Food Mills

[Kerry Beal]

I have an older Rosle - has a wonderfully fine plate to get rid of seeds and is a heavy duty work horse. But not inexpensive!

[Mjx]

I have an older Rosle - has a wonderfully fine plate to get rid of seeds and is a heavy duty work horse. But not inexpensive!

Is it this model (e.g. http://www.amazon.de/Rösle-Küchengeräte-Passetout-Siebeinlagen-Edelsthl/dp/B003HIK7K0/ref=sr_1_40?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1317491427&sr=1-40, on German amazon, which would be my best bet, since I'm in Denmark)?

I don't mind paying a bit, if the product quality is good.

[Kerry Beal]

A little different than that one - the loop is a bit higher up the side of the mill. I'm not sure if the lower loop is a better thing or not.

Here is a link to a picture of it on Amazon.

[LindaK]

Those are beautiful but they are expensive. Mine is the same heavy grade of stainless steel, 3 disks, and it cost 1/3 that price (years ago, I admit).

I wouldn't like to have the loops so far up. That would put the mill itself deep into your bowl. The ingredient would hit the bottom of the mill sooner rather than later. Maybe it wouldn't be a problem but at the very least it seems like it would be messier. Perhaps it's more stable that way? Mine are near the bottom and it works well.

[OliverB]

I have the OXO model and am quite happy with it. Does what it's supposed to do, I doubt there's too much difference between them all. Some seem to have too large holes in their smallest disk for my liking, other than that they're all pretty similar, or at least were back when I bought mine. Make sure to buy where you can return, give it a good run in the kitchen and keep or exchange :-)

[janeer]

I am a Foley loyalist, for performance and tradition.

[Susie Q]

I've been wanting a food mill but didn't know which brand would be best. Thanks for all the info.

[Mjx]

Recently ordered a Rösle, and am impatiently waiting for the DHL truck to make it's way here from Germany. I made the decision based on recommendations here (thanks Kerry and Linda!), availability and reviews on German amazon, and the 10-year warranty. It's running €99, not counting shipping, and I'm really hoping the brand continues to live up to its existing reputation.

Oddly, food mills appear to be both unavailable and unknown in Denmark.

[ruthcooks]

My food mill is either missing or got tossed last time I moved, so when the applesauce bug bit, I ordered a new 2 quart (they also had 3 qt.) Foley from Amazon for around $28. It is exactly like the one I used for around 50 years except it's stainless and won't get rusty like the old one. Sure, it doesn't have several sizes of discs, but I find that some equipment like ricers have discs that don't stay put, and that suits me fine. Anyway, I like fine applesauce, not the chunky stuff.

I will enjoy using this, even if I never use it for anything else.

[rob7]

My ricer recently broke (plastic handles) so I thought getting a food mill would be a nice upgrade. I thought about the food mill will work well not just for ricing potatoes but also for soups and sauces. I had been using my blender for pureeing soups and sauces. Maybe it's the blender that I have, but often times what I was blending would become aerated and I don't want that.

I ordered from amazon the Rosle 16251 which is what a number of persons here recommended. It arrived today. First impression is that it is sturdy and well built. Components seem strong...the blade, discs, and bowl are not flimsy at all.

Being on a lunch break from work when it arrived, and being all excited and wanting to try it out, I eyed up the strawberries my daughter was eating and asked her how she would like some strawberry juice.

I tried to puree the strawberries with the finest (1mm) disc thinking that this will provide a refined puree with no seeds. I think that the strwaberries may have been too hard\unripe and they just slid around. I switched to the 3mm disc and they processed through easily and came through with a nice texture. Thinking about it, after the first pass I could have sitched to the finer disc and passed through again. Based on how well the 3mm disc worked, I'm sure if the strawberries were very ripe or cooked to soften, the 1mm disc would have worked well.

Overall, I'm pleased with the quality. On amazon many of the negatives had to do with this food mill now being made in China. While the manufacturing has been sent to China, it doesn't seem like the design or materials were compromised to increase profits. Again keeping in mind this is my first food mill but I was suprised on how sturdy and strong the mill felt.

My main reason for buying this food mill is 1) the recommendations for it here, and 2) the disc sizes available. Although the Rosle can accomodate a disc with 8mm holes (for spatzle), the more intriguing capability was having a disc with 1mm holes. From my search on this, it seemes like this food mill had a disc that offered smaller holes than any other mill, which leads me to think it has the capability to process foods to a finer\smoother consistency.

Anyway, I'll try mashed potatoes tonight and provide an update on my second round with it.

[rob7]

Processed potatoes through the Rosle mill for mashed potatoes. It was a breeze. Not like the previous ricer was difficult. The bowl holding the food is large so I could fill it with a lot of potatoes vs doing them one or two at a time through the ricer. They were Russets with skin on. With the 3mm disc I had some small pieces of skin come through but the majority did not. Hopefully I'll be making a soup I can pass through it soon and we'll see how it does with that.

[Mjx]

YES!!!!! The Rösle just arrived, and it's sitting here, all shiny and new. Now ready to take on the half dozen or so kilos of quinces that my boyfriend's mother has harvested this year Performance report to follow.

[rob7]

This past week I made chili. I hydrated some ancho and guajillio chiles. In the past I would blend the chiles and then put them through a fine sieve. With all the small pieces of skin, the chiles would take a while to pass through the sieve as my sieve would get clogged quickly (and it's fairly large). The process would take a while.

With the Rosle, I first passed them through the 3mm disc in less than 5 minutes. Some of the skins came through. I then passed them through the 1mm disc and got a very nice paste of chiles that was free of any discernable skins. What was really nice is that it was able to process a nice thick paste of chiles rather than a more liquid belnd that I woudl get when using the blender\sieve combo.

[Mjx]

Man, it's nice to leave the stone age. Instead of spending a couple of hours trying to press seed-and-skin-filled pulp through a strainer (followed by extensive scraping of self and kitchen), the food mill just burned through the batch of Japanese quinces, and I managed to keep the pulp off myself too. This is just great. Why the hell didn't I get one of these before?

[Shel_B]

I've decided to get a food mill (after some discussion about peeling chickpeas). Searcing the forums yielded oldish info, so I thought I'd see what's new and recommended these days.

I looked at an OXO at BB&B this morning - the price is certainly right, especially with the 20% off coupon, and OXO seems to have a reasonably good reputation for a number of kitchen tools and gadgets. Any comments on this unit from users?

What other food mills are recommended? Any that I should avoid? What problems or issues should I look out for? I've never used a food mill before, so I'm pretty much ignorant about these things.

Thanks!

[Dave the Cook]

Here's a Society-friendly link for the Oxo: food mill.

I've used this, and it's solid. The feet are a great idea, though they can make the milling setup (food mill on top of bowl to catch the milled food) a little top heavy, depending on what you're milling and how tall the receiver bowl is. But the alternative is either no feet at all, or a "helper" handle bent to catch the edge of the receiver bowl (it's a clumsy arrangement), so I'd go with feet. You can see the sort of handle I'm talking about on this Cuisipro model.

Aside from the feet/no-feet issue, look for multiple disks, how easy it is to change the disks, and how strong the spring that holds the blade down is. A heavier spring is preferable, the better to hold the blade against the disk. On the other hand, you don't want it so strong that changing or removing disks becomes a (sometimes dangerous) chore. Also, you want comfortable grips on both the rotor and the main handles.

[Mjx]

I doubt food mill design changes that quickly these days (and most of the advice you're going to get will probably come from people who've had theirs for a while), and for whatever it's worth, I'm still really happy with the Rösle I got about a year and a half ago; it still behaves as well as it did when I got it, and nothing seems to be wearing out or working loose.

[Shel_B]

I doubt food mill design changes that quickly these days (and most of the advice you're going to get will probably come from people who've had theirs for a while), and for whatever it's worth, I'm still really happy with the Rösle I got about a year and a half ago; it still behaves as well as it did when I got it, and nothing seems to be wearing out or working loose.

That's a good endorsement for the Rösle, however, I'm not sure I want to spend that much ... then again, I do like quality gear and have found that, in the long run, quality pays off. There's an adage that says "The thriftiest man pays the most." I'll have to think about the cost-quality relationship. I like that the Rösle seems to have all stainless construction, including the bowl. It looked like the OXO had a plastic bowl. How important is that difference? There are some mills with stainless bowls that are crap. So I guess it comes down to quality of construction, not only materials used.

[Shel_B]

Here's a Society-friendly link for the Oxo: food mill.

I've used this, and it's solid. The feet are a great idea, though they can make the milling setup (food mill on top of bowl to catch the milled food) a little top heavy, depending on what you're milling and how tall the receiver bowl is. But the alternative is either no feet at all, or a "helper" handle bent to catch the edge of the receiver bowl (it's a clumsy arrangement), so I'd go with feet. You can see the sort of handle I'm talking about on this Cuisipro model.

Aside from the feet/no-feet issue, look for multiple disks, how easy it is to change the disks, and how strong the spring that holds the blade down is. A heavier spring is preferable, the better to hold the blade against the disk. On the other hand, you don't want it so strong that changing or removing disks becomes a (sometimes dangerous) chore. Also, you want comfortable grips on both the rotor and the main handles.

Thanks. I was somewhat concerned about the foot design, but after thinking about it some, it doesn't seem to be an issue for me. My quick look at the unit at BB&B showed that the bowl is plastic. Has that been an issue in any way?

[Dave the Cook]

All good points -- in fact, the reason I still have a food mill I hate is that 1) it was so expensive that I refuse to replace it; 2) the damn thing is too well-built to break.

For what it's worth, I have a set of Oxo bowls that appear to be made the same way as the hopper on their food mill -- some sort of heavy-duty plastic bonded to a stainless steel interior. Despite repeated abuse on my part (like inadvertently trying to melt the plastic), they're holding up just fine.

[annabelle]

I have a Macina-Legume food mill that I bought about 15 years ago in an Italian market in Pittsburgh, PA for about $24.00. It is stainless steel, has feet and three disks from coarse to fine. I love it for its ease of use and easy cleaning. It also has a hole in its handle so I can hang it from my pot rack. I don't know if it is still in production or if the company has been purchased by another outlet. Anyway, it's a work horse and wasn't costly.

I hope this helps!

Edit: I see it is now listed as Vintage, so you might look on eBay. Prices were starting at about $39.00.

Edited May 11, 2013 by annabelle (log)

[andiesenji]

Here's a photo of my Foley food mill - it replaced a Foley I used for 40 years and is now maybe 10 years old.

I used it this morning on cooked apples (just cut in half with seeds and all cooked).

The Foley is not as fancy as the newer ones but you can't do much that will hurt them.

I do have a huge one, made for commercial kitchens - very expensive - 5 quart - that has multiple discs but is a bitch to use and to clean up.

The Foley is easy to clean, hangs up and the bowl hooks are STURDY and I use it on a stainless steel stockpot most of the time but also on SS bowls that are heavy enough to keep from tipping.

Edited May 11, 2013 by andiesenji (log)

[Shel_B]

For what it's worth, I have a set of Oxo bowls that appear to be made the same way as the hopper on their food mill -- some sort of heavy-duty plastic bonded to a stainless steel interior. Despite repeated abuse on my part (like inadvertently trying to melt the plastic), they're holding up just fine.

Ah, I see now - saw some pics on line. The inside of the bowl is SS ... I didn't see that when I quickly looked at the food mill at BB&B. That makes me feel a little better.

[Beusho]

Anyone try the All-Clad food mill, it has a blade at the bottom to remove the food that is being pushed through. How much does this help? Does anyone without the blade find that food gets stuck? Anyone use both a All-Clad and another brand, and if so, was the price worth it?

(I originally posted this but forgot to put the link to the photo, sorry moderators, I'm not very computer savvy)

Here is the food mill I'm talking about: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/all-clad-food-mill/

[annabelle]

Yikes! I'd never pay that much for a food mill, my friend.

All-Clad has an outlet store in NW Pennsylvania that has clearance sales rather often. Try Google and you should find them if you are insistant on buying from All-Clad. W-S overcharges for everything.

If you want one just to get the hang of it, try yard sales, especially where the sellers are oldsters who are cleaning out their homes. I've found fantastic stuff at them on the cheap and in perfect condition, too.

Best of luck!