Back to Basics Extra Coarse Salsa Screen (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

I bought this hoping to save myself the time of boiling the tomatoes, peeling off the skins, squeezing out the seeds, and putting them in the food processor when making salsa. This one simple step would be a great time saver and leave a fraction of the dishes to clean. I have the apple/screen and use it for tomato soup and tomato juice, which turn out great! So the salsa screen would be great for salsa, right?Alas, it was runny and it seemed the consistency was not MUCH thicker than the regular screen. Unlike the regular screen, I needed to cut the stem and top of the core out because with the bigger holes pieces of that got through as well as some of the skin. I used the equivalent of Roma tomatoes, definitely not a watery variety. I simmered for hours and hours and added cornstarch to try to get the consistency right, but it never did get there. For the next batch I gave up and went back to the old fashioned way.I'm not ready to give up on it yet; there are plenty of people out there who give decent reviews on this screen. Next time i'll cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze some of the liquid out. Maybe it would help to soften them a little in boiling water as well? Either way it cuts into the time-saving benefit of using the screen.I gave it 3 stars at this time because i'm not sure yet if it's as bad as it seems to be for me. I couldn't find any Back to Basics recipes or instructions online to give me tips to improve my experience.

After researching several strainer/saucemakers on Amazon and other sites, I decided to purchase the Back to Basics Food Strainer & Sauce Maker with pumpkin screen, salsa screen, and berry screen. I have used all but the berry screen but wanted to make sure I had everything that worked together so I didn't have to look for parts later - such a hassle. I only use this a few times a year so I did not want to spend big bucks on an electric heavy duty model.Putting the Food Strainer & Sauce Maker together the first time was a little daunting and very time consuming but it does get easier the more you use it. It is a messy process but I have learned where to strategically place dishes and plastic on the floor so it's not so hard to clean up. The best part is the feeling of accomplishment when I have made salsa, tomato juice, apple sauce, or strained squash and pumpkin. NOTE: be sure that the vegetable/fruit is warm, when using it on partially frozen fruit it froze up!It's fairly easy to crank, see above for tips, and easy to clean up - a bottle brush comes in handy for clean up. I would definitely recommend this set.

When we make salsa we have used it. Give larger piece sizes without making nothing but juice. Works better than a food processor.

Saves time in the kitchen, you can make salsa faster instead of cutting everything by hand. I can move on to my next project the same day.

I've had this going on two years now. I use it to make Salsa, Spaghetti Sauce and Pizza Sauce with. It makes the tomatoes so much more thick then the regular tomato screen. If your tomato's turn out too runny, it's not because of the screen. It's because of the tomato. The bigger and juicier the tomato, the more runny your sauce may be. I used Roma's this year and it came out great! Though, I do always boil them down anyway, just to get it a little thicker.

This thing used with the juicer it goes on is the best thing since sliced bread. When canning tommatoes, this will cut your time 2/3 rds!

Works good, but overall product is cheaply made. Everthing is plastic. (Get what you pay for.) OK for small jobs.

Fasts way to make great salsa! Saves hours of dicing up stuff!