Using a Food Strainer to can sauces, Salsa etc

(Image courtesy of Amazon.com)

I learned how to make applesauce from a dear friend when I lived in Oregon. At the time, she used a cone-shaped sieve that sat in a stand inside a bowl. Boiled apples that had been quartered were placed in the sieve and the sauce was pressed out of the fruit with a wooden Pestle.

When I left Oregon, I purchased one of these devices for myself and used it. It was laborious and I used it because I didn't want to waist the fruit I had been given.

Then, I saw the devide above in a local store...and grabbed it. Oh, I had been promoted out of Kindergarten straight in to College with this device. It seperates the sauce from the seeds, skins, and stems. The sauce comes out of a screen and the rest comes is deposited out another opening for easy disposal. It is much, much faster than the former method I described. I used it to make Applesauce the first year.....and it was wonderful.

This year, I had an abundance of Pears. So, I decided to make Pearsauce. Here are photos of hte process:

Here are the Pears cooking in a Stockpot.






These are Pears that have just been taken out of boiling water.




I placed the cooked fruit into the "hopper" and began pushing it into the sieve.



When I turned he crank, the food is moved forward into the screen by a large plastic type of a screw. In the screen the puree is separated from other rest of the rest of the fruit. You can see the puree sliding into the bowl below. (The photo looks a bit "messy", but you don't get messy, the device does. Then, it's a quick rinse and into the dishwasher to be cleaned).




Put the puree into a pot, flavor to your liking and process as you would Applesauce.


Now, how would I use this? It can be used in breads, to eat by itself, or you can make it into leather. In the case of my family, they will eat leather all day long, but not applesauce etc.

This device is the Back to Basics 220 Food Strainer & Sauce Maker. There are also other screens that you can purchase.



I just purchased these additional screens. One is for Tomatoes, one is for berries, and the last is for pumpkin. I plan to try to make Salsa very soon and will attempt the pumpkin one in the next few weeks.

If you have never canned, this looks a little intimidating. However, if you can put a puzzle together, you can use this device. It makes sauces with quick work. My sister just reported that she used hers to can 150 quarts of applesauce. She is much more industrious than I am!

If you are unsure whether you need one of these or not, find a friend or neighbor who has one. Try it with them. Recently, my neighbor borrowed my device, put up her own "organic baby food", returned the device, and the next day went into the hospital to have her baby. If a pregnant (ready-to-deliver) woman can do this.....what is your excuse?

Have a great day!