Cooking More

[Wi11ow]

I have been looking at a few gadgets to do some cooking outside my comfort level. But I can't get more than one or 2... Have you used any of these? How do they work? Do they do what they say they will do?

 

1- I am looking at a food mill to make mashed potatoes, tomato sauce, apple sauce, veggie purees for soups.

I get mixed reviews online for how good it is at potatoes.

 

2 - I also like the potato ricer for many of the same things including mashed cauliflower like mashed potatoes and all of the above

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3-  I think this would be great for veggies - I am chopping, cutting, dicing every day! soups, carrot sticks, etc, make veggie chips, veggie noodles, all kinds of things. Besides it is soo cool.

Does anyone have something like this? Does it WORK??

 

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4-And I have a little food processor. But I am also looking at a cuisenart 4 cup little bit larger one. I use it almost every day too. And I want to make peanut/almond butter, etc. Mine won't handle it.

 

I am leaning more toward the ricer than the food mill, but does anyone have experience??

 

Thank you so much! Do you have a favorite recipe or food that you make with said item??

 

I am going to make apple butter - core and cook apples, use ricer/mill to make apple sauce, put in crock pot and cook down and then add cinnamon. yummmm! And home made Hummus too!

[mamaw]

I applaud  you for  learning how to make  foods  from scratch... I  have a food mill  ( large one)  for  canning   tomatoes  & sauses.. That  is the only time  I use it.....

I  have  a  small coffee mill used  for  grinding  up seeds......

 

While  most  of  the foods  you mentioned  can be easily found Ie:  applesauce , ect.  I no longer  feel  like  the gluten-free lifestyle is holding me  hostage....

  if  finances  are  a problem  then homemade  is another  reason to live  in the kitchen....everyone  says  to me  your homemade  is better.....

[Wi11ow]

It is a lot to do with finances. And some because I want to.... The only jar of PB I found without soy was almost $7 and smaller than the regular $4 jar of skippy.... and I can't find a single tomato sauce I can eat. The tomato paste is just tomato and salt, but not the sauce. Weird. I don't like tomatoes. But I will blend them and put in lots of things like chili, soup, salsa, etc. I guess I have found products - even dairy, soy, gluten-free mayo. It's even good. But it is so expensive relatively. So I would like to make some of it.

 

My intention is to make big batches of things like chili, soup, stew, chicken salad, and freeze, so I don't have to cook every day. My freezer is full right now - but I can't figure out anything to eat!! I can't figure out what is in there!! LMAO

 

My brother and SIL gave me a huge allergy free cook book and I can't wait to start!!

[kareng]

I make applesauce- chop up apples, cook, smoosh with a hand potatoe smoosher. If you want the apple sauce really unchunky - use a blender or your food processor. I wouldn't understand a ricer or food mill. same for mashed potatoes - you would cook then smoosh. If you like the mashed potatoes really creamy, you could use a hand mixer or your big mixer.

Nice Cuisinarts can slice, too. A good Kitchenaid mixer has attachment you can add to do things, too.

[Wi11ow]

I guess I should have started by saying I don't have any gadgets anymore.... lots of pots and pans. Lots and lots of tupperware and glass dishes...cooking stuff  But somehow have sold or given away all my kitchen gadgets, during several moves over the years. Not even a blender (or a toaster oven anymore!).

 

I do have a dehydrator that was a gift I am starting to have lots of fun with! I only have a little 2 cup food processor I've had forever that I use for everything!

 

A ricer is just a square metal bucket like thing maybe 4' x 4' with holes in the bottom and long handles. You fill it with what ever, and squeeze - makes really smooth mashed potatoes or apple sauce. Cheaper than a mill. Easy to clean. Probably more thorough than a smoosher, but not sure.

 

A cuisinart would proly do it all!

[kareng]

A potato smoosher:

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[Adalaide]

I think the most useful thing on your list is the food processor. I really wish I had a larger one.

 

I'm not sure if you mean you want to make small nearly individual batches of applesauce and apple butter, or large batches to freeze and/or can. If you want large batches, and with things like sauces and purees, you'll definitely want a food mill and not a ricer. With a mill, you boil, skim foam, pop them in and crank out smooth apple puree. With a ricer you'll be spending your entire day, to be blunt, screwing off with skins and seeds and all that crap plus it'll take forever to get a halfway decent sized batch of anything through a ricer. Sure, they make nice mashed potatoes but so does a potato masher.

 

Just an opinion on the spiral slicer. For my money I wouldn't waste my money unless I already had a nice mandoline. You say it would be nice for chopping and dicing and all that, but if it can't simply slice things I don't see how it helps at all. A mandoline on the other hand will slice your veggies for you. With different blades, you can get ones that can make multiple sized slices and cuts. It will be far more useful than a spiral cutter as a day to day tool.

[Wi11ow]

Thank you for the advice!

Good advice for the ricer. I guess I just thought it was kind of cool...    I won't be canning. I will probably make enough to freeze several servings at a time. I am sure the food processor will be better - can do peanut butter and hummus with it too!!

 

I bought a $20 mandolin slicer. It was a piece of junk. The onion fell apart, the zucchini wouldn't stay on it, and I couldn't get anything to slice or do anything at all. I took it back. What it claims to do it what i want. It was a serious waste of time for me. I was very disappointed. It looked like a great tool - slice dice, etc. I do carrot sticks, celery, zucchini, onion, mushrooms, daikon and apples almost daily. By hand.

 

Now I am going to be dehydrating stuff too. Although mostly meet and some fruits. Can you recommend a good slicer?

 

Thanks!!

[LauraTX]

I would definitely start with a good food processor.  If you want something that really does it all for batch prep of stuff, check out the kitchenaid stand mixer and all the attachments.  The downside is the base price plus a hefty price for each attachment.  With the right attachment you can make great applesauce and purees with the seeds and skin strained off.

 

A food mill is going to be big and bulky to use, but if you are doing big batches of stuff it works great and is less hassle, just takes a lot of storage space.  If you want to go for a more compact ricer, get one that has either adjustable hole sizes (Oxo has one) or one with multiple plates.  That way you don't have to buy another gadget, haha.  But basically, the food mill and a ricer will do the same thing, except a ricer can squeeze liquid out of things and a mill wouldn't be so good at it.  Since you are looking at tomato sauce and applesauce, I would say go for a food mill.

 

 

Earlier this year I bought this mandoline slicer that does fry shapes and julienne too, and it works great.  Easy to clean, stores compactly.

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It is a nice balance of price and functionality.  It is sharp as heck so use the food guard to prevent sliced fingers

[Wi11ow]

Thanks for all the great info! I was just at the store - got an apple corer/slicer and they had a potato smoosher (is that right term) for 4.99!!!

 

You guys are convincing me to give the mandolin slicer another try.... I can make do with my food processor for a while.

 

I found the ingredients to make hummus! And going to try and make egg free, dairy and soy free ranch dressing  too!

 

 

Now - is the mission going to be a nice food processor for the dips and sauces and salsas?? OR a slicer for all the nice veggies!!??

[Adalaide]

The problem with your mandoline slicer wasn't that in general they are bad, it was that you just had a bad one. I've done that too. When you buy a quality one you'll see a world of difference.

[mamaw]

Have  you  checked  out  Contadina  products for  tomato  sauce, paste?   What  is in  it  that  you  can't   use?  I'm  curious... 

[Wi11ow]

I have to admit I don't remember now - it might have been maltodextrin. I know that may or may not be wheat or can be corn or potato.... Or the ever present natural flavoring.... the tomato paste can says: tomato. The tomato sauce can had 5 or 6 ingredients. At some point in this new journey,  I just got burned out checking all the labels. I took soy and gluten out at the same time... I just got tired of looking everything up!!

[BlessedMommy]

My favorite kitchen appliance, hands down, is my Vitamix blender. After I got that, I rarely found much need for a food processor. 

[Wi11ow]

The problem with your mandoline slicer wasn't that in general they are bad, it was that you just had a bad one. I've done that too. When you buy a quality one you'll see a world of difference.

Good to know! It's really a slicer I want. I'll give it another try.

Thanks!

[KCG91]

Can you get a top loading food processor that slices veggies when you drop them in through a spout at the top?(sorry if that's already been suggested - you guys have different names for kitchen bits!) My boyfriend's one does that and it works surprisingly well. Having survived three years at uni with just a hand held stick blender I am so, so sadly excited to 'grow up' and get a food processor

[sweetsailing]

I just bought a mandolin.  Best thing I ever purchased.  I have been wanting one for quite awhile now.  This is what I purchased.

 

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A bit pricey, however I think it was worth it.  I made homemade coleslaw this weekend with it and it worked great shredding the cabbage and carrots

[GottaSki]

We use our mandolin daily and my old food processor for huge slicing or spreading jobs....like making cauliflower rice for a crowd or when I make veggie soup I make huge batches and freeze.

My foos processor is a hand-me down from a friends grandma...is ridiculously heavy but works great and makes almond butter like a champ! Took a bit of cleaning when I brought it home...it was spotless but had lived in a kitchen with gluten for at least 30 to 40 years.

Other favorite gadget is my spirilizer....bought in the past couple years from amazon for about $25. I make zucchini noodles and the men love curly French fries ... So they use it often too

[Wi11ow]

Hi! And thanks for all the great advice!! I'm going to get a mandolin. I've decided to give it a try. I've watched the videos on Utube and it really looks like it can do great stuff with lots of different types of veggies!

 

And as soon as it's in the budget - a cuisinart food processor! There is not way my little one will make peanut/almond butter. It did the hummus ok, but didn't really get creamy.

 

It's been fun reading what everyone has to say, and doing the shopping online, dreaming about all the new and exciting dishes I am going to make!

The processor I picked out shows a top loading opening that I can add food while it is running  and says it will slice. The little one I have has the motor on the top and tends to blend, not slice.

 

I had a set back with unintentional G... really stupid. I opened a new bottle of Omega3/ fish oil. I thought I had read all the labels of everything 3 times... 4 days I took them before I figured out why I kept feeling worse... Anyway, I am still recovering so shopping will have to wait a while. I'll give an update about all the fancy food when I do get to the store and get my new toy!

 

Thanks again!!