Food mill - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A food mill is a food preparation utensil for mash

Mash

-Military:* Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, a United States Army medical unit serving in a combat area of operations-Entertainment:* MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, by Richard Hooker** MASH , a 1970 dark comedy based on the novel...

ing and sieving

Sieve

A sieve, or sifter, separates wanted elements from unwanted material using a woven screen such as a mesh or net. However, in cooking, especially with flour, a sifter is used to aerate the substance, among other things. A strainer is a type of sieve typically used to separate a solid from a liquid...

soft food

Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...

s. Typically, a food mill consists of three parts: a bowl, a bottom plate with holes like those in a colander

Colander

A colander is a bowl-shaped kitchen utensil with holes in it used for draining food such as pasta or rice.The perforated nature of the colander allows liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside...

, and a crank

Crank (mechanism)

A crank is an arm attached at right angles to a rotating shaft by which reciprocating motion is imparted to or received from the shaft. It is used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. The arm may be a bent portion of the shaft, or a separate arm...

fitted with a bent metal blade which crushes the food and forces it through the holes in the bottom plate as the crank is turned. The bottom plate may be a permanent part of the device, or interchangeable plates with different hole sizes may be supplied. Three corrugated feet on the base, or two ears on the rim plus the handle, fit on the rim of a cooking pot and hold the mill in position over it.

Food mills are usually made of stainless steel

Stainless steel

In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....

or aluminum. The bowl may be plastic

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

, particularly for smaller sizes marketed for preparing baby food. Older "heirloom" utensils were usually made from tinplate.

This piece of kitchen equipment, of long-proven efficiency, bridges the gap between a sieve

Sieve

(or tamis

Tamis

A tamis is a kitchen utensil, shaped somewhat like a snare drum, that acts as a strainer, grater, or food mill. A tamis has a cylindrical edge, made of metal or wood, that supports a disc of fine metal, nylon, or horsehair mesh. To use one, the cook places the tamis above a bowl and adds the...

, china cap, or chinoise) and the electric blender

Blender (device)

A blender is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, puree, or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender jar with blade at the bottom, rotated by a motor in the base...

or food processor

Food processor

A food processor is a kitchen appliance used to facilitate various repetitive tasks in the process of preparation of food. Today, the term almost always refers to an electric-motor-driven appliance, although there are some manual devices also referred to as "food processors".Food processors are...

. Its function is similar to that of a potato ricer

Potato ricer

A potato ricer is a kitchen implement used to process potatoes by forcing it through small holes, which are often not much wider than a grain of rice. Mashed potatoes is a food commonly made using this utensil. In technical terms, it works by a process of extrusion. A potato ricer can also be used...

or "hob" type of spätzle maker

Spätzle

Spätzle are a type of egg noodle of soft texture found in the cuisine of Germany and of Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Alsace and South Tyrol.-History:The geographic origin of spätzle is not precisely...

.

Uses of a food mill include removing the seeds from cooked tomatoes, removing pulp or larger pieces from foods (creating apple jelly or any type of purée), and making mashed potatoes or spätzle

Spätzle

. A metal sieve used with a wooden spoon or pestle may be found more effective for puréeing fibrous foodstuffs such as marmalade oranges

Bitter orange

The name "bitter orange", also known as Seville orange, sour orange, bigarade orange, and marmalade orange, refers to a citrus tree and its fruit. Many varieties of bitter orange are used for their essential oil, which is used in perfume and as a flavoring...

See also