Are you looking for the best tomato strainer for your batch of tomatoes? Then you’ll know that although it’s not a difficult task, it’s highly time-consuming, especially when you want to make sauces for Italian cuisine.
To make this process super-easy, you need a tomato strainer called a food strainer, food mill, tomato presser, tomato smasher, tomato ricer, or tomato milling machine (electric or manual). It’s a handy kitchen appliance that strains away the juices from your tomatoes and allows you to grind them according to your required consistency.
With so many tomato strainers, you best ensure the one you buy is functional and long-lasting.
7 Best Tomato Strainers to Buy in 2022!
We know it’s hard for our knowledgeable audience to look through countless products and choose the right one. Don’t fret! Here are our top seven picks that’ll ease your dilemma!
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1. Rösle Stainless Steel Food Mill
First, we have the Rosle stainless steel food mill. It’s a manual tomato strainer; therefore, you won’t have to worry about energy consumption and speed. The lack of motorized parts and stainless steel construction makes it super durable and simple.
This high-quality precision tool is great for small batches of food in your kitchen, and you’ll soon realize that it’s worth the money!
Size and stability
The size of the Rosle food strainer is pretty good for daily use in the kitchen. The hopper is about 9.5 inches in diameter and will hold your tomatoes with no issues.
This food strainer sits on three supports on the mounting base, which holds it down tightly and securely so you won’t have to worry about toppling it over.
Discs and the blade
As we explained, sharpness is not the only factor when considering the blade, and the Rosle food strainer is matchless in this regard. Rosle makes the blade from stainless steel, which makes it rust and corrosion-free.
There is almost zero space between the blade and the sieve, so it’ll push the tomatoes through the sieve efficiently. It has a smooth turning motion with the handle, so you’ll have no problems with even the pulpiest tomatoes.
This product has two discs, a 0.04-inch disc, and a 0.1-inch disc, to separate your puree from seeds and other impurities.
Handle and design
It has a one-piece construction turning knob design with no welding seam; this makes it more durable, and the turning knob is a treat to handle. It’ll rest easy in your hand and allow you to exert force without getting tired.
This food mill is a marvel of construction; it’s beautiful, functional, and works well. Cleaning is also not an issue as the parts are removable.
Pros
- Well-designed.
- The handle is ergonomic.
- The blade is of high quality.
- The size is perfect for small kitchens.
- Cleaning is a breeze.
Cons
- It’s a manual tomato strainer, so it requires labor.
- The hopper could be bigger.
2. OMRA Spremy Electric Tomato Strainer
The Omra Spremy Tomato strainer neat little (but not too little) machine may cost you more than the other tomato presses on this list, but if the price isn’t a huge factor, this is a fantastic option!
If you have a lot of tomatoes that need to be processed, this strainer will smoothly do the job with its powerful 0.33hp motor. You can process up to 150kgs of tomatoes in an hour! Wow, that’s amazing!
Construction
The Omra tomato strainer is made from sturdy, high-quality die-cast metal housing. They make the hopper from stainless steel, which makes it rust and corrosion-resistant. Auger comes into direct contact with your food and needs to be sturdy.
Omra uses a high-quality, safe food-grade Nylon auger to make sure you’re at ease with your health. Other parts, such as the splash guard, chute, and screen, are also stainless steel.
Daily usage
The Omra tomato strainer efficiently separates the skin and filters the seeds, and it processes tomatoes much faster than any hand mill or manual sieve. This unit is terrific for people who need to make sauces out of the bulk of tomatoes.
The rotation of the worm is 110 RPM, which helps it preserve enzymes in your sauces. This unit is also super easy to clean, as you can easily disassemble and take it apart. It’s worth the investment if you ask me!
Size and Stability
This meat slicer has a big hopper diameter and is 10 inches! It can fit a lot of apples or tomatoes at once to help you process them at a greater rate. There is an issue with the height as it sits pretty low, so if you’re tall, you’ll need to put a small stool under it to make it easy to use.
The good thing about sitting low is that the center of gravity sits pretty low. It makes this machine stable, and with the weight, there is almost no chance of it toppling over, so that’s a plus point!
Pros
- Super durable and of enormous size.
- High-quality materials.
- Can process 150kg of tomatoes per hour.
- It’s easy to disassemble and clean.
- The motor is powerful.
- A significant weight means better stability.
Cons
- Expensive compared to others.
- Pretty heavy for old people.
3. Ball freshTECH HarvestPro Sauce and Salsa Maker
The FreshTech HarvestPro Sauce Maker is a fantastic little mid-range tomato mill contraption. It’s absolute value for money, given the price. It’s one of the least expensive electric food mills, but that doesn’t mean it can’t shine!
It has incredible features such as a splash cover, wide chute, and even a blade that cleans the grinding screen automatically while it works! In addition, it’s super quiet; you won’t even notice it running!
Design and material
The design of this little machine is a treat for the eyes indeed. It looks modern with smooth edges and aesthetic color choices. It’s also designed with an extra-wide 2.5-inch chute, which saves you a lot of time, which means you can get busy doing more important things!
The splash guard is designed for added durability and to prevent any splatters or mess. The built-in cord pocket also makes it easy to store by ensuring it’s compact.
They also oversized the auger, enabling the machine to create a more consistent puree. The wiper is made from silicone which rotates, automatically reducing the clogging and resulting in more yield while you make your sauces.
The motor
Though this little machine looks fragile at first glance, that’s not the case when you use it! The motor inside is super strong and is designed for performance with an optimal torque that’ll make 15 quarts of sauce in just a few minutes!
Also, are you sick of food mills creating so much noise that it disturbs everyone? Well, they designed the motor inside this little machine in such a way that it ensures quiet operation.
Performance
The ball food strainer works super well in the kitchen as it removes almost all the seeds with its fine-mesh filter. The speed and quality are a pleasant surprise indeed. It’s made of plastic, so you’ll have to be careful not to overload it.
Cleaning it is also pretty easy. You can disassemble it, wash the parts in warm, soapy water, and wash carefully. After that, rinse well and use the brush (included) to clean the grinder cone and dry it. Storage is not an issue as it’s pretty compact.
Pros
- Looks cool.
- Compact.
- The motor is powerful.
- You’ll get smooth purees every time.
- Clean-up and storage are easy.
- Soundless.
- Comes with equipment to help you clean.
Cons
- Not that durable because of the plastic material.
- Replacement parts are an issue.
- For small-time kitchen use.
4. Weston 82-0102-W Deluxe Corded Electric Tomato Press Machine
Are you an avid home tomato sauce canner? Or do you have a lot of produce on hand that you’d like to puree? Then you should go for the electric Weston tomato strainer. It’s great for all kinds of sauces, and you can make it from garden-fresh produce in minutes!
This electric press is excellent for different canning other than sauces, such as seedless jam and even salsa!
Features and capacity
This tomato press not only looks great, but it also performs admirably. It’ll quickly separate the skin and seeds from your puree. It has an additional running function, reverse, which prevents jamming by allowing you to go in reverse!
The hopper has a tremendous capacity that can hold up to 1 gallon of produce! The motor is robust as it has a wattage of 250, and it’ll make quick work of any veggie or fruit in minutes!
This tomato strainer also comes with three stainless steel straining screens so you’ll have no issues no matter how thick you want the sauce.
Materials and durability
External body materials, such as the hopper and the tray, come in plastic, which isn’t too durable on its own, but the parts that matter make the internal motor from stainless steel, which won’t rust or corrode. The auger is made of plastic, so it’s not durable.
Therefore, this food mill will last a long time in the kitchen with proper care. Weston also included a stomper so that it safely pushes produce into the machine with no issues.
Daily use
This machine is excellent for daily use. After using it to make tomato sauce, you’ll never look back again!
The hopper will hold a decent amount of cut-up tomatoes, but the best way is to cut them up beforehand and feed them gradually into the strainer while pushing them with the stomper.
The stability of this machine is a bit lacking, though, as it’s lighter than most strainers.
Plus, it’s tall, which is suitable for taller people, but it affects stability and might topple if you’re not careful.
The parts of the Weston tomato strainer are removable, so cleaning it won’t be that big of a problem. The pieces are dishwasher-safe. This also dramatically cuts down the usage time, and you won’t have to worry about cleaning the parts yourself!
Pros
- The motor is powerful.
- Efficiently separates seeds and skins from the puree.
- Saves a lot of time.
- Lightweight.
- Suitable for taller people.
Cons
- Not that stable.
- Not much durable, made of plastic.
5. Weston Metal Tomato Masher, 1 Gallon Hopper, Stainless Steel
Next, we have another Weston product on the list, the Weston Manual tomato strainer. This time, it’s a manual tomato strainer that is relatively easy to use.
This is an excellent product; it’ll help you in the kitchen well, especially if you’re on a budget. It’ll help you strain tomatoes for years to come!
Materials and durability
They make all the external parts of this tomato strainer, besides the handle, from stainless steel. Stainless steel makes this product highly durable. It’s rust and corrosion-resistant, and as it’s a manual tomato strainer, it has fewer working parts and, therefore, has fewer components to break.
The hopper, splash guard, and body are all made from tough and durable stainless steel. However, they make augers and stompers from plastic, so that’s not great for internal part durability.
Stability and design
This tomato strainer has an ergonomic design with easy-to-use directions to make things helpful for the user. You can simply use the stomper to precisely push every single tomato into the sifter.
The 1-gallon stainless steel hopper is an excellent design feature as it allows you to churn out massive quantities of sauce with no issues. You can concentrate on turning the handle and not constantly adding new tomatoes.
It also comes with a dual-mount system with a suction cup at the base and a C-Clamp, which helps it to stay stable on any surface you might have the pleasure of using it on. The design also allows it to puree a variety of other products, such as carrots and apples.
Day-to-day usage
You will need to fill the hopper with some quartered tomatoes, which can hold many of them so that you can concentrate on churning. While you turn the handle, use the stomper to direct the tomatoes toward the auger. One issue is that the stomper is plastic, so it’s a bit flimsy.
Coming to the clean-up after use, you can remove all the plastic parts and throw them in the dishwasher, though the metallic body needs to be wiped down as it won’t be safe for the dishwasher. All in all, it’s a great product that will halve your canning time!
Pros
- The body is made from stainless steel.
- Large capacity.
- Stable thanks to suction cups.
- Comfortable handle.
- Accessible for quick cleanup and dishwasher-safe plastic parts.
- Very affordable.
- Excellent for fruits and vegetables.
Cons
- Plastic internal parts such as the auger.
- The screen is difficult to clean.
6. Norpro 1951 “The Original” Sauce Master – for Smashing Tomatoes
Next, we have the Norpro 1951 tomato strainer, dubbed “The Original.” My first impression of this machine is that it looks stunning. Although it doesn’t have many fancy or multifunctional features, this machine is excellent for making quality sauces.
The simplicity is a plus point as that makes it more durable.
Features and quality
If you want a straightforward machine that you can use any time you wish to, even when the power runs out or if there isn’t a power outlet nearby, then this product is for you. You can use it to puree vegetables and fruits other than tomatoes.
They make it from non-stick materials, making it easier for you to clean it up afterward. The crank and the parts which require you to exert force on them are made from durable materials, so you won’t have to worry about it breaking soon.
Capacity and filters
It has an enormous capacity of 3 quarts or 950 ounces, so that you can make large quantities of sauce in one go. It’ll remove the juice and pulp in a straightforward operation. This product has a standard fine mesh that is great for everyday use.
If you want more meshes, you can buy additional ones separately (for salsa or berries).
Performance
It’s excellent for daily usage in the kitchen indeed. You won’t have to worry about the power as it’s a manual tomato strainer. One thing to note: oil the center shaft before you use it. This will make the crank easier to turn and increase performance.
The machine can make consistent sauces as it’ll quickly remove the skin and seeds from apples and tomatoes. They make the auger from plastic in this machine, which doesn’t weigh much so you can move it around quickly too.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Easy to use
- Makes sauces without any mess
- The handle is comfortable.
- The capacity is good.
- Safe to use
Cons
- The clamp is small.
- The auger and hopper are plastic.
7. OXO Good Grips Tomato Milling Machine
Last but not least, you can eliminate the hassle of processing tomatoes by hand with the help of the OXO Good Grips Food Mill. You could go for an electric tomato strainer, but this machine will help you achieve a more consistent and delicate sauce or puree to your liking.
If you want to process small batches of tomatoes for dinner or just for later use, this is one of the simplest, easiest-to-use tomato strainers on our list. Say goodbye to the hassle while you make purees and welcome convenience into your life!
Materials and design
The construction of the OXO tomato strainer is out of stainless steel; even the bowl and discs are stainless steel so that you can say goodbye to staining and corrosion.
Besides the high-quality and durable materials used in this machine, you can immerse yourself into the grind with the spring-loaded lever, with which you can simply switch out the discs easily.
It also has a 3-in-1 design, and the parts are dishwasher-safe, so no hassle even after use! The handle provides leverage and reduces strain while turning it so that you can work for a longer time.
Daily usage
After some research, buying the OXO Good Grips Food Mill led to a great experience. This food mill will make quick work of any product and leave you with a delicious and smooth puree according to your liking.
It’s entirely made of stainless steel, so chill out about any durability issues! It also has a versatile base with foldable slip-proof legs, making it stable to work on any surface. It’s a great and stylish addition to your kitchen for small batches of produce.
Pros
- Made of stainless steel.
- The capacity is 2.2 liters.
- Comes with three discs.
- Stable.
- The handle is ergonomic.
- The spring-loaded lever is impressive.
Cons
- Manual, not suitable for large batches.
How Should You Buy the Best Tomato Milling Machines?
The best tomato presses, manual or electric, will save you precious time and fully utilize your tomatoes. They’re user-friendly, easy to clean up, and made from the finest materials. It’ll still be hard to discern the perfect one for yourself, as most of them look the same.
Worry not! We have a buying guide that you can read through to educate yourself a little, so read on!
Electric or manual tomato strainer?
We usually divide tomato strainers into two categories: electric and manual strainers.
Manual strainers are perfect for processing food that isn’t in a large quantity or if you aren’t short on time. Manual filters will cost much less than electric tomato strainers and will last longer as they have less complex parts.
They mainly depend on you to put in the manual labor to make them work and get the best out of the product.
Electric tomato strainers, on the other hand, operate automatically with no extra effort.
They may, however, cost a pretty penny and weigh heavier in the pocket. It’ll be worth it if you need to process large batches of tomatoes, as it’ll save you loads of time. Besides, you can sit back and relax; you don’t need to do any work or turn handles.
They require power outlets nearby, though this might limit mobility during usage. They’re also large and chunky, unsuitable for smaller counters, and the moving parts may wear off much faster.
Size and capacity
Tomato strainers come in a lot of different shapes and sizes. If you have a small kitchen, we suggest you go for a smaller tomato press as it won’t occupy too much area on your table.
By and large, the size of the hopper determines the strainer’s capacity. It’s the bowl-type thing that holds the raw tomatoes. A strainer with a bigger hopper will allow you to put more tomatoes in the machine at a time.
The built-in tray also determines the capacity of the strainer, and it’ll hold a more significant amount of tomato sauce if it’s more comprehensive. There isn’t any standard for the best size for tomato presses; it all depends on your usage and if you want to make large or small batches of sauce.
Type of tomato masher
Tomato strainers come in two types, standard and continuous. There isn’t much disparity between them except that continuous strainers work with a much higher output, and they’re perfect for pureeing large quantities of tomatoes at once.
Standard strainers eliminate your need to peel or core your tomatoes before making your sauces. They usually have a bottomless bowl underneath, an interchangeable bottom with holes, and they are great for processing small batches with little hassle.
The filter
Also called the food mill disc or sieve determines the consistency and texture of the tomato paste. It separates the paste from the skin and the seeds and prevents the seeds from getting ground with the sauce.
You’ll get a lumpy tomato sauce without this screen, and we don’t want that! Thus you should always check that your tomato strainer has a sound filter system that’ll give you smooth and lump-free paste every time!
Let’s look at the different tomato strainer discs,
- 5/32″ up to 4mm is good for stringy veggies and will let tomato seeds pass.
- ⅛’’-3mm is for general mashing, and tomato seeds may pass through.
- 5/64’’-2mm are for mashed potatoes and other vegetables. Tomato seeds won’t pass through.
- 1/16’’-1.5mm is for fine purees and tomato sauces.
- 1/32’’-1mm is for berry syrups and fruit juices.
The mounting base
Every tomato strainer will vibrate or move while you use it. The best ones will minimize this and keep the strainer stable, and they do this with a sturdy mounting base.
This helps you avoid accidental spills on the kitchen counter and prevents the machine from toppling and injuring you or causing a mess. The best tomato presses feature suction cups on their base, making them stick and stable on suitable surfaces.
An excellent mounting base will ensure easier day-to-day usage and convenience.
Maintenance
If you’ve ever worked with tomatoes, you’ll know how much of a mess they can make, so know that your tomato press will get messy when you make purees.
If you cannot keep your tomato press clean after use, it’s not just an inconvenience; it affects the machine’s efficiency and is a potential health hazard.
For a thorough clean-up, being able to disassemble a tomato strainer and clean all the parts one by one is necessary. This is a plus point if the components are dishwasher safe.
The blades of the tomato presser
The blades are another super-essential part of the tomato strainer. Ensure that the company you buy from manufactures them from stainless steel for rust- and corrosion-free experience. Also, sharpness is critical, but it’s not the only factor.
If they make the edges too angled, and there is a lot of distance between the grinding disc and the blade, then the blade won’t force your food through the sieve.
What about the hooks and handles in the tomato ricer or strainer?
The handle, crank, and hook of your manual tomato strainer can either ease or ruin your straining experience. When you buy a tomato strainer, ensure that you go for a tomato strainer that has a well-designed handle that gives you a comfy and good grip.
The crank for rotating the blade should also have a non-slip grip. The hooks balance the rotary food mills you place in a bowl or a pot. These hooks ensure the mill doesn’t slip off, making the work super-efficient.
Horsepower and speed
As with most electrical appliances that come with motors, it’s a significant consideration when buying an electric tomato strainer.
It would be best if you always looked for a unit with a higher wattage and horsepower, as they can run for longer without heating up and process more tomatoes per minute.
FAQs
What is the difference between a food mill and a food processor?
A food processor minces the food and makes a puree out of not only the food but the skin and seeds, while a food mill separates the skins and seeds from the puree.
How does a tomato squeezer/strainer work?
In a tomato strainer, the blade grabs and pushes the food. The spin generated pushes the food through the holes into the bowl below. The skin and seeds are separated according to the size of the filter.
How do you process tomatoes in a strainer?
Read the manual first and go with that. Otherwise, always start with cooked tomatoes until they are softened and cool enough to handle. Put the required disc inside and set up the food mill. Insert the tomatoes through the hopper in batches until the remaining skin and seeds are dry.
Empty the scraps when needed so that the blade keeps running smoothly.
How do you clean a tomato strainer?
To keep your tomato strainer working efficiently, scrape the residue from the hopper as needed in between batches. Once you’ve used it, disassemble it and rinse any remaining food particles left on it.
If the parts are dishwasher-safe (mentioned in the manufacturer’s instructions), then you can just put the components inside a dishwasher.
