The Best Food Mill For Tomatoes (Manual or Electric)

Last updated on April 23rd, 2025 at 09:29 pm

Every year as I start making homemade spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, salsa, and canning fresh tomatoes, I fondly think of my husband’s grandparents. Their garden always produced an incredible bounty of tomatoes, which meant I often faced hours of hands-on prep work. That all changed with the thoughtful gift of a Roma Food Strainer and Sauce Maker, a true game-changer for canning and preserving. This simple yet powerful tool transformed tomato processing from a time-consuming task into a smooth, efficient process, helping me handle large harvests with ease.

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Gone are the days of laborious tomato preparation involving blanching, peeling, deseeding, and pureeing, a messy and time-consuming affair. Whether I'm using my manual Food Mill or the Easy-to-use tomato attachment for Cabela's Commercial-Grade Grinder the prep work is reduced exponentially.

I use this preparation method to make anything with fresh tomatoes. The best part of this food mill is that it can also be used to make jams, jellies, fruit juice, soups, purees, jams, applesauce, homemade baby food, and more.

Tested on the Homestead

With years of hands-on experience growing, harvesting, and preserving food from our one-acre homestead, I’ve processed thousands of pounds of tomatoes using both traditional and time-saving methods. My goal is always to share practical, reliable tips that real families can use in their own kitchens, especially when tackling big harvests. From perfecting homemade sauces to streamlining the prep work, every method I recommend has been tested right here at Hollis Homestead. You can trust that the techniques shared in this post will help you process tomatoes more efficiently, whether you're canning for the first time or looking to simplify your routine. Learn more about my background and canning journey on my welcome page.

Food Mill Vs. Food Processor

A food mill and a food processor are both versatile kitchen tools, but they serve different purposes and offer distinct methods of food preparation. A food mill is primarily used for straining and pureeing cooked fruits and vegetables, particularly for tasks like removing seeds, skins, and fibers to create smooth sauces, soups, and purees. It typically consists of a bowl with a hand-cranked or electric motor.

On the other hand, a food processor is a powerful motorized kitchen tool equipped with various blades and attachments designed for chopping, slicing, shredding, and pureeing a wide range of ingredients. While a food mill excels at achieving precise textures and separating unwanted components, a food processor offers speed, convenience, and versatility in handling different food preparation tasks with ease of use.

Preparation

One of the best things about using a food mill is how little food prep is involved. Before processing, a simple wash and inspection of the tomatoes will suffice, discarding any with imperfections. While larger tomatoes may require halving to fit through the hopper, Whole tomatoes like romas usually fit without the need for slicing.

Instructions For Manual Food Mill

I prefer to use manual food mills when I am processing small batches of tomatoes. First, set up the Roma Food Mill according to the manufacturer's instructions. Choose the tomato screen you want to work with. Secure the base with the C-clamp to a countertop edge or table for stability, or utilize the suction cup base. I prefer to anchor it with the clamp, especially when handling large quantities. With bowls positioned beneath both of the spouts—one for collecting seeds and skins, the other for the tomato puree. Begin turning the hand crank as tomatoes are fed through the hopper, the puree will begin to fill the designated bowl while the tomato seeds and skins are discarded in the other bowl.

Next, carefully transfer the puree into an extra-large stockpot to be reduced down into homemade tomato sauce or turned into your different tomato-based recipes.

Food Mill Screens

The Weston Brand Tomato Press (sauce maker & tomato strainer) comes with one screen (grinding disc) that is ideal for apples & tomatoes. If you'd like to use the food mill for other foods, you'll also need to purchase the accessory kit that includes: 

• Berry Screen
• Pumpkin/Squash Screen
• Salsa Making Screen
• Grape Spiral

I have personally owned this high-quality food mill for over 10 years and highly recommend it to home cooks or avid canners. Weston brand also makes electric food mills (Weston Deluxe Electric Tomato Strainer) that are a popular choice for their affordable and compact design. Electric models are a great option if you don't want to hand-crank all of your produce. I have not owned this product, so I can not give a personal review of this particular food mill.

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Instructions For Electric Food Mill Attachment

When we are blessed with hundreds of pounds of tomatoes from the garden to process, we rely on our Cabela's Commercial-Grade Grinder and the Tomato Attachment. This system is more expensive than the manual food mill, however, we already owned the meat grinder so adding the $100 attachment was a great investment in my opinion. Processing large quantities of foods like tomatoes has never been more efficient or effortless. I can puree hundreds, yes hundreds, of pounds of tomatoes in an hour with this appliance.

This innovative attachment seamlessly integrates with Cabela's Commercial-Grade Grinder, elevating it into a versatile tomato processing powerhouse. Whether you're a home cook looking to streamline your tomato sauce production or a professional chef seeking to meet high-volume demands, this attachment is a game-changer.

One of the standout features of this electric tomato attachment is its user-friendly design. Installation is a breeze, requiring minimal effort to attach securely to the grinder. Once in place, simply feed your ripe tomatoes into the hopper, and let the powerful grinder do the rest. The attachment effortlessly separates the skin and seeds from the pulp, delivering a smooth and uniform tomato puree with every operation.

Efficiency is paramount when processing large quantities of tomatoes, and this electric attachment delivers on all fronts. With the robust motor of the meat grinder and precision engineering, it can handle even the most demanding tomato processing tasks with ease. If you're processing large batches of food for canning or freeze-drying this attachment ensures consistent results every time.

Key Features of a Food Mill

Interchangeable Disks or Screens: Look for a food mill that offers multiple interchangeable screens with various-sized holes. Smaller holes give you a smooth texture of your tomato puree, and larger holes result in a chunky texture. Select the size of the holes depending on your desired consistency or recipe requirements.

Sturdy Construction: Opt for a food mill made of durable materials such as stainless steel construction or high-quality plastic. This ensures longevity and stability, especially when processing large quantities of tomatoes.

Large Capacity: Choose a food mill with a generous capacity to accommodate the high volume of tomatoes you process. A larger hopper or bowl means fewer batches and less time spent emptying and refilling during processing.

Efficient Straining Mechanism: The straining mechanism should effectively separate seeds, skins, and fibers from the tomato pulp, resulting in a smooth and uniform puree. Look for a food mill with a well-designed straining system that minimizes clogging and maximizes yields.

Comfortable Handle or Crank: If opting for a manual food mill, ensure that it features comfortable handles or a crank that allows for smooth and effortless operation, even when processing large batches of tomatoes.

Ease of Cleaning: Choose a food mill with removable parts that are easy to clean, preferably dishwasher-safe. This simplifies the post-processing cleanup and maintenance, saving you time and effort.

Cleaning The Food Mill

1. Fully disassemble the Tomato Press & Sauce Maker. 
2. Hand-wash all parts in hot, soapy water. A stiff-bristled bottle brush may be needed to clean the Screen. 
3.  Before storing or reassembling the Tomato Press & Sauce Maker, be sure all the parts are thoroughly dry. It is recommended to apply a drop of vegetable oil on the rubber Screen Gasket to keep it from drying and becoming brittle. 
4. Keep the box it came in for easy storage.

Models may vary; please refer to your specific product instruction manual for more information.

Tips

• The standard Screen can also be used for soft fresh fruits as well as Apples, Apricots, Avocados (must be peeled), Carrots, Cherries, Potatoes, & Pears. Firm fruits and vegetables will need to be parboiled or steamed before milling, as well as pits removed from stone fruit.
• It's typical to observe liquid backing up into the hopper when straining large volumes of moisture-rich food such as tomatoes. Keep turning the handle until all the liquid dissipates from the hopper and neck of the Tomato Press & Sauce Maker. • 

• Depending on the type of food being processed, you may need to periodically remove the pulp from the screen of the Tomato Press & Sauce Maker. A rubber spatula works well for this.

• The Tomato Press & Sauce Maker features a generously sized hopper. For optimal performance, it's recommended to fill the hopper halfway, ensuring there's ample space in the middle to guide food into the throat of the Tomato Press & Sauce Maker using the stomper.

• If an abundance of pulp is coming out of the waste funnel, consider running it through the Tomato Press & Sauce Maker a second time to ensure thorough juice extraction. For optimal yield from your fruits and vegetables, strain the skins and seeds from the waste funnel a second time.

• Do not operate the Tomato Press while it is empty. The juice from the fruits and vegetables acts as a lubricant for the mechanism and reduces wear on the components.