Manual food mills are operated by hand, making them ideal for smaller batches and precise control over the texture of your ingredients. On the other hand, electric food mills offer increased speed and efficiency, perfect for high-volume food processing tasks.
Parts of a Food Mill
A food mill is typically a manually powered device with a hand crank on top. It is shaped like a wide-mouthed inverted cone with legs or projections to set over a bowl and be held stable while you are pouring in the food to be sauced and turning the crank. The bottom is perforated and it strains the food being ground into the receiving bowl.
There is a grinding plate attached to the crank. As you turn the crank, the food is mashed down onto a perforated disk at the bottom of the food mill, where it is strained through the sieve holes into the bowl you have placed under it. Food mills often come with interchangeable perforated sieving discs for achieving finer or coarser purées.
If you reverse the direction of the crank after youve extracted as much as possible, the seeds, skins and other debris are brought up to the top of the grinding plate. Then you can easily invert the food mill over a trash or compost can and discard the debris.
Uses for a Food Mill
You can use a food mill to make applesauce or tomato sauce, with the advantage of being able to add hot, unpeeled or unskinned fruits or vegetables to the mill and produce a puree without the seeds or skins. This leads to less food waste than there would be if you were peeling or deseeding. Often only a tiny amount of debris and seeds is left after milling. This can be composted or discarded.
Food mills can be used to make baby food or purée for people who are on soft food restrictions for chewing or swallowing difficulties. Duchesse potatoes or other puréed items can be made with a food mill or a potato ricer.
How To Use A Food Mill (And Do You Need One?)
FAQ
What is the purpose of a food mill?
What is the difference between a food grinder and a food mill?
Is a food mill the same as a blender?
What is a manual food mill?
A classic kitchen component, manual food mills consist of three primary parts – a crank handle, a bottomless bowl, and an interchangeable bottom with holes (the disc). Standard food mills eliminate the need to peel or core your produce prior to preparing your sauces and purees.
What is a food mill used for?
A food mill is a kitchen device used for grinding or puréeing foods such as soups, sauces, or mashed potatoes. It may be used during canning or making preserves to produce a smooth puree without seeds, skins, or stems. It can be used with hot or cold food. It may also be called a rotary food mill.
Are food mills manual or electric?
Food mills are available in manual or electric models. Electric models save largely in labor, but can be more expensive and require larger space considerations.
How does a food mill work?
Quickly and efficiently mash and puree fresh fruits and vegetables with the help of a food mill. Food mills make it easy to turn fresh fruits and vegetables into puree, separating skins and seeds from the puree itself. What is a Food Mill? A food mill is a kitchen tool designed to mash and sieve foods to a desired consistency.