I use mine only for jam to remove skin and/or seeds, purees for jellies and syrups, fruit butters, and "saucy" stuff like that.

I like my salsa with some texture, so it is DH's job to chop since he is a whiz with a knife. I have tried using a food processor, but I found I had to drain the onions and peppers for quite a while, otherwise they made the salsa way too runny. Or the pieces were too big/too small in the same batch. I am food processor challenged though, and usually pulse for three or four nanoseconds more than I should :-)

Do you put chilies in your salsa?

With the Victorio and using the salsa screen it can be a big time saver but the texture of the end result is more "bits" not chunks. Best I can describe it is a very coarse, rough textured sauce.But if you have no objections to that texture then you can just trow all the ingredients into the pot, cook for the called for time, and then run it all through the mill, reheat and fill the jars. Seeds and skins are gone and the bits of onions, peppers, and tomatoes are all mixed together.

Dave

I have not used the salsa screen I purchased but to be honest - I dont care if its only tiny bits/pieces of tomato instead of chunks since it is saving me HOURS and HOURS of time. I did think about just cutting up one or two large tomatoes to add 'chunk' to my salsa but then again I am into saving time - a mom with young children does not have time to waste!

I have not used the salsa screen I purchased but to be honest - I dont care if its only tiny bits/pieces of tomato instead of chunks since it is saving me HOURS and HOURS of time. I did think about just cutting up one or two large tomatoes to add 'chunk' to my salsa but then again I am into saving time - a mom with young children does not have time to waste!

(yes I do use chiles to the person that asked that question!)

I think for me it will be more about better planning of the tomato varieties I plant. Because to the person that said HOURS, that is no exaggeration. The day I canned my salsa, I started the process at 9:30am and I wasn't ready to start cooking everything until 2:00pm. Most of that time was peeling, chopping, and draining tomatoes. Ugh!

Luckily the end result is delicious!

And the Victorio salsa cans with no problems assuming you just drain them some first. Salsa is supposed to be soupy/sloshy when canned anyway.

Dave

Sorry to get OT, but would the pumpkin screen be good for zucchini relish or piccalilli (I already chopped the veggies for the pickle relish but have lots more veggies to use)?

lucille - if Tigerellas are that small, can you just peel them and throw them in whole? What are they, the size of cherry tomatoes?

Not IMO. Too fine. Relishes are normally made with a food grinder using the medium blade to get the right texture, not a tomato mill regardless of the screen used. Big difference between a grinder that cuts the food up and a mill that just smashes.

Dave

I am not sure what type of tomatoes you are using but this year I was able to grow some seeds I received from my Amish neighbors, I think they called them Pink Ladies. They are huge and really solid so instead of doing the boiling then peeling route I just cut them in half or quarters then sliced off the top&bottom then peeled the skin off like you would a potato with a knife!! It saved a ton of time. I did it in the sink and then would rinse off most of the tomato seeds and jell sack - then I diced them for my Annie's Salsa.

Last year I didnt have these nice tomatoes, just roma and beefsteak so I would freeze them then after they were frozen the skins just peel right off under hot water. I would then dice them, while frozen, and let them drain in a large strainer.

So, best of luck with your Salsa... Every time I make it I say "never again" but then when it is done I am so happy!

9 x 13 pan for roasting tomatoes and peppers (I prefer this to boiling)
Large tub of Ice water
Cutting board and knife
Compost bin
Strainer and bowl to catch juice

First thing (after washing everything) was to roast the tomatoes and peppers under the broiler in the oven. I waited until the skins visibly cracked, then put in the ice water.

Then, I'd grab a tomato from the ice water, peel it, and put it on my cutting board to chop. After coring, I'd usually quarter the tomato, then pull all the seeds and "goop" out into the compost. Then chop with a knife and put in a 4 cup measuring cup.

Once the measuring cup was full I dumped the contents into a mesh strainer over a bowl to drain the tomatoes and catch the juice.

I thought about using a food processor to reduce labor, but I wasn't sure how to get the measuring right. If I put tomatoes in the processor whole, how do I know when I've gotten to 8 cups? That's why I did everything by hand.