Breville Paradice 9 (BFP638).

The Gavler Review.

Breville Paradice 9 (BFP638) Review: A Compact Dicer With Cleanup Costs

The Breville Paradice 9 (BFP638) is the compact dicer: nine cups, a 0.5-inch dicing kit, and a storage caddy inside the bowl. It is rank 4 on Gavler's Best Food Processors list with a score of 8.6/10. It chops, slices and shreds very well. The consistent complaint is cleaning, especially the dicing parts, and at $399.95 it needs to earn that price.

What it is

Breville's page describes a 9-cup processor with a brushless direct-drive induction motor, a "wide 4.7-inch feed chute," a "large half grid and blade system for 0.5-inch dicing," an integrated caddy, a reversible shredder, an adjustable slicer and a dough blade. The listed price is $399.95. Breville's page confirms a 30-year motor warranty; Choice lists a 2-year product warranty, which matches Gavler's data.

Wattage is murky: Home Beautiful says 625W and Choice says 605W. Breville's page does not print it.

In use

Consumer Reports gave "excellent performance" in chopping, slicing and shredding, and a "fair" for grating parmesan. The scores themselves are behind its paywall, so we cannot quote the overall number.

Tom's Guide (Australian edition), in a review by Millie Fender, called it "one of the most capable food processors I've tested," with "storage-friendly design" that makes it "ideal for smaller kitchens." A butter bean dip took around a minute, and "I've made a huge bowl of slaw in under a minute using this setting." Her complaints were practical: "be prepared to put in some extra work to clean it after use," and "there is always a slice of potato or fruit that's left un-cubed."

TechRadar's Lucy Scotting found it "compact, powerful and comes with a solid range of attachments." Pumpkin puree took less than two minutes, dough came together in under five, and nut butter was "speedy." CyberShack, an Australian site, reported that "a kilo block" of cheddar was shredded "in under a minute," though soft Gouda did not shred well.

Strengths

• Compact for what it does. Home Beautiful says it "doesn't take up much space on the benchtop."
• Consistent core performance. Chopping, slicing and shredding scored top marks at Consumer Reports.
• Onboard storage. The caddy keeps the dicing kit with the machine.
• A good motor warranty. Thirty years on the motor, per Breville.

Trade-offs and who should skip it

Cleanup is the headline problem, and several outlets raised it independently. TechRadar: the dicing and grating attachments "trapped food and made cleanup frustrating," and "it suffers from the same buildup issue as cheaper models, which is a disappointing result for a premium machine." Food residue also tended to fuse the S-blade to the spindle. Home Beautiful found the dicing blade fussy to clean and the manufacturer recommends hand-washing it.

Dice quality is the second issue. CyberShack: "Dicing does not produce perfect 'squares'." Home Beautiful found results uneven, though the author suspects her technique. TechRadar's summary of value is blunt: it "didn't perform anything revolutionary that a standard, non-Breville processor couldn't also achieve" (a summary of the review, not a direct quote).

Skip it if you only need an S-blade and shredder, if you hate hand-washing grids, or if you cook for large groups.

How it compares

The Breville Paradice 16 (rank 2) offers three dice sizes and a 5.5-inch chute for about $700. The Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup (rank 1) is the default buy at half the price with no dicing. The Ninja Professional Plus BN601 (rank 5) is the cheaper way to get a compact, preset-driven machine.

The Gavler verdict

8.6 out of 10. A capable, compact dicer with a real cleaning tax. Buy it if 0.5-inch cubes are a weekly task, and look at the rest of our Best Food Processors if they are not.

Common Questions

Is the Breville Paradice 9 worth it?

If you dice regularly and want a compact machine, reviewers say yes, with caveats. TechRadar's verdict was 'useful, efficient, but not revolutionary,' and several outlets found the dicing parts hard to clean.

What size cubes does the Paradice 9 make?

Breville lists a large half grid and blade system for 0.5 inch dicing. The Paradice 16 offers three sizes; the Paradice 9 offers one.

How good is the Paradice 9 at grating cheese?

Consumer Reports rated it excellent for shredding cheddar and carrots but only fair for grating parmesan. TechRadar reported cheese buildup on the shredding disc halfway through a block.

Is it dishwasher safe?

Breville's page says the lid and bowl are dishwasher safe. Home Beautiful says the manufacturer recommends hand-washing the dicing blade, so check your manual.

What is the motor power?

Home Beautiful lists 625W, Choice lists 605W, and Breville's page confirms a brushless induction motor with a 30-year warranty but does not print the wattage.