Best Food Mill to Buy for Christmas

This post includes a product recommendation. This is my honest opinion on what the best product I think is to buy and what I would purchase for myself. You will find Amazon affiliate links but I have not been paid by the maker of this product to endorse it.

One of my favorite kitchen gadgets that you see me talking about a lot on the blog is a food mill. I use them for making applesauce, tomato sauce, even mashed potatoes. They come in handy for those wanting to make baby food. It's a huge time saver in the kitchen. I love being able to make applesauce without having to do any peeling - that's what the food mill is for. I think it's an underrated tool that most people have forgotten about. It would make a great Christmas present for someone this year.

I have been noticing that my food mill is starting to look more and more like my 13 year old winter ravaged mini-van. It was given to me by someone wanting to rid themselves of one more item cramping up their cabinets only to later realize it's usefulness and asking to borrow back. Needless to say the mill has seen better days plus it's a big pain in the butt to clean! I have been looking up food mills to add to my Amazon wish list for this Christmas season. I have selected which food mill I think would make the best Christmas present. It had to meet each of the four criteria below.

1. Easy to clean
This no. 1 on my list. It has to be easy to clean. I have owned one for years that is not easy to clean. Why? Because it does not come apart. It needs to be able to come apart, so that you can easily clean all the components. If it doesn't, you will be struggling to get into every crevice.

2. Stainless steel inside
I don't want the bowl to be plastic. I need it to be strong and I don't want it to look bad after the first use. One of the main things I use a food mill for is tomato sauce. They would stain up the plastic really bad, really fast.

3. Must fit over pots or bowls without falling off
The food has to go somewhere. The mill needs to fit over a bowl or a pot with it being completely stable. The one I own now has hooks on the bottom which is good and bad. It is good in that when it fits on a bowl it fits really well. But if I don't have the right bowl or pot handy, it can be a balancing act that I want no part of.

4. Easy to grip for good control
If it's not easy to work with you aren't going to use it. It's just like that shirt that you always have hanging in your closet but never comes off the hanger because you just don't feel comfortable in it. The handle must be sturdy and easy to hold onto.

My Top Choice for Food Mill
If you were buying a food mill for Christmas for your favorite foodie family member or friend, the food mill that I would suggest is the Oxo Good Grips Food Mill.

Why Buy the Oxo Food Mill
Criteria 1 - Easy to clean
Yes it does come with 3 different discs, which is a cool feature I have lived without and could continue doing so. But the fact that it comes with 3 discs, means you can take them out - which means you can clean it easily. Score! 1 out of 1. The discs are removable via a spring loaded lever.

Criteria 2 - Stainless steel inside
It's plastic on the outside, but the inside is completely stainless steel - ideal for throwing hot foods directly in and not of that staining I am concerned about. 2 out of 2.

Criteria 3. Must fit over pots or bowls without falling off
I like the legs on this thing. They are really big, way more substantial than what it is on my current mill. They have a non-slip covering on them. The one I have now is more like clips and they are made of metal so unless I have the perfect bowl, I have had it slip off and make a mess. Even though the legs on the Oxo are larger, they do fold up for easy storage. 3 out of 3.

Criteria 4. Easy to grip for good control
This one I have to just trust my eyes, since I can't feel it for myself. The top handle and the side handle are large. They look very easy to hold onto. I don't want any puny wire handles.

The OXO Good Grips Food Mill meet all the criteria. A lot of other food mills I looked at meet 2 or 3 of them, but not all 4. I found some with interchangeable discs but they didn't have very good feet. I want my next food mill to be an OXO, I highly recommend you give this one a try as well.