I was going to ignore this, but its almost impossible to do so.. Apparently your machine is either assempbled wrong, worn out, or simply isnt doing the job correctly. Never have I ever had such a problem with the three different ones I own. In fact, I take all the waste and and run that through a second time to get more pulp and liquid out. I end up with a very firm, and almost moldable seed skin paste. Even for that, red raspberries have larger seeds and whne I use the smaller holed berry screen, I get similar results and also run the waste through a second time. A few years ago, someme one gavc me to huge bags of Concord grapes. They were all run through it too, but there, because of the much larger seed size I used the shorter grape spiral to prevent any possible jaming. I believe the engineers got that design right and even though the waste was really course, I still was able to pass it through twice more to extract a bit more juice. I left a half gallon in the fridge for about 3 weeks and ended up with a very slightly 'fizzy' product. Luckily it wasn't too 'boozy' yet.

All I can say is the cheap comes out expensive and leave it with that.. Sorry...

"I was going to ignore this, but its almost impossible to do so.. Apparently your machine is either assempbled wrong, worn out, or simply isnt doing the job correctly."

It's brand new out of the box and there is only one way to put it together. The drum goes in the drum-holder and the handle or crank gets screwed into it. You turn the crank and the puree comes out the longer chute. The waste doesn't come out the waste chute but ends up inside the drum, packed hard and dry. It did a great job otherwise as the sauce is totally skin and seed free. I'm about to can it as soon as the last of the Dills are done.

The brand new machine you have described was not found or seen in any of the photos or in any of the links I previously provided. I have no idea as to what the problem might be, only an alternate, and positve solution. Take it as it is, a suggestion, not a criticism.

What is your alternative and positive solution? :)

Are you sure the spring is in it?

It will do what you're saying if there is no spring.

The spring has to be in it or the paddle things wont go in - in which case it wouldn't work at all. There's only a tiny slit for the waste to exit and it only opens for a split second as the paddles go around.

Greenhouser,

I can certainly empathize with you. I don't know what exact model you have, but it sounds like it is similar to the Norpro's Saucemaster/Victorio Strainer Model 200

A friend had one, said he loved it, and I ended up getting one exactly like his. I do not have a problem with the clamp holding it in place, as you do though.

I found it was very, very hard to crank if I didn't precook the tomatoes some first.
I found the waste chute to be quite short...had to have exact placement of something under it, and then be catchful that the waste container did not overflow and fall into the pot of juice. I used it clamped to the picnic table outside, as it was just way too mess to try and do (with this model anyway) inside the house.
If I cooked the tomatoes down some, then I found I was often trying to push juice into it...Compare that to trying to push a rope. I then discovered it was best to load them with a small strainer, so I would not be loading any juice into it.

A neighbor bought an outfit similar to mine, and says she loves it. It looks to be all stainless steal, or is for the most part, even the hopper bowl on top. She says it is not necessary to cook them before cranking them through....that it is not hard to crank them through. I suspect she can say that as she has a hubby right there, canning with her, and that he has a strong arm and is doing the hard part of cranking them through.

I doubt if I will even try and use mine this season, but will just get out the trusty Foley food mill that has always worked well, and easily for me. I crank, and crank until there is very little left in it to unload before putting in the next load. Mine is a fairly big one, and it doesn't take all that long to 'run them through'.

Sue...just waiting for all those pretty green tomatoes to ripen

The tomato waste is jamming in the drum that turns instead of coming out the exit chute. Suggestions anyone? Not only that but the waste chute is too short and the clamp doesn't hold the mill as the wheel is being turned. What a mess! Hints? Ideas?

As mentioned before, the problem is not with the mill, it's just that you aren't familiar with using it. That is always the case with any new appliance. Many use it quite successfully but it does take some practice and experimentation.

Our DIL has the exact same model and loves it. I have seen it used on the TV show of the chef that developed it too with no problems. It is normal for ALL models for some of the waste to stick in the drum - much of it comes off as you run more through and some of it must be scraped off with a spoon now and then. Also as posted before, this model works better with pre-cooked/softened tomatoes. If the clamp doesn't hold then it isn't placed properly and you'll have to try it in a different location.

It is just a tool like a hammer or a knife or a computer. It's usefulness and effectiveness is totally in the hands of the user.

Dave

Is it possible the tomatoes are a bit over-ripe? That makes the skins a little rubbery sometimes and they can gum things up. Just a thought.

I have the Victorio 200 and have had the same problem. I finally decided just to quit - Darn thing works with everything but tomatoes. It gets the seeds out of the berries and thats good emough for me.

smokey: Isn't the Victoria the one that comes so highly recommended here by several regulars? They sure look the same. Napa hasn't yet replied to my request as to how to do toms without the drum jamming with seeds and skins. I don't can berries so that wouldn't apply to me.

maryt: Never happen Maryt. I don't care overripe toms or any veggie past it's prime. There was no "gumminess." The very narrow slit is too small and only opens for a split second as the paddle goes around. There is no way for the tom skins and seeds to get through it. A camel will not fit through the eye of a needle. When you buy online it's easy to get screwed because you can't pack it up and return it to the store. The websites will tell you anything to sell you their product - then you're just stuck. I doubt I'll hear from them about returning the mill. That so many of you on this Forum are so willing to buy things online was such a surprise to me since no one I know cares to do it for just this reason. Buying online is almost like buying a pig in a poke.

dave: You cannot scrape the stuff out of the barrel without removing the barrel and crank on the Mill I have. I'm not talking about the Foley-type with the blades. I'm talking about the one I posted the picture of here last week. There is only one way to use the clamp. Please don't insult my intelligence. Yes, I can use one of my husband's torque wrenches and tighten it until it snaps but that wont solve the problem of the clamp not being strong enough to hold such as large mill with a turn crank.

{{gwi:912262}}

http://www.napastyle.com/assets/images/cms/section/kitchen/kitchen-cat3-080425.jpg

Well, it certainly sound like there is something wrong with the thing itself. Have you tried it maybe with the tomatoes precooked a bit. I didn't like having to do that....particularly since I wasn't supposed to have to.

I hope they make it right with you.

Their site says "This restaurant-quality tool is an absolute must for any tomato lover. It naturally seeds, strains and peels as you turn, leaving you with beautiful puree for sauces, soups, salsas or pastes. Just attach it to your counter or tabletop with its screw clamp base - and go to town! Durable stainless steel with a polycarbonate handle. Made in Italy.

It sure sounds convincing that it is a wonderfully made and easy thing to use. Being made in Italy, I'd think it would be a little better made than a lot of the foreign made stuff...if you catch my drift.

Keep us posted please.

Sue

If the toms aren't pre-cooked they ride up the paddles or blades and don't get pushed under to be forced against the screen which purees them. They must be cooked. Then they'll go under the paddle if someone holds the mill steady and keeps it from pivoting under the clamp when the crank is turned. The rubber thing that protects the counter that falls off when you tighten the clamp is easily replaced. The puree was fine and I made sauce with it. The waste bowl empty and the barrel packed tightly with the seeds and skins that would not go through the narrow waste slit that opens for a split second as the paddle goes around. I don't know what mill Dave is talking about as this one has an enclosed barrel and nothing can be stuck inside it to remove the packed waste. Look below and you can see the enclosed barrel that cannot be accessed without removing the crank and lifting the barrel out of the machine. That the skins and seeds pack in the barrel instead of exiting a tiny slit that opens for a fraction of a second is my fault? How can that be? I didn't design the narrow tiny slit. :*( There is only one way this machine goes together and one way the crank turns. How can someone blame me for turning a crank the wrong way or applying a clamp wrong..... ??!?!?!?!?

{{gwi:912262}}

I am talking about the very machine in your picture and the crank does turn both ways and the waste can be removed simply by scraping it from the barrel via the exit port.

What I don't understand is one minute you are labeling the machine as worthless and the next you say "The puree was fine and I made sauce with it." So clearly it works.

But you clearly are never going to be happy with it or likely with any other model that you get, so just send it back for a refund or pack it up and put it away like you did with the other one. Nothing we say here is going to be of any help to you. You have made that abundantly clear.

Dave

I am talking about the very machine in your picture and the crank does turn both ways and the waste can be removed simply by scraping it from the barrel via the exit port.

You're talking about some other machine Dave. The exit port, about 1/16 of an inch high or smaller, opens maybe large enough to force a dime through when it opens. It only opens for a split second as the barrel turns and the paddle passes it. I'm not fast enough to stick a knife blade in the slit the split second the port opens, to keep the slit open after the paddle passes. Then if I did manage to stick a flat blade in the slit... how would I get the packed skins and seeds from the drum or barrel out through the exit slit only as thick as a dime? Even a tweezer wont fit through the exit slit.

The crank turns 1 way to squeeze the toms against the screen below the barrel - or turns the other way to remove the crank (it unscrews from the support and the barrel), to pull it out and to remove the barrel for cleaning. It's the end of the crank itself that screws in to hold the barrel in place and turn it. You can see the tiny flat exit slit in the picture. It's on the left where the waste is exiting. In reality the waste stays in the drum and a few drops of liquid dribble out the tiny flat exit port. About 10% of the puree leaks out around the sides of the barrel and misses the exit chute. It puddles around at the foot of the machine and is wasted.

{{gwi:912262}}

Well I don't have any of those fancy contraptions that are being complained about...good old Foley food mill does my work and has for years. I have more to do with my time than fuss with a gadget that leaves a mess in the exit chute. Take a food mill, when the goodies have been extracted to your satisfaction, run the blades backwards, dump the mess out and on to a new batch. Simple is so much more convenient.

I basically have no need to reinvent the wheel, not against modern improvements but show me that they work better than what I already have. It's cheaper and easier to use what I have.

Sometimes the older way is better. I did order the other type everyone on here raves about. At times I do a lot of tomatoes and if it works as advertised would be a great help in my case. What exactly do you use your foley mill for? Mine (see pic below) just pushes the cooked or raw toms around. Only some fluid comes out the strainer. The tom sections themselves just get pushed along and and ride on the strainer by the blades rather than get pushed under them and forced through the strainer leaving skins and seeds behind.

This is the Foley Mill I have. It's extremely well made of S.S. and will last a lifetime but I don't know what to use it for.

I don't know what to use it for.

They have been used for many, many years to make mashed potatoes, tomato sauce, applesauce, and to puree fruits for jam, plus many other things.

Have you tried to search with Google, dear? I did and found all sorts of information on how to use it and for what. Many sites even have pictures.

1/16 of an inch exit for skin and seeds doesn't sound right regardless of long it stays open. Could it be made incorrectly or is there another place skin and seeds could exit?

belindach: They finally do exit once the barrel is totally packed with seeds and skins. They start squeezing out that small slit which is slowed down by the packed barrel. It's hard to explain without pics and no directions come with it. Nothing. It made a fine sauce last night. The waste from the slit was re-run for a little more sauce. When done I removed the barrel and the paddles (held in by a spring) and cleaned out the dry packed seeds and skins. :) Nothing comes out the exit until the barrel is totally packed with waste.

grandma: I found info that the Foley is used to make Spatzel. I didn't find any info on how to get the toms under the blade is such a fashion that they're mashed and the sauce falls through. They just got pushed around and around with a few Tbsp's of juice and some seeds coming through the (smallest) strainer. Even those toms I pushed under the blade with a spoon just skittered and slid along the screen.
What did you type into Google to find the instructions for making tomato sauce with it?

I found this blog that may be of some use to you. There is a lot of info on the internet if you just google it.

Lynn

Here is a link that might be useful: Blog about foley food mill

I used a Foley for years, I just "inherited" my mother's unusued Squeezo a couple of years ago. I never had any problems doing all my tomatoes, apples, berries, etc. with the old Foley, except once in a while I'd have to crank backwards to get the peels off the bottom.

The squeezo works well for tomatoes, but I do have to cook them first because I'm just not strong enough to crank very many while still raw. The screen is small enough to get the seeds from blackberries but still lets some of the smaller raspberry seeds through. Every screen, even the salsa screen, processes tomatoes too finely for my salsa since I like thick salsa with big chunks of vegetables.

The Squeezo will also "gum up" after a few hoppers full of tomatoes or apples are cranked through, the waste accumulates on the auger. I haven't found any remedy except taking it apart, cleaning the auger and putting it back together.

Good luck with your machine. I've found that mine doesn't do everything, it has a couple of things it does really well, it's a champ for apple sauce but I always cut the tomatoes for salsa by hand and raspberries nearly always just become jelly because Dad hates those little seeds under his dentures, LOL.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful than that, but I do sympathize as I have the same problem with the Squeezo, which I believe is the entirely stainless steel and early version of the Victorio.

Annie

annie1992:

YOU SAID: "The squeezo works well for tomatoes, but I do have to cook them first because I'm just not strong enough to crank very many while still raw.
The Squeezo will also "gum up" after a few hoppers full of tomatoes or apples are cranked through, the waste accumulates on the auger. I haven't found any remedy except taking it apart, cleaning the auger and putting it back together."

As much as a few regulars raved about the Squeezo (of various names) none mentioned the downside as you just did - gumming up! Also that the toms needed to be cooked. One regular said it does raw ones just fine. I'm glad I know the downside before it gets here and I'm disappointed in it. I'll know to cook the toms first and to expect the auger to gum up. Thank you for your honesty. :)

As for the Foley: It simply wont work with our meaty Roma tomatoes that slide over the screen as the blades push them but they're mainly what we grow. I wanted to return it but my husband wants to keep it.

And the Napa Mill.... well if I knew the barrel first had to packed solid before the waste made it's exit I wouldn't have even mentioned it here. It does make a fine sauce though with no skin or seeds getting through. The Squeezo isn't here yet.

Lynn: Yes, thank you. I did Google the Foley and like the site you recommended, those sites I found did not explain how to get it to force the toms through the mesh instead of just pushing them around and around endlessly on the screen.

did not explain how to get it to force the toms through the mesh instead of just pushing them around and around endlessly on the screen.

Ok, first you don't do just a few tomatoes at a time. It sounds like you are doing just a few when you say things like Even those toms I pushed under the blade with a spoon just skittered and slid along the screen.

All the mills, regardless of the brand or the way they work, take advantage of the full weight of the product on top of them to work. Put in a few tomatoes and yeah no weight to force them down and so they just slide around. Fill the hopper like you are supposed to and now the weight of all those tomatoes presses the ones on the bottom into the screen while you crank. Simple physics.

They also depend on the pressure created behind their parts to work. That's why they call it elbow grease. Your Napa isn't going to spit out peels for each tomato. It won't spit out anything until the waste pressure inside on the core builds up enough to force it out and that takes a lot of tomatoes to accomplish. You may already have a full bowl of sauce before you see any waste come out. Sometimes 2 or 3 bowls before you see any depending on the size of bowl you use.

The exact same thing will happen with the Victorio/Roma (except that they don't have to be cooked as much as with the Foley) - it won't force out waste until the big red screw and chamber inside is first fully packed with waste - that is where the pressure comes from. It is perfectly normal. It does not intend you to process only 5 or 6 tomatoes but a bushel or 2 and by the time you are done you will have plenty of waste easily pushed out the proper chute. If you only do a few tomatoes then yes, you will have to take any of them apart to get out the waste.

Second, you fill the Foley hopper almost all the way to the top with well-cooked tomato mash, NOT whole or even quartered tomatoes. Look at the picture on the blog link Lynn gave you. Can you see any recognizable tomato chunks in that? It is pretty self-explanatory - see the state of the mash before it is processed? With properly well cooked tomato mash, you can't even recognize an individual tomato chunk much less a piece big enough to "push it under the blade with a spoon."

And then you crank and crank and crank and crank until there is nothing left in the hopper except dryish seeds and skins. Then you reverse crank a couple of times and dump out the dregs. Then you refill the hopper with more well-cooked mash and crank some more.

So, these things regardless of brand are intended for mass production - 25-50 lbs of cored, cooked tomatoes at a time or more. If all you want to process are 8-10 even 15 tomatoes at a time then none of them is going to work as well for you as they do for those of us who mass process. They will do the job but they will need to be disassembled to clean out the waste products.

That, with all the info Annie provided above and all the info available on the web, is about as detailed an explanation as I think any of us can come up with. So the next thing to do is to get yourself 50 lbs. of tomatoes and experiment with the tools until you get a handle on it.

Dave

I have a "sauceMaster" strainer. I have mainly used it for blackberries. My kids and I like blackberry syrup. I can fill up the hopper a couple of times before any waste comes out. Also, I put the waste back in and run it through again to get more juice and pulp. Same goes for the tomatoes.

When I do a lot of berries, I have to take the screen out and rinse it off.

Lynn

I might add something here about a new Foley that a friend purchased 2 summers ago from WM. I'm not sure if it was Foley brand or not, but it was stainless steel. He told me it was defective in that the blade did not come all the way down to meet the screen. There was about 1/4" space in between the two, making it useless. He returned it.

Sue

Dave: This is why they should put instructions in with the product. What would it cost them - a dime? I never used any of these products before. I didn't have a large load of toms to work with but they're starting to "come in" now. :) I can see now the toms weren't cooked enough for the Foley. Live and learn. Thanks for the information.

chemocurl: I just checked mine and the blades are snug against the screen. The toms weren't cooked enough apparently, nor where there enough of them in the hopper as Dave mentioned. Between the two, I like the Napa Mill better because no seeds fit through the strainer. I have the finest strainer in the Foley and some seeds came through. The Foley came with 3 strainers.

I certainly have no objections to included instructions but certain assumptions are made by all manufacturers regardless of the tool in question.

Since anytime these type items are recommended it is for mass production, so I think the manufacturer assumes that is the reason they are purchased. They don't expect anyone to try to process just a few tomatoes in them, or at least to not process just a few without first understanding how the machine works. So when used as intended, for mass production, they way they work quickly becomes readily apparent to the user.

Dave