The Best Food Mills

This food mill had the largest capacity of all the models we tested, allowing us to process a significant volume of potatoes, apples, or berries in one batch. With medium tension on the spring-loaded blade and a smooth turning mechanism, it quickly produced high-quality mashed potatoes and applesauce without requiring too much muscle. Its rubber-coated handle and hook helped stabilize it on a wide range of vessels, although it still rocked a bit during use. Another small problem: It was a bit deep, sitting in the puree in smaller vessels.

This food mill performed quickly and did the best job of straining out seeds from berry coulis and tomato sauce; its four disks gave cooks more processing options. But it was a touch heavy, and its wide wire handle was uncomfortable to grip and made it harder to lift. Finally, although its large hook lifted the mill just above the puree, it didn’t always latch onto pots as securely as we’d have liked, so it rocked a bit during use.

This model was the easiest to dismantle and had comfortable rubbery handles; better still, grippy, foldable legs made it the most stable mill we tested. But with not quite enough tension on the blade, this mill took the longest to make applesauce, coulis, and tomato sauce, ineffectively churning the contents of the hopper and often failing to push anything through. To get things moving, we had to reverse directions with the turning handle frequently—an action that made the blade grate unpleasantly against the perforated disk.

This model milled food relatively quickly and did a decent job of straining out most seeds. But it was done in by its hooks, which were placed so close to the top of the hopper that the mill inevitably ended up bathing in the puree it made. The hooks themselves failed to truly latch on to any cooking vessel, causing the mill to jump around like a bucking bronco while in use. Finally, not all the parts were dishwasher-safe—a big minus when it comes to messy milling.

This pricey food mill smoothly churned out great mashed potatoes, applesauce, and berry coulis. Its metal hook was able to reach the sides of a Dutch oven, saucepan, and large bowl, aiding its stability, but it rocked back and forth a bit during use. It was also the heaviest mill we tested and its steel wire handle was uncomfortable to hold, so it was difficult to lift. It has a medium capacity and is fairly deep, so its base often sat in the resulting puree.

This food mill was one of the lightest in our lineup and felt unstable on a wide variety of cooking vessels. It has adjustable legs, which we hoped would greatly improve stability, but they only reached the sides of smaller cooking vessels and didn’t extend to span our favorite Dutch oven. We had to frequently reverse directions on the turning handle to clear the disk and get things moving, causing an unpleasant grating sensation and sound.

This inexpensive, lightweight food mill proved the top choice of every cook who tried it. Despite a relatively small capacity, good spring force enabled it to puree foods quickly and efficiently while allowing just a few tomato and berry seeds to pass through. Its handles were comfortable, and it was easy to lift and crank (a narrow crossbar made it a tad tricky to take apart). Best of all, long, notched legs allowed the mill to feel comparatively stable while sitting high and secure above the food.