Food mill options

[digsdirt]

I would rather not have to boil down as I will mainly be using it for salsa and had planned on just flash boiling/halving then processing.

If you are planning to use the Victorio to make salsa then I think you may be disappointed in the results - unless you like pureed salsa. We prefer a chunkier salsa in our house and even using the Victorio salsa screen makes it far too pureed for our tastes. We prefer just canning the tomatoes plain in whole, halves or quarters (depending on the fruit size) and then making the salsa after opening the jar of tomatoes. Even canning them using the crushed tomatoes instructions produces better salsa consistency.

The Victorio is great for making tomato sauces and tomato juice or V8 juice for canning but anything you want some real texture in is over-processed in it IMO.

Dave

PS: and forget about running raw, unheated tomatoes through it. That makes a real mess all over the kitchen with juicy squirts many feet away.

[TNTiger]

You've already got lots of opinions but here's one more - get the Victorio. I bought the same OXO food mill and returned it after one miserable use. I rarely return things but that one just didn't cut it with tomatoes. I hand crank my Victorio for Sauce and will try it for salsa this year.

I normally do the salsa in my food processor but I roast the vegetables first, then peel and process. I'm hoping that the Victoria will make this process a little easier because peeling is a pain (but the salsa is sooooooooooo good!).

[BigVanVader]

Actually I do prefer my salsa pureed, that is why I thought a food mill might save me some time. I don't really like salsa chunky as I like to dip a chip and the salsa stick to it, restaurant style. Plus it is easier to add to all sorts of dishes IMO. To each his own. As an aside I was looking at the Roma food mill which is much cheaper and appears to be the same thing? I read some old GW post saying as much. I am going to order it if that is the case. Plus I will be making tomato sauces and ketchup as well as a lot of other things.

[clkeiper]

I have the old style victorio. I found mine at goodwill for a whopping 5.00. It was the style made before the plant burned down. It has the heavy metal auger. I use it all the time during canning season. I make bushels of applesauce and make bushels of tomatoes and vegetables into juice. I also have the very old squeezo brand too and I still like the victorio one the best.

[Father'sDaughter]

I put my tomatoes through the Victorio raw. I cut out the core, give them a squeeze over a scrap bowl to get rid of some of the gel and seeds. cut them into halves or quarters, depending on the size, and run them through. Works just fine.

[digsdirt]

I put my tomatoes through the Victorio raw. I cut out the core, give them a squeeze over a scrap bowl to get rid of some of the gel and seeds. cut them into halves or quarters, depending on the size, and run them through. Works just fine.

Ok but that is a great deal more work and more time consuming vs. just washing them, throw them all in a pot heating until soft (10 mins). and then running them through the mill. No coring, no gel or seed removal, and no cutting required.

Dave

[Worth1]

If you have a meat grinder you can run just about anything through it including tomatoes.
Just pick tbe size grinding plate you want and go to town.
But making sauce without seeds is a different critter.
Seeds in fresh salsa good seeds in cooked suace very bad.
Bad sauce bad bad sauce.
The word for chunky salsa is salsa crudo.
Worth

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by digsdirt

Ok but that is a great deal more work and more time consuming vs. just washing them, throw them all in a pot heating until soft (10 mins). and then running them through the mill. No coring, no gel or seed removal, and no cutting required.



Dave

Personally, I prefer to cook them down as little as possible before canning as my goal is purée, not finished sauce.

After I run them through the mill, I put them in a large container in the fridge over night so the liquid separates out from the pulp and then gets siphoned out before the thick pulp goes into the pot for a very short heating time.

This drastically cuts down on the cooking time needed to produce a nice, thick tomato purée for canning. I have Brokenbar (Mary) to thank for this tip. It's amazing how thick of a purée you can get while still keeping most of that fresh tomato flavor. As that is also the goal for salsa, I'm guessing this method is perfect for making it as well.

[Bipetual]

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

Throw it at anyone with their windows down? but seriously idk, I planted 4 plants and I get so many squash per week it is ridiculous. We have already gave away numerous bags to family/friends/neighbors and they are getting tired of it as well. I think the rest will likely go to the local homeless shelters.

Some types of squash freeze well. Not that the homeless wouldn't enjoy it, but you could cut it or slice it and try freezing a bag or two to see how it works...depending on how much you like squash. I wonder if you could make zucchini bread with yellow squash? Nothing is ripe yet, here. I could sure go for some zucchini bread....

[coronabarb]

"I wonder if you could make zucchini bread with yellow squash?"

Sure you can. No little flecks of green of course.

[FarmerShawn]

Originally Posted by TexasTim

I use a plastic Victorio. This is the third season and it is still in perfect condition. I boil the tomatoes down for a half hour before milling them. I use a potato masher initially to get enough juice in the base of the pot.
Hand cranking the soft, boiled tomatoes is not an issue. It takes me about 15 minutes for 25 lbs. and most of that time is dumping the juice from a low sided container (the only kind that will fit below the discharge chute), into a cooking pot.
I do the same with blackberries but only heat them through enough to get the juice flowing.

I put the Victorio on the corner of my counter with the discharge chute hanging over the edge. A deep pot on a stool catches the good stuff, so I don't have to dump frequently. I also rigged up a splash guard so raw tomatoes don't squirt all over the place. I use a curved baguette pan we have, but a flexible cutting board could probably be used.

[BigVanVader]

Originally Posted by Bipetual

Some types of squash freeze well. Not that the homeless wouldn't enjoy it, but you could cut it or slice it and try freezing a bag or two to see how it works...depending on how much you like squash. I wonder if you could make zucchini bread with yellow squash? Nothing is ripe yet, here. I could sure go for some zucchini bread....

The only way I really like it is fried, I grew it b/c my wife likes to saute it with other veggies but she can only eat so much. Thanks for the suggestions, I may try to make some zuch/squash bread although I am not much of a baker My mother-in-law does have a deep freezer so I could try freezing a few and if they do well I will store some for winter.

Anyone have a Roma food mill? Is it equal to a Victorio? If I order it today it will be here Saturday and I can start processing my maters.

[Father'sDaughter]

My mother slices up, blanches then freezes a ton of summer squash and zucchini every year. She purées it into soups over the winter as she and my dad eat a lot of vegetable soup.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

The only way I really like it is fried, I grew it b/c my wife likes to saute it with other veggies but she can only eat so much. Thanks for the suggestions, I may try to make some zuch/squash bread although I am not much of a baker My mother-in-law does have a deep freezer so I could try freezing a few and if they do well I will store some for winter.

Anyone have a Roma food mill? Is it equal to a Victorio? If I order it today it will be here Saturday and I can start processing my maters.

Fried squash rules.
Worth

[clkeiper]

I can't tell you if they compare or not. I have the squeezo and the victorio and the victorio wins hands down... mostly due to the size of the auger. The roma one will have a much smaller auger, but it is plastic so it may work better than the squeezo one. If you don't like it send it back or return it if you get a roma one. I know they are less expensive, but the difference in price often reflects a difference in performance. You may not know or care if you haven't used a victorio one, but I will say am sure it will be waaaaay better than the hand crank food mill.