Johnny Apple Sauce Maker, Tomato Sauce Maker, Remove Skins & Seeds From Produce, Model 250 Clamp Based Food Strainer (Basic Strainer)

I promised someone I'd come back and review the model 250 when I got mine. Here's the update--it works just as well as the old model. The table clamp is better, but the way the screen attaches is worse, since you have to grab onto it to take it apart now. It leaks just as the old model did, but a little less. All in all though, it works like a charm and turns out a beautiful job with little work. The review below still stands for the newer model. I can a LOT of tomatoes. This year I did 30-50 pounds a week, all summer. My old process: wash tomatoes. Cut slits in the bottom of tomatoes. Dunk tomatoes in boiling water. Once the skins split, dunk in ice water. Peel the tomatoes. Cut out the core. Cut off green shoulders. Cut off bad bits. Put tomato in saucepan. Crust tomatoes with potato masher. Cook down the tomatoes, process in water bath canner. This takes ALL DAY. Then a friend took pity on me and loaned me her Victorio Strainer. It's at least 30 years old, probably older and still in great shape. The first time I used it, it was like the heavens had opened and angels began to sing. Here's my new process: Wash tomatoes. Cut off bad bits. Cut tomato in half or quarters. Run through the strainer. Cook down and process. DONE. The resulting puree is gorgeous and seed and peel free. I can use tomatoes with blossom end rot--just cut that bit off. I can use all my cherry tomatoes that I could never preserve before. There is almost no waste--after you run the tomatoes through once, dump all the peels and cores back in and run them again. You'll be shocked at how much more juice and pulp comes out. The resulting waste is almost dry. I had a gallon of waste from 50 pounds of tomatoes. This thing is completely amazing. It does leak a bit. Don't know if that's because it's old, or it's the nature of the beast. I DO NOT CARE. The screen is a bit of a pain to clean. I DO NOT CARE. This thing is so much faster and so much better than doing it all by hand, these small annoyances are nothing. We also did 100 pounds of Concord grapes for juice with this, and it was awesome. I'm here to buy my own so I can return the one I'm using. Oh, just save yourself the aggravation and buy the accessory pack while you're here. Once you start using it for something like tomatoes, you'll look around and want to do grapes, or salsa, or pumpkin... better get those accessories now.

I used this product for the first time this week and it is fabulous. I picked blueberries and wanted to turn them into syrup. So I simmered them on the stove for a while in a little water and mashed them with a potato masher. I had not removed stems or flowers, I just washed them. After they were soft I put them through the Victorio food strainer and in no time at all I had all the juice and pulp ready to cook down for syrup. All stems, flowers and virtually all of the tiny blueberry seeds were removed. Only about a cup of waste remained from over ten pounds of blueberries. I’ve used a food mill but it is a pain because you have to constantly clean it to remove the compressed waste material. Additionally, you have to clamp the mill to your bowl and set it on a no-slip mat or it moves around enough to make it difficult to turn. My helper hand is always very tired after using the mill from holding the bowl still enough to turn the crank. This food strainer has no such problems. It clamps securely to a standard Formica counter top so all you have to do is turn the handle, which is easy. It does leak a small amount of juice from where the handle inserts into the device, but a towel on the floor underneath is sufficient to avoid a mess. The splatter screen/spout is relatively low to the table so a shallow bowl is required. My 4 coup Pyrex measuring cup fits but the 8 cup does not. The residue is spit out the side into a waiting bowl, so the only time you have to clean it is at the end of your job. A regular scrub brush works well to clean the bits from the holes in the screen. The whole thing was easy and very effective. I’m very impressed!

I got the strainer for processing tomatoes into tomato sauce and it does a FANTASTIC job! The unit attaches securely to my counter and the handle is easy to turn. If you're processing a LOT of tomatoes, it's helpful to have a "canning buddy" to do the turning or you might wish to purchase the optional motor. After processing the tomatoes, I ran the discarded skin through the machine one more time and got a good bit of additional juice and pulp. What remained was dry-as-a-bone peel and seeds. HINT: Strain the sauce using a wire strainer to keep from having to cook it down. Can the thick pulp as sauce and can the thinner tomato juice as juice or soup base. Saves a lot of time and you still use the entire tomato. I also purchased the salsa strainer and found it too chunky for sauce and too mushy for salsa. That, however, is a personal preference. Other's might find it "just right". My only complaint is that the clear plastic chute that attaches to the metal strainer is very flimsy. This is where the discarded peel is routed. I'm fearful that I'll accidentally break the chute when trying to attach or remove it from the strainer. I do wish that piece was sturdier. The rest of the machine is heavy and well made. The strainer is difficult to clean after use due to tiny bits of tomato being stuck in it, as would be expected. A toothbrush really makes cleaning of the strainer very easy.

Yesterday two of us canned 75 lbs of organic dry farmed San Marzano Roma tomatoes. Our yield was 29 quarts. It took about 7 hours to do. This tool (way more useful than a "gadget" was outstanding. All I did was wash the tomatoes, slice them in half, and plop them into the generously sized hopper (the white bowl at the top). Turn the crank while using the red pusher to firmly force the tomatoes into the hole. In no time the absolutely seed and skin free puree comes down the white chute while the skins and seed are pushed out the clear end at the opposite end from the crank. I suggest you use a 9x13 flat baking dish for the puree, and any sort of bowl for the seeds and skins. A narrow rubber spatula is a big help in helping the seeds and skins come out from the end of the screw as well as occasionally scraping the outside of the strainer up the chute as it can be so thick it can back up a bit and more puree has a harder time getting down. A suggestion - put the seeds and peel back down the hopper again to extract more puree. You'll be surprised at how much more comes out. I did buy the coarser salsa strainer but we ended up sticking with the original apple/tomato one that comes with the strainer. I also bought the supplemental external motor in case we tired of hand cranking, and I have to say it was a huge help. For one thing, unless you have the motor you will certainly need two people for this process. It is just too awkward for one person to manage. The motor was a champ, not too noisy, and handled the entire day without overheating (it has an automatic shut off switch if it does get too warm). I also put through the strainer some onions that I had sautéed until very soft, let cool to room temperature (they tell you NOT to put hot food into the strainer), to add some additional flavor to the tomato puree. Then into the big pot with some salt, and after getting it boiling hot, it was put into sterile jars, sealed, and processed in a hot water bath canner. Last year we used the food grinder/strainer attachment to the Kitchen Aid mixer, and I have to say this worked better. It was just a bit faster and easier to use, though the other is certainly an acceptable way to go. Anything is better than using a food mill by hand, especially with a quantity of tomatoes. This Victorio is very well built and sturdy. One downside is that it must be washed by hand. I encourage you to get a stiff bristled nail brush to clean the tomato screen, as it certainly does get packed with bits of tomatoes, and do not wait until it begins to dry and stick. We did have to take the screen apart from the red food spiral a few times to get the packed seeds and skins out. Not a big deal, but it certainly helped move things along. This is an excellent product, especially at the price. Highly recommended!

I wanted a nice middle of the road grinder, strictly for tomatoes. While this product isn't fancy, it performs exactly as advertised. There is a total of about 6 pieces that fit together, so it isn't complicated. The only part that is remotely challenging is pressing and twisting the screen into the crank housing. It isn't horrible, but for people with less hand and grip strength it might be frustrating. But once it's assembled (<5 minutes), it works like a breeze. You don't need much strength to turn the crank, and it processes the tomatoes pretty quickly. I was pleasantly surprised at how effective it was filtering the skins and seeds out from the pulp/juice. At most, a few stray seeds might sneak through, but not enough to mention. So unless you need to process a LOT of tomatoes, this is a nice choice. It's not deluxe by any means, but it's not going to fall apart after a few uses. My sole criticism is that the screen isn't dishwasher safe. Make sure you have a bottle brush or something similar to aid in cleaning.

This sauce maker is fantastic for apples (haven't yet tried it with anything else). I suddenly had well over a hundred apples to process and this device made it ridiculously easy. After washing them, I just cross quarter each apple and pop off the stem. I then cook the apples in about a 1/2" of water until they're soft stirring often. Takes about 15 - 20 minutes per pot load. Then the cooked apples get moved into a very large bowl to cool. While that's happening, I start another pot of apples. Once that next batch is cooking, I run the apples through the Johnny Applesauce. Really easy cranking and the sauce comes out perfectly. I got about 25 quarts of applesauce made and bagged for freezing in 2 hours. The device is easy to put together (but read the directions as there are nuances you don't want to miss) and take apart. Care must be made to how the gasket is seated in the collar of the sieve. The gasket is thin and made of a weird material (silicone?) and can creep or fold over if not very carefully seated. Worth paying attention to. Also, definitely oil the spiral auger tip as instructed. Good tool. Would have loved a more robust version (all metal) but that's just not done anymore. Hand washed in a few minutes. Good purchase, especially when on sale. Mine doesn't leak at all and was quite tidy to use.

Wow, how did I do without this for the last three years? I grow a lot of tomatoes, mostly San Marzano with some Carbon (an heirloom black tomato with lots of flesh but hard to skin and seed). I toss them into gallon freezer bags until I get enough to process. In the past I've taken the skin off while partially frozen, this works better than boiling water and blanching. I then have to strain out the seeds and bits of skin while cooking them down. With the Victorio Food Strainer, I just thawed the frozen tomatoes and ran them through. All the seeds and skin were removed with little waste. I ran some through a second time to see what happened, but didn't get enough out to make it worth the trouble. I spent about 1/4 the time processing with better results. I didn't find it that messy unless you slopped the tomatoes around or pushed them down to hard. I think processing the frozen/thawed tomatoes were easier than some fresh ones I ran through because they were much softer. I can see this working well for raspberries and other seeded food too. Construction is solid with a cast aluminum base that secures well to a variety of thicknesses. The plastic parts are solid and fit together well. This product should last a long time. I can see the need to have the additional screens for different textures and product. The plastic cone on the end is the only potential weak point. If you tried to force it one, you might break off one of the tabs holding it on. The screen unit fits tightly to the base and can take a firm grip to remove. This is good, because it doesn't work loose while in use. Be sure not to turn the handle without tomatoes in the hopper. It lubricates the mechanism and doesn't turn well otherwise in addition to wearing down the plastic and screen. It is worth every penny.

So... after using this to process about 15 lbs of tomatoes out of our garden to can tomato "sauce" I can say that it is VERY GOOD at pulverizing tomatoes and removing skin, seeds, and cores. However, I can say that if you would like anything other than a VERY FINELY processed juice/pulp mixture, this device is not for you. If you want to reserve the juice of the tomatoes separately from the pulp that it puts out, you can pretty much forget about it. It does a great job separating all of the solids from the tomato "pulp" and juice. That being said, I tried to use a fine mesh colander to further separate the solids from the juice, to no avail. This is because the machine so finely processes the tomatoes that it is impossible to further separate, because the pulp clogs any screen that the juice might run through. Also, if you intend to make any type of sauce with your tomatoes that you would desire any real texture derived from tomato solids, you can forget about that, too. If you are making tomato sauce... in the very TRADITIONAL sense of the word, meaning a finely pureed, no chunk, cooked tomato liquid, then this is what you are looking for. If you want any tomato chunks WHATSOEVER then you should skin, core, and seed your tomatoes another way. I had better luck with the traditional method of scoring the X on the bottom then boiling the skins off, cutting the tomatoes and squishing and washing seeds out through a colander. I then put them through a traditional food mill. I also did this once without seeding them and it was okay... just a few seeds, if that is acceptable to you. It was not a lot more work to do this, especially considering the amount of work it takes to clean the Victorio machine when you are done. WHAT A CHORE. If you are making traditional Italian "tomato gravy" or "sauce" as we Americans would find it in the can, then the Victorio is what you are looking for. If you are looking to make a textured tomato sauce like you might want to put on any number of American dishes like spaghetti or lasagna, then you may just want to take the time to break it down by hand, and reserve the juice for soups and pot roasts, instead of having to cook it off for hours, which is what I had to do with the product from the Victorio. It really just depends on what you need. This machine puts out one specific product... tomato puree with juice combined. End of story.

Fácil de armar en cualquier superficie, muy práctico

This device performs MIRACLES. It takes 80% of the work out of making Pasta Sauce, and 75% of the work out of making Applesauce. It makes processing those pesky little crabapples a pleasure. I also purchased the 4-piece accessory kit, and look forward to trying it out on grapes, later this fall. The device is brilliantly designed, well made, and of sturdy materials. It is easy to assemble from memory, after following the directions the first time. It is easy to wash. Yes, it does unavoidably leak a little at the bushing at the base of the handle, however this is easily managed by putting a small container on the floor or counter beneath it. There may be no way to design this small leak out, because of the need to be able to access all parts to clean it thoroughly. While others complain about these few drops, I find it is no biggie. Yes, when processing a LOT of fruit or vegetables, one does have to remove the screen & spiral to clear the screen, every once in a while, however this is part of any screening process (no fault of the machine), easily done, and a small price to pay for the amazing work it performs & the time it saves. My only regret is that I didn't buy a Victorio decades ago. I certainly would have done more canning, if I had had one.

Disappointing I had to purchase optional extra screens. But have produced some great pip free berry jam with this device. Occasionally have to use small amount food grade oil if it seizes.

It‘s a great and handy tool, works pretty well. But it‘s cheap made, way to cheap. The inner parts start to rust right after the first use. That‘s because the parts are simply galvanized, not stainless steel. I did it right as shown in the manual, hand wash it and dry it. To be honest it‘s nearly impossible to dry out alle the little spaces and edges and surprise, surprise, rust.

This device works, but not as well as the original Victorio strainer. It has a lot of dead space behind the auger that wastes a lot of fruit.