A food mill is one of those tools that doesn’t get used on a regular basis and thus is often one of the first to be thrown away, or not get bought at all, especially if you have a small kitchen. Yes, you probably can get by without a food mill – as is the case of most things when it comes down to it – but it is an addition to your kitchen that has the potential to make your life much easier.
Devices such as the Oxo Good Grips food mill use a system comprising of a hopper, paddle and interchangeable disks to quickly and easily puree and strain foods at the same time, to varying degrees of thickness. You can separate peach or tomato skins and seeds by hand, but it takes much longer and will be far messier. A food mill is also a very handy tool for mashing vegetables such as potatoes and making fruit sauces in a neat and hassle-free fashion.
The ever-forward march of technology has made modern food mills more straightforward and pleasant to use, as well as simpler to clean. The food mill that is part of the Oxo Softworks collection has an easy grip soft handle for comfort and most models of food mil now come apart to aid in the cleaning process.
If you do a lot of pureeing, straining and mashing and don’t already own a food mill, it is certainly an investment worth considering. The time and effort saved compared to performing such tasks by hand may well be worth the inexpensive, one-off cost of the purchase.