Food Mills

[msphoebe]

I found a deal on eBay that I couldn't pass up -- a brand new (Williams-Sonoma) Cuisipro stainless steel food mill. Retail is $90 and I paid $38.

Now that I have it, what can I use it for? Of course tomatoes, potatoes, squash. Do any of you use one, and have any hints to share?

(As you can tell, I'm a gadget collector!)

TIA

[Mottmott]

It's good when making soups or purees. The processor/blender will puree fruits and vegetables, but you will not get as fine, as refined a product as you will get in a food mill.

[JudyG]

Use it for any kind of puree - do you make applesauce? It would be great for applesauce - peeled or unpeeled apples!

[lperry]

A food mill is great for making mexican chile-based sauces that the instructions tell you to "push through a fine sieve." Just use the fine disk and you've done the job in a fraction of the time, and the sauce is just as smooth. I imagine it would do the same for any sauce treated in this manner.

Also, if you do any canning or preserving, it does a great job with berry seeds and skins.

[tupac17616]

If it were me, I would make gnocchi (and lots of gnocchi) ASAP

[alejita]

Use it to make better canned or fresh tomato sauce: pass the tomatoes through the mill before adding them to the rest of ingredients. Smoother quality.

Also, in recipes where they say you should puree the ingredients, if you use the food mill, you'll get a less uniform consistency, which I like in many soups.

[davebr]

Classic Bisque, Joel Robe's Pommes Puree, All of the vegetables and juice from braising osso bucco.

[msphoebe]

Thank you everyone for the replies and great suggestions. tupac, you make gnocchi with a food mill? I only made gnocchi once, but didn't use a food mill. It was quite tasty, if I say so myself!

lperry, I hadn't thought about berry seeds/skins...what a great thought. I could make a fruit sauce to spoon over cake, cheesecake, or ice cream.

Now another question. When I brown ground beef or pork, I sometimes have trouble breaking up the pieces and they remain rather clumpy. Has anyone used a food mill to break up ground meats to a finer consistency? Not thinking of using the finest blade, but rather the coarsest. Just wondering if I'm way off base...

[halland]

I've been taking my bruised, cut, 1/2 eaten, and marginal tomatoes from my garden, sprinkling them with minced garlic, EVOO, S&P and roasting them in the oven. I then puree, put in jars and freeze for this winter.

I got this idea from the River Cottage website. While I don't know what I'll do with roasted tomato puree yet, it beats composting the bad tomatoes.

H

[jayt90]

I've used simple food mills for brandade de morue (salt cod, EVO, garlic, cream and potatoes, with good success. The food mill holds back the toughest pices of cod flakes, as well as pin bones. The result is smoother and more authentic than using a food processor. More work, though, but worth it.

[fiftydollars]

Although gnocchi is great and a great use for a foodmill. Making simple mashed potatoes cannot be ignored. Some people like to use a potato masher, some a ricer, but I really like the food mill for this type of work...

[msphoebe]

Come winter, I adore mashed potatoes. In the early days, I always made them with a masher, as my mother did. Then I progressed to using a mixer to "whip" the potatoes, but never was happy with the end texture. Too smooth....almost gummy. I have heard that a ricer does wonders for mashed potatoes, and am hoping my food mill will also.

On another note, what are your favorite add-ins to mashed potatoes?

Mine are butter, buttermilk, sour cream, dry mustard, salt and pepper. Not necessarily all at once, but most at once!

Thanks for the input.

[maggiethecat]

Although gnocchi is great and a great use for a foodmill. Making simple mashed potatoes cannot be ignored. Some people like to use a potato masher, some a ricer, but I really like the food mill for this type of work...

←

I bought my battered Mouli almost thirty years ago, and if all it every did was puree potatoes, the cost per use factor has paid off years ago. A masher works fine for an informal "lumps are just fine" platter for two, but if you want really excellent "mashed" potatoes, nothing comes close to the coarse disk on a food mill. One of the great cooking dicta is one I've remembered from Elizabeth David: Put the milk/cream and butter in the pan first, and heat it up. Then mill the potatoes. (If you have a nub of cream cheese lolling forgotten in the fridge, it's a great addition.)

The coarse disk is also wonderful if you're making a pot of marinara sauce with fresh tomatoes and you can't be bothered skinning the tomatoes. Others have mentioned pureeing soup. But yes, the magic of pressing gnocchi through the foodmill! Maybe I don't get out enough, but I love the thrill of watching gnocchi float up to the top of a pan of simmering water.

[andiesenji]

Since in some parts of the country autumn is coming on rapidly, I thought I would add this bit of lore.

I learned as a child about making pumpkin puree for pies, pumpkin butter and so on - also can be made with the sweeter winter squash varieties, Hubbard, etc., or a combination.

Our cook always scrubbed the squash very well and pared off most of the tough, outer skin with a big old knife almost as big as a machete. She would then chop it into chunks and put it in a big pot, seeds and all, cover with salted water and cook until it was very tender, i.e., a piece speared with a fork would fall apart. If everyone was busy and no one was available for frequent stirring, the pot was stuck into the oven and the squash was slow roasted till tender.

The resulting pulp was put into a food mill in batches and processed until just the seeds and stringy stuff was still in the mill, that was then dumped out by reversing the motion of the scraper, given a quick rinse and then the next batch was done.

It was felt that the seeds, cooking in with the flesh of the squash or pumpkin added something to the quality of the final product and I have found that when I make pumpkin puree this way it does have a richer flavor. Often the seeds split and the meat from inside pops out and is incorporated into the puree.

Sometimes the squash or pumpkins do not have a lot of seeds and I simply add some raw pepitas to the mixture - sometimes grinding them first - the addition helps to thicken the puree in addition to the flavor they add.

[Larry 1749]

I just sent yester day afternoon with my food mill making fresh tomato sauce.

We just sauted a few onoins and garlic in some olive oil and then added as many tomatoes (quarted) as would almost fill the pot (10 to 15 lbs) with a little salt and pepper cooked them for and hour or two until done. Then we ran them trourgh the food mill to remove all the skins and seeds. We then let the sauce cool and protioned it into ziplock containers and froze it. We now have some of the best tomato saue you can get.

[maggiethecat]

Andie: Wonderful post and wonderful tip. I'll remember it this fall. Larry: You are so right, and so lucky. And there's a baby food thread out there somewhere: nothing produces smoother fresher baby food than a food mill.

[msphoebe]

Wow...your description of cooking pumpkin sounds almost like something out of "Like Water for Chocolate"...

I will definitely give this method of cooking (with seeds, then put through the mill) fresh pumpkin (and other squash?) a try!

Edited September 14, 2004 by msphoebe (log)

[tupac17616]

Maybe I don't get out enough, but I love the thrill of watching gnocchi float up to the top of a pan of simmering water.

←

Heh heh. Me too. It's a great moment, knowing they will soon be out of the water, and into my stomach.

[Richard Kilgore]

There is an Endurance brand food mill (also on amazon) that runs about $35US. I understand it is lighter weight than the Cuispro, but does anyone have any experience with it?

[chappie]

I found a deal on eBay that I couldn't pass up -- a brand new (Williams-Sonoma) Cuisipro stainless steel food mill.  Retail is $90 and I paid $38.

←

Just found the seller you must've gotten it from and am considering one myself. Do they really still sell for $90 in the stores? It wouldn't surprise me; I found a brand-new Thumper massager for my girlfriend last year for about $100 less on eBay.

What about a roasted tomato sauce? Take the largest roasting pan you've got, fill it with halved garden tomatoes, some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and basil if you want, and roast it all in a very hot oven, stirring occasionaly. This way they carmelize and sweeten. Then pass it all through the mill.

[derricks]

Now that I have it, what can I use it for?  Of course tomatoes, potatoes, squash.  Do any of you use one, and have any hints to share?

Well, in addition to all the other great suggestions people have (mashed potatoes, hm? Interesting), I've used mine in a pinch for spaetzle making. I don't have a spaetzle-making thingy, and the largest holes in the food mill work reasonably well. Plop in the dough, and mill into salted boiling water/stock.

[msphoebe]

Just wanted to thank everyone for the input. I look forward to playing with my new toy.

[cacao]

Hello:

OK, I know, it's a rather simple device, but, I was hoping for a few words of wisdom on what I should consider in a food mill to purchase.

I have a Cuisinart food processor, but I want something to strain out fiberous bits, when pureeing soup, straining fish stock, tomato sauce, etc. But I've actually never used a food mill. I rather like 'doing things the old fashioned way', so having to turn a crank doesn't bother me. I do want something that works well, for what it is, and that is built to last. I figure Stainless is the material of choice (right?) Anyhow, any advice on brands I should consider and that sort of thing, is most welcome!

thanks,

Cacao

[Smithy]

I'm not sure which specific brands are good, but I can tell you what to look for: make sure that the straining disk feels rough to the touch when you run your fingers over the holes on the inside (food holding side). The rough edges of the holes seem to be necessary to grip the food instead of letting it slide around when you crank.

I bought a nice-looking stainless steel food mill, brand name forgotten, some inexpensive SS thing made in China. It was big enough to hold a lot of stuff and had 3 interchangeable disks for different straining sizes. It looked great and was easy to clean. Unfortunately, it didn't work worth beans. It just pushed stuff around instead of straining anything through the holes. I hate stuff that looks pretty and doesn't do its job.

I went on eBay and picked up a small (1 qt) old Foley food mill. Wonderful. I think it may be tinned steel. It isn't as big as I'd like, and it doesn't have interchangeable disks, but it works. I love stuff that works.

Foley is still around. I don't know what their food mills are like now. I do know that you should feel the interior screen before buying. If your fingers run gently over nice smooth holes, with no feeling of resistance (I'm not talking about cutting your fingers, by the way; it's more like very coarse sandpaper), don't buy it. Keep looking.

Edited to add: a china hat (chinoise) might work for you, too. You can pick those up on eBay as well.

Edited February 20, 2005 by Smithy (log)

[gourmande]

My first and only food mill is one I purchased about 5 years ago at a local Italian general store where the "staff" (the lovely ladies who own the shop) were very attentive to my needs. Though they could have sold me a very expensive model beyond my means and needs, they recommended what they believed would best meet my requirements ... and they were 100% correct: an extremely affordable Emanuel Passatutto 3. Despite its size it's a mighty little machine, for home use that is. Two years ago I processed two bushels of tomatoes in one "sitting" without much fatigue.

So besides taking the route I did (which includes the added bonus of making new friends in the community), keep looking here for other recommendations.