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When to puree, or food mill?

Hawaiianero said:
I only food mill during the cooking down part.
 
Same here.  I put the ferment ingredients through a food processor before it gets jarred up and then through the food mill during cookdown before bottling.
 
That way pepper seeds and skin don't make it through to the final sauce.  ;)
 
SmokenFire said:
 
Same here.  I put the ferment ingredients through a food processor before it gets jarred up and then through the food mill during cookdown before bottling.
 
That way pepper seeds and skin don't make it through to the final sauce.   ;)
Do you know if the higher end blenders like vitamix or blendtec can avoid the food mill process ?
 
SavinaRed said:
Do you know if the higher end blenders like vitamix or blendtec can avoid the food mill process ?
yes they will...we have a Ninja that works really well. You should really only have to 'process' the veggies once, unless you ferment them in bigger chunks.  This process is solid:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic3pYssr_Ws
 
I always bought mine back up to a boil after going through the final food mill. I figured it should be brought back up to temperature but perhaps I am incorrect here.
 
The main reason though is to boil it down to the consistency I want for bottling.
 
I am rethinking the discarding of the mash though.. did I miss out on some great powder blends???? damn.. I am bummed
 
Siouxzn said:
I always bought mine back up to a boil after going through the final food mill. I figured it should be brought back up to temperature but perhaps I am incorrect here.
 
The main reason though is to boil it down to the consistency I want for bottling.
 
I am rethinking the discarding of the mash though.. did I miss out on some great powder blends???? damn.. I am bummed
 
You are indeed correct Siouxzn, bringing back to temp after food mill is necessary for proper sanitation (and thickness!).
 
Discarding the spent mash does mean you missed out though; I spread the spent mash on the fruit leather trays of my dehydrator and then grind them once dried to make all sorts of excellent spice blends.  You've got the bug pretty good though, so it's not like you won't be making a bunch more sauce/powders...   :)
 
 
You've got the bug pretty good though, so it's not like you won't be making a bunch more sauce/powders...   :)
 
True! I am hooked and cannot wait to try more ideas next season. I just picked the rest of my pods (all un-ripe) and hopeing I will maybe get one more weekend of sauce making.
 
I have a grocery bag full of green bishops crowns. Pretty bummed those didnt get ripe
 
Siouxzn said:
 
True! I am hooked and cannot wait to try more ideas next season. I just picked the rest of my pods (all un-ripe) and hopeing I will maybe get one more weekend of sauce making.
 
I have a grocery bag full of green bishops crowns. Pretty bummed those didnt get ripe
 
Spread them out on a sunny window sill or counter top and they should ripen up.  Keep moisture off them.  
ColdSmoke said:
This is a good thread...I'm getting a food mill now  :P
 
Here is a good thread to check out.  :)
 
Some fibrous things like ginger, mango, rhubarb, etc... don't blend well unless you have a really nice blender. I use the food mill for that. Also the food mill will do 2 additional things for you, 1. removing that stuff will ultimately give you a thinner sauce (if that's what your after), and 2. you can take the pulp from the mill and make powder with it.
 
I'd love to see a video of pepper mash going thru a food mill. It's still not clear to me if all you get is pure liquid or if most of the flesh passes thru. I'd only use a mill if the flesh passes
 
Genetikx said:
I'd love to see a video of pepper mash going thru a food mill. It's still not clear to me if all you get is pure liquid or if most of the flesh passes thru. I'd only use a mill if the flesh passes
 
Most of that depends on what size screen used when milling the food; larger holes allow more to pass through, smaller holes allow less.  I use all three screens of my food mill for various sauces, though the largest screen can allow small seeds through.  When the medium screen is used almost all the pepper flesh is pushed through and only skin and seed is left behind.
 
SmokenFire said:
 
Most of that depends on what size screen used when milling the food; larger holes allow more to pass through, smaller holes allow less.  I use all three screens of my food mill for various sauces, though the largest screen can allow small seeds through.  When the medium screen is used almost all the pepper flesh is pushed through and only skin and seed is left behind.
That's what I'm looking for, only skin and seed left behind. Medium screen it is for me. A video would still be cool, couldn't find one on YouTube. Thanks for the info!
 
Jeff H said:
Seeds that are obliterated by a blender can give sauces a gritty consistency. Maybe a Ninja can chop them so fine that you don't notice, maybe not. I haven't tried. A food mill is much cheaper. I bought one and never looked back.

I processed a batch of 2 year fermented tobascos last month. Talk about a ton of skins and seeds. :eek: No issue at all for the foodmill.
 
 
I have an Ninja Ultimate and it doesn't get my powder fine enough, so I am sure it won't do seeds well enough either.  I ferment small pieces, cook down, food mill, chill, blend for a smooth consistency, then cook, adjust for taste and ph, and finally bottle.
 
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