If you grow tomatoes, you have to get a tomato press (aka food mill). We used to freeze tomatoes, let them defrost a little, then with numb fingers, slip the skins off and chop them up. This method works fine but oh my heck there is a better way! We found this Velox Tomato Press on the clearance rack at an Ace hardware for $15.00! It’s mostly plastic/nylon but appears to be pretty rugged. For $15.00, if it lasted me a season I figured I was way ahead. Anyhow, we attach the vacuum base to the glass stove top (which we hate, btw) and set up a big bowl to catch the good stuff and a plate to catch the skins and seeds. We quarter the tomatoes and drop them in the hopper. I grind them once, then take the skins/seeds/etc and run them through again. There is a ton of juice/pulp to be had on the second processing so don’t miss this part.
I suppose that this $15 tool has reduced our tomato-processing-time by 90% plus we can feel our fingers when we are done! We do tend to make a bit of a mess as tomatoes squirt and squish all over but it is no worse then when we did it by hand. If you are on the fence as to whether the $50 (normally) is worth it, I’d say YES!
Edit: Sorry…for some reason, comments were turned off for this post. That should be fixed now…
That’s a pretty cool food mill. We have the very old-fashioned Foley food mill, and love it as well. That’s where all of our blemished or smallish tomatoes go. I’ve never seen one like this though. We have always cooked our tomatoes pretty good before trying to separate them.
I had never heard of freezing to remove skins… that’s a nifty tip I’ll have to remember. 🙂
Ron
Hmmm, the time has come that we might need to invest in one these! Last year we made TONS of tomato sauce and froze it. I think we had three brown grocery bags full of sauce (obviously, sealed in freezer bags within, not just dumped in the brown bags!). It was ridiculous. We just left the skins on, which I know is incorrect, but the few sauces that we made after skinning the tomatoes just seemed to take an eternity. And for $15, perhaps many family members will get one for Xmas as well!
We make a lot of sauce and this thing has made it bearable for sure. I don’t know whether you will find it for $15 but I’d definitely pay $50 for it without hesitation. Tomato sauce is so useful in so many things that we make a bunch! The Foley mill that Ron mentioned is well regarded as well. I haven’t used it but tons of folks have them too
I’m glad to see you posting about this. I’ve heard wonderful things about them. Right now I’m still using my Foley mill – which I LOVE, but you’re right, peeling tomatoes is sooo time consuming.
I peel mine by getting a pot of water boiling, dropping some tomatoes in until the skins crack, fishing them out with a slotted spoon, and then dropping in some more.
I’ve done the frozen ones, too, and I hate doing them that way. Not only do your fingers hurt but the texture gets all messed up. Kind of like wet carpet or something.
Anyway, congrats on the new mill!
I think I will never go without a mill of some sort again. It makes canning and food stuff much more fun. Wet carpet is a good description of what maters are like…
I would love one of these. I live in NB canada and everywhere I go to ask they look at me like I am nuts. $15 what a steal and this would make the job of canning tomatoes easier.
Niki – check out Lehmans.com They don’t have this exact brand but they have a good one. It costs a little more though. Still, well worth the money!
Ok, I’ve been thinking about getting one of these and you just sold me!
I found mine new in the box at Goodwill last year and love it!