Cuisinart Cookware Review: Did You Get What You Paid For?

Cuisinart is one of the more well-known names in home cooking appliances. Perhaps most well-known for their food processors, Cuisinart also makes a variety of other cooking appliances, from hand mixers to microwaves, can openers to waffle makers, and much more.

Who Owns Cuisinart?

Cuisinart is owned by parent company Conair Corporation, a small appliance, personal care, and health and beauty company. Cuisinart was founded by inventor and engineer Carl Sontheimer in 1971, and was best known for creating Cuisinart’s food processor.

Falling sales in the mid-to-late 1980s resulted in a bankruptcy filing that led to Conair buying out the company for $27 million in 1989. Sontheimer died in 1998.

Cuisinart has been around for nearly half a century now, but is Cuisinart a good brand? Reviews of Cuisinart cookware can help gain valuable insight.

Cuisinart Cookware Reviews

A recent Cuisinart cookware review posted on the ConsumerAffairs site on Oct. 2 notes that their $50 “top of the line” skillet stuck so badly they had to soak it with soap overnight. Cuisinart’s customer service response was inadequate, the reviewer said, and was essentially “too bad, do it their way or shut-up.”

Another reviewer noted that their Cuisinart air fryer was incapable of holding a steady temperature, making proper baking impossible.

One reviewer posted on March 12 that their Cuisinart SS-700—a single serve home-brewing system—“failed in a very dangerous manner.” According to the reviewer, they had set the timer to turn off the machine just after they left the house.

When they returned an hour later, they said, they found that the machine had not only stayed on, but had spewed out hot water everywhere, and the machine had gotten so hot that “the k-cup in the machine had shrunk up like shrink dink plastic” and the machine’s plastic body was “warping.” They were concerned it could have burst into flames if they had been gone any longer. The Cuisinart cookware review also notes receiving a “so sorry, so sad” message from Cuisinart customer service.

Food Processor Blade Problems and Recall

Cuisinart’s food processors have been the subject of some legal action in recent years after a major recall of blade components. A class action lawsuit alleged that certain Cuisinart food processor machines used riveted blades that, over time, begin to crack, and even cause portions of the blade to become detached. Cuisinart issued a recall of the blades on Dec. 13, 2016 due to “laceration hazard.” The recall affected about 8 million units in the U.S., with an additional 300,000 in Canada.

The class action Cuisinart lawsuit was filed over violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, as well as breach of express and implied warranties.

Cuisinart Exploding Pressure Cookers

Another piece of Cuisinart cookware that has come under fire is an electric pressure cooker, which a lawsuit alleged had defective lid-lock safety features. According to the Cuisinart lawsuit, filed in August of this year, the electric pressure’s lid-lock safety features caused the device to explode, which in turn sprayed hot food on a woman and her daughter. The lid was able to rotate and open, despite the purported locking “safety system,” making them “unreasonably dangerous for their intended use,” per the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Cuisinart either knew or should have known about these defects, but failed to adequately warned customers of the risk of these defects.

A previous Cuisinart lawsuit filed in Aug. 2018 included similar complaints about a defective lid lock system and exploding hot chili. Cuisinart sought to have that lawsuit tossed in Jan. 2019, but before the judge made their ruling, the lawsuit ended in a confidential settlement agreement and the cased was voluntarily dismissed in April 2019.

Both of these lawsuits were filed over the Cuisinart pressure cooker CPC-600 series, which range from $60 to $150 based on size.

If you have been affected by defective cookware or other household goods and cooking appliances purchased in California, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

The Cuisinart Lawsuit is Case No. MID-L-006133-20, in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County.