Not to put a damper on it, but there was a person here this past summer that had bought something similar and was concerned about loud scraping sound. She didn't seem to like it as she had expected it to produce a strained product very fast, without any prepping beforehand. I wouldn't run it dry, but suggest that you do give it a try for a few store bought toms just to see how well it does. The Villaware/Roma/Waston type that uses a spiral auger places quite a lot of force in the conical screens and they can really do a fast job without getting jammed with skins or seeds. Foleys are only useful for things like cooked apples and a sauce. You can use the Foley for tomatoes too, but they lack the essential force and design to push waste out of the way while giving you all the juice and pulp out the sieve. Many Itlian resurants have motorized versions of a similar to Villaware. These pro models tend to be a bit messy, but are very fast at creating a sauce. A local resturant uses plastic wrap to cover the sieve so it doesn't spatter everywhere. Its even shown in their local commercials.

She may be the person I bought this from ! Not one like it have i seen. When an internet search doesn't turn up anything, it's labeled obscure imo. Even someone panning it is welcome.

It does click as it turns. Not a big deal for me but i could see how it could bother someone. I also am used to cooking down somewhat in a cauldron.

So with my expectations maybe a little lower than the previous owner :), i'm holding out hope that it will be a fairly handy little machine.

If i don't have to stop and clean it out frequently will be the true test. I'm wondering how the skins and seeds retreat. if i can grab them and pitch them with my hand and not have to disassemble and wash out the screen, it may be a keeper.

One thing i'll say for it, it is solid, each piece is metal.

Yes, Italy has always made some heavy duty stuff. Check out their pasta rolling machines. Not sure where the waste ends up, so thats up to you to seee what it does once you try in on a few toms. The Villaware/Roma/Weston units push the seeds and skins out yhe smaller end of the conical sieves, and they even added a clear plastic piece that snaps on the end and brings the was out further, where a small bowl can be placed to catch it all. For me, cooking the sauce down to make it thicker was usually the case, but now, since I usually grow mostly meaty types of tomatoes, they contain less water and seeds. Most are bigger than the hopper size, so I cut them in halves and dig out most of the seeds and water before its put in the food strainer. It comes out like a nice thick sauce to begin with, which for me requires less cooking time. I think the person ho had one said the waste doesn't come out easily, but you have to dig it out if it clogs up too much. From the photos, its really hard to know what it goes, oe where the strained stuff goes. Worst case, it just mases the toms up and all the mush comes out at one place.. NOT good then! If you search this Harvest forum, and type in Villaware, it should show you many photos, and maybe even that one you have and its unhappy previous owner??

That looks like a high quality piece of equipment. Are you sure it is for tomatoes? Could it be a grater? There are all sorts of Italian made kitchen devices.

Jim

Yes, come to think of it, there looks like a grater inside the bottom m of the hopper and without any waste shute, it may well be designed for cheese grating. Suggest that you search for cheese graters as this might be one for grating hard cheeses.

It looks interesting to me - if you don't like the way it performs it makes good kitchen art :)

Try a few different things through it and see how it does. I'm not so sure about store bought tomatoes right now though, any I found in two stores this week were either expensive AND grown in Mexico, or even more expensive $3.49/lb and on the vine from Canada.

Be sure to let us know how it works for you...

will do. it'll be a no electric backup to the kitchen aid and attatchment hoping to buy for next year. wal mart had them on black friday for 130, but i'm not a black friday kind of person. no way. wait and pay full price or hope for another regular sale in peace.
considering all things, versatility and price i think it's the best tool.

but if this thing turns out to be surprisingly effective, i'll save the money and tell the story of what a great score this was... while trying to never break a part on it. heh.
it does look like from the pictures that it could be some kind of grater but if you had a closer look, there's no abrasion on the inside of the sieve. both sides slick.

the sieve part is has the exact feel as the sieve and pestel i suffered through one more year last year.

The Kitchen Aid model only offers a single screen hole size. If you wanted to do things like seedy berries, it would pass seeds through. Also, things like minced tomatoes can be done with the larger holed screen used on the Villaware models. I too scanned teh web and didn't see nay thing even closely resembling this unit. The only reason I suggestd store bought tomatoes was for a test. You cna do what you like with the finished product. But what you relaly want to see is how well this device works with any tomatoes in general. If waste removal is an issue, you would quickly fnd this out. Find cheaper tomatoes in stores, some cherry types, or ones that are reduced in price that look a little older or blemished. The sieve/pestel type is very slow compared to even a Foley. It might be nice for a single tomato or two, but when you have 200+ plants and bushels to tomatoes needing to get made into sauce, you need speed and efficiency.

well, the results are in. the piece of equipment shown in the first picture was an epic failure. no value whatsoever. stay away people. ended up with a roma, which works just fine. i also now have a kitchenaide but have no attachment for it yet.

Better off with the Roma, as you can use the optional finer holed screen for seedy berries, and the 1/4 inch holed screen for minced tomatoes for salsa. Also cna be used for grapes. I kind of thought that old clunker was not very good. I was looking at kernal cutters and one brand has a cover over the cutter blade to hold a half cup of kernals. If I am doing 100 ears of corn, thats not going to work. I use a thing called a corn zipper and its all stainless steel. I hold the cob with one hand and pull down through the rows of kernals with the other. One stroke and you have removed two rows of kernels at once the full length of teh cob. Bagged nearly 20 pounds of corn, and still have a few more ears left out there..

"The Italian Tomato Press from ChefÂs Catalog is actually a poorly manufactured and designed product, but the truth is, it gets the job done pretty quickly. (Pass the tomato skins through twiceÂyouÂll be surprised how much more pulp youÂll get)."

This is from Eugenia Bones blog - Denver Post

Here is a link that might be useful: Eugenia Bones Blog Aug 2009

If your talking about that dinky little red plastic one, its hardly worth the effort. Its not a multi finctional device either, compared to a Roma. With the Roma, you can extract juices from grapes, get seedless raspberry juices, mince a LOT of tomatoes, and do a lot more tomato sauce in less time than any other method. The metal one at Chefs looks the the dog that another person tried and found it to be nearly useless. Check out the Roma machine! They even have a motor attchment for it.

The site link below has small to VERY serious machines.

Here is a link that might be useful: Food Strainer photos and prices