OXO Food Mill Strains Tomato Sauce as You Turn the Crank

Cooked tomatoes can be soft enough for sauce while their skins still need separating. The OXO Good Grips Food Mill puts a perforated disc under a hand crank: turn the handle and the food passes through into a waiting bowl. It gives a cook who wants a strained tomato sauce a way to mash the softened flesh and separate the unwanted solids in the same operation.

Sauce below, skins above

The mill sits above a bowl or pot, with the food in its upper chamber. OXO describes the process as mashing and straining at the same time. Its instructions specifically mention leaving tomato skins and seeds behind when making marinara. The sauce collects below the disc while those solids remain in the mill.

That separation has a purpose when skins and seeds are unwelcome in the finished dish. If you enjoy a rustic tomato sauce with pieces of skin, you may prefer to keep them. The mill is more useful when straining is already part of the result you want.

Three discs for applesauce and potatoes

The complete 1071478 includes three grinding discs for fine, medium and coarse textures. OXO suggests fine or medium for applesauce and medium or coarse for mashed potatoes. A cook who makes both can change the disc between dishes, using one bowl and crank for the two preparations.

For applesauce, the instructions say peeling and coring are unnecessary. That removes two preparation jobs that can make a pile of apples feel less appealing to tackle. Cook the apples as your recipe directs, then pass them through the mill. The disc choice lets you vary the consistency of the finished applesauce.

Choose the disc before filling the bowl, because changing it means removing the crank assembly. Slide the release button back, lift out the bar and remove the disc. Put the next disc in with its domed side up and its notches aligned. The crank post goes into the central hole, then the bar locks beneath the two hooks. The choices are useful, but switching between them is a small assembly task.

A supported bowl, with room to turn

The mill has a stated 2.3-quart capacity and a stainless steel inner bowl for hot or cold foods. Unfold its legs and set it over a receiving bowl or pot before loading. The rim must support the feet, with room above for your hand to turn the knob. Check that arrangement with the container you intend to use; a wide stockpot is not automatically a suitable fit.

The manual calls for clockwise turns and frequent reversals to reposition food and prevent sticking. Reversing is part of working through a batch, rather than a step reserved for a blockage. Plan to stay with the batch and supply those turns while the mill presses and strains the food.

Cleanup includes the crank and disc

After milling, the release button lets you remove the crank bar and lift out the used disc. Removing that disc gives you access to its two faces and the inside of the bowl separately. OXO marks the product dishwasher safe. You still need to disassemble the mill and deal with the food left above the disc before putting the tool away.

The legs fold inward for storage, but the bowl keeps its shape. Allow space for the complete mill and its other two discs.

Consider the meals you repeat: strained tomato sauce, applesauce without a separate peeling-and-coring routine, or potatoes milled through the medium or coarse disc. If those jobs recur, the OXO brings them together in one manual tool. If you mainly make occasional rustic mash and want to keep its texture, a masher you already like may cover the job.