Do I need a food mill for canning tomatoes?

Not for every recipe. NCHFP's crushed tomato method doesn't use one, but its tomato juice and sauce recipes say to press cooked tomatoes through a sieve or food mill to remove skins and seeds.

Can I use a blender instead of a food mill?

For tomato paste, NCHFP says not to use a blender or food processor because they whip unwanted air into the tomatoes; use a fine sieve or a food mill with a fine blade. NCHFP does have a separate blender ketchup recipe that uses peeled tomatoes.

What's the difference between a food mill and a tomato strainer?

A food mill is a bowl with interchangeable discs that you crank over a pot. A tomato strainer (like the Victorio or Norpro) pushes food through a screen with a spiral auger, sending juice and pulp one way and skins and seeds the other, per the makers' listings.

Food Mills & Tomato Strainers for Canning: OXO, Victorio, Weston

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Quick answerFor occasional batches of sauce or applesauce, a hand food mill like the OXO is simple and fits over a pot. If you put up tomatoes by the bushel, a clamp-mount crank strainer like the Victorio VKP250 separates skins and seeds as you crank, per the listing. Want a motor? Weston makes an electric strainer, and KitchenAid owners can add a strainer to the food grinder attachment.

A lot of tested canning recipes include one step that's tedious by hand: getting skins and seeds out. NCHFP's tomato juice recipe says to “press both types of heated juice through a sieve or food mill to remove skins and seeds,” and its sauce, ketchup, applesauce, fruit purée and apple butter recipes use the same step (it's optional for chunky applesauce). That's the job these tools do.

Food mill or strainer?

Food mill: a bowl with a crank and interchangeable discs (fine, medium, coarse). Sits over a pot.
Crank strainer: clamps to the counter. A spiral pushes food through a screen; sauce comes out one spout, skins and seeds another.
Electric strainer or mixer attachment: the same idea with a motor doing the cranking.

Recipe noteFor tomato paste, NCHFP specifically says to use a fine sieve or a food mill with a fine blade and not a blender or food processor, because they whip air into the tomatoes. Whatever tool you use, keep following the tested recipe's acid, headspace and processing times.

OXO Good Grips food mill

A stainless bowl with three grinding discs (fine, medium, coarse) and a spring-loaded lever for swapping them, per the listing. Its folding non-slip legs fit over bowls and pots up to 11 inches across.

Hand mill, 3 discs

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Mill

Stainless bowl with 3 grinding discs (fine, medium, coarse), per the listing
Spring-loaded lever for disc changes
Folding non-slip legs fit over bowls and pots up to 11 inches across

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Hungry Artisan 3-disc mill

Another hand-crank mill with coarse, medium and fine stainless discs and a stainless body and crank; the listing says it separates sauce from skins, seeds and cores. If you're canning applesauce, follow NCHFP's recipe, which peels and cores the apples first.

Alternative hand mill

Hungry Artisan 3-Disc Stainless Food Mill

Hand-crank mill with coarse, medium and fine stainless discs, per the listing
Separates sauce from skins, seeds and cores
Stainless body and crank

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Victorio VKP250 strainer

This is the big-batch option. It clamps to counters 3/4 to 2-1/8 inches thick, and a hand crank drives a spiral that pushes food through a 1.3 mm apple/tomato screen, separating skins and seeds, per the listing. Optional screens and a motor are sold separately. The body is cast aluminum with stainless screens, and it has a 5-year warranty.

Clamp-mount crank strainer

Victorio VKP250 Johnny Apple Sauce Maker / Food Strainer

Clamp-mount hand-crank strainer that separates skins and seeds, per the listing
Includes apple/tomato screen (1.3 mm holes) and standard spiral; optional motor and screens
Cast aluminum body, stainless screens; 5-year warranty
Clamps to counters 3/4 to 2-1/8 inches thick

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Norpro Sauce Master

Norpro's hand strainer forces food through a chrome-plated screen, sending juice and pulp one way and seeds and skins the other, per the listing. It has a 3-quart capacity and comes with a fine mesh screen, spiral and recipe booklet; berry, pumpkin and salsa screens are extra.

Crank strainer alternative

Norpro 1951 Sauce Master

Hand strainer that separates juice and pulp from seeds and skins through a chrome-plated screen, per the listing
3-quart capacity; fine mesh screen, spiral and recipe booklet included
Optional berry, pumpkin and salsa screens

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Weston electric tomato strainer

If cranking isn't your idea of fun, Weston's has a 250 W two-speed motor with reverse, a 1-gallon hopper, and three stainless screens: 1.5 mm for tomatoes and berries, 3 mm for squash and pumpkin, and 6 mm for chunky salsa, per the listing.

Electric strainer

Weston Deluxe Electric Tomato Strainer

250 W two-speed motor with reverse, per the listing
1-gallon hopper
Three stainless screens: 1.5 mm (tomatoes, berries), 3 mm (squash, pumpkin), 6 mm (chunky salsa)

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KitchenAid strainer attachment

Already own a KitchenAid stand mixer? This strainer kit works with KitchenAid's Food Grinder attachment (model KSMFGA, sold separately) to remove seeds, per the listing. Check the listing for compatibility before buying.

For KitchenAid owners

KitchenAid KSMFVSP Fruit & Vegetable Strainer Attachment

Strainer parts for the KitchenAid Food Grinder attachment (model KSMFGA, sold separately), per the listing
Removes seeds; dishwasher-safe parts

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Compared

Tool	Type	Key specs (per listing)
OXO food mill	Hand mill	3 discs; legs fit pots up to 11 in.
Hungry Artisan	Hand mill	3 stainless discs
Victorio VKP250	Crank strainer	1.3 mm screen; clamp mount; 5-yr warranty
Norpro Sauce Master	Crank strainer	3-qt; fine mesh screen
Weston electric	Electric strainer	250 W; 1-gal hopper; 3 screens
KitchenAid KSMFVSP	Mixer attachment	Needs Food Grinder KSMFGA

Food Mills and Tomato Strainers for Sauce, Juice and Applesauce

Food mill or strainer?