. A very simple, straightforward test that I love to run is on hummus. The chickpea skins can be tough to chop through and there actually isn’t much liquid aside from oil and a squeeze of lemon that could give the Sage a helping hand. However, as you can see, the Sage did a wonderful job of chopping through all the chickpeas, making a smooth, creamy hummus. Even the bits under the blade and at the very edges of the bowl were well blended. The only downside is that this isn’t tidy business: lots of hummus was splattered on the lid of the food processor.

To find out how versatile the blade is, I also tried blending soup. The bowl is heat safe, so I poured my hot mix of lentils and chunky vegetables into the blending bowl and whizzed away. It was surprisingly easy to control how thick I wanted the soup. I pulsed my way through a chunky soup until I had this smooth enough that I reckon it would have passed through a sieve. 

Test 2: chopping cubes

I was beyond excited to test this clever little attachment. If you’re cheffy, you’ll have found plenty of recipes that call for cubes or chunks of anything from potatoes to aubergines. Sage has created a clever attachment that can make consistent chunks out of whatever you choose to throw at it. In my case, this was aubergine. I had to trim the overall shape of the aubergine so that it could fit down the feeding chute, but you can feed the trimmings down after and get — what can only be described as delightful — chunks in uniform shapes. It looks like this attachment would be a pain to clean, but it actually comes with a nifty block that you can use to push the chunks out. Then, the cleanup is very simple. 

Test 3: grating and slicing

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Of course, that’s not the end of the attachments. Another essential extra that you’ll get with good food processors is grating and slicing discs. The beauty of what Sage has done is a design that I expect lots of brands to copy in the near future. They’ve made the slicing attachment adjustable in height, so you can choose how chunky your pieces are going to be without needing five different slicers to offer you other options. I tested this out on soft bananas, tender cucumber, carrots, and sweet potato and couldn’t fault the Sage. It chopped through each texture with precision and consistency. You can’t argue with it.

As for the grating disc, this has two sides. On one side, you can opt for larger teeth and the other works with finer textures. On soft cheese and hard carrot, the grating discs worked quickly and efficiently. I did find little pieces of the end of the carrot or the last bit of cheese sat on top of the grating disk when I lifted the lid off, but I’m yet to test a food processor that doesn’t suffer from this problem.

Test 4: dough

I’m always intrigued with a dough blade on food processors. Done well, they’ll deliver impressive stand-mixer functions. However, if they’re no good, you’ll end up with a very tricky, sticky mess to clean up. As you may have guessed, the latter was not an issue for the Sage. I put my normal recipe for a family loaf of brown bread into the Sage, alongside the dough blade, of course, and arched it mix the flour, yeast, and water into a wonderfully elastic dough. I kept it running so that the bread would effectively get a bit of a knead and then lifted it out of the work bowl. When I turned it out onto the surface, the dough felt good. It was springy and light, warm and had good bounce. 

I always like to finish off any food processor dough by hand, because you’re moving the gluten in a different way and it’s helpful to make sure that you’re getting the most from the protein. When I baked my bread, the results were fantastic. My loaf had great structure and it was really light, especially for brown bread. I’d call that a great success.

Cleaning and maintenance

Almost all the parts of the Sage are dishwasher safe, which makes life very easy. If they aren’t, it’s marked very clearly that you shouldn’t put them in the dishwasher. This, in theory, means that you should be able to put all your food processor parts in the dishwasher machine and leave the appliances to do your dirty work. However, I like to hand wash my kitchen gadgets, because it means that you can keep the water temperature and pressure lower, meaning that everything is subject to less wear and tear. 

You might be able to spot that the workbowl has discoloured a little. When we test products, we’re often given a loan sample. I can’t say what stained this, because it arrived with me in this state, but I have to imagine it’s the result of some spice. I had a similar effect on my home Kenwood Food Processor. It’s only aesthetic and there are some simple tricks that you can implement to get the stain out. 

How does it compare?

The Sage really is one of the most thoughtfully designed food processors that I’ve ever tested. The versatile, impressive accessories have the best storage unit if you need to save on space and every aspect of the food processor feels well made.

If you like the sound of that, but you were hoping for something even more versatile, let me introduce the Kenwood One Touch Food Processor. This clever food processor also integrates weighing scales, a family-sized blender, and a single-serve blender too. You’ll have to swap Sage’s clever cubing accessory for a whisk function, but this only adds to the Kenwood’s versatility. The icing on the cake for Kenwood is that it’s cheaper too. You’ll just need to make more space in your kitchen cupboards because this comes with a lot of clutter.

Alternatively, if you’re thinking that the quality of the Sage is great, but you want more versatility in terms of bowl size and grating and slicing, you need the Magimix. This comes with three, stackable bowls that help you to handle small and big tasks. The different blades also offer more slicing and grating options, which keen chefs will find really helpful. You won’t be surprised when I tell you that this is the food processor that Mary Berry owns, of course. 

Should you buy it?

If you want a premium, well-designed food processor, you couldn’t be in better company than the Sage. It’s a beautiful stand mixer that effortlessly covers the needs of mist kitchens. I’m sold.

How we test

At woman&home, we throw lots of different food processors in the mix: cheap and compact, large and in charge, and everything in between. Every review of these that you read is authentic, unsponsored, and based on my in-person experience with it. I have a special set of tests that I put every food processor through and if it happens to offer anything extra, I make sure to cover those extra functions as thoroughly as I would all the basics. That means that you end up with direct comparisons between the best food processors in the market, so all your foodie questions should be covered. If that’s not the case, please don’t hesitate to ask me your questions. My emails are always open.

You can find out more on our dedicated page for how we test food processors.