Sorry if this gets long, but I'm going to do a thorough review, address problems others have written of, and provide a few helpful hints, if I can. I'm 67, have been canning for almost 50 years. Being old-school, I've always blanched my tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded with a sieve/pestle, spending hours at these chores and making a total mess of my kitchen. This appliance takes care of all that in one easy step. Assembly: Read the directions more than once and look at the diagrams. It's easy if you follow the directions and use a little intuition and common sense. Be sure you've attached the Screen correctly, and don't forget to tighten the Screen Thumbscrew. There's no hole to put it into; it's a pressure fit. Several people have complained about leakage. I didn't have any even the first time I used it. They may have forgotten to tighten the Screw or insert the Screen Gasket. That's important. Stabilize the appliance: You have options of Suction or C-clamp. I began with the Suction, and if you use that, remember to dampen the suction with a little water. It'll adhere better to your surface. I did have a little problem with the suction, but it's easy to reapply, even in mid-use. I was doing this on my kitchen table, so engaged the Suction and added the C-clamp, which won't mar your table top because it never touches it. The two together kept the appliance rock solid. Use: Fill the Hopper with your quartered tomatoes. It holds a lot, and use the Stomper to direction them down to the Spiral auger. Some reviews found the stomper flimsy. I think it's just right. Yes, it's plastic, but it lets you feel what you're doing. One review says the spiral auger (which is plastic) edges were becoming rough, and the reviewer was afraid of bits of plastic breaking off and going into the pot. Hint: You can feel it if the stomper comes in contact with the auger, which may have been the problem. Lift the stomper out and send more tomato down the hopper. Hint: The spiral auger forces the tomatoes against the screen, and as the screen holes are small to contain the seeds to be pushed into the waste bowl, the screen can become slightly clogged with tomato meat. This is a good thing! It means all that goodness is going where it should. If you feel the appliance is bogging down, reach your hand in and scrape the mash on the outside of the screen off and onto the Chute. You can't hurt yourself. The screen doesn't move. Everyone advises putting the skins/seeds in the waste bowl through the appliance again. I did so, but only one time through. What came out as waste the second time was almost dry. Cleanup: Not a problem. At least I didn't think so, as it didn't include wiping down walls! Hint: When you're through, keep turning the crank for a minute. There's still waste in the spiral auger, and you want to get as much as possible out before you disassemble the appliance. There'll still be stuff you have to clean out, but that's inevitable with any appliance. Rinse the pieces off and wash in soapy water. Observation: Some reviewers don't feel this would be dishwasher safe. I didn't try it, as my dishwasher was busy sterilizing jars. Personally, I feel it would be safe for the dishwasher. The metal frame only needs wiping off, but I wouldn't hesitate to put the plastic pieces on the top shelf of my dishwasher. If you're in doubt, take them out at the end of the wash cycle, before the dry cycle begins, but I don't think even that's necessary. A great many reviews consider the Waste Funnel to be flimsy. It is the most fragile of all the pieces, but I don't see that as a problem. Be gentle with it. It does go on and come off with a bit of difficulty. Don't drop it. If it does crack, or even break, I'm sure it's a low-cost replacement, or use some clear packing tape or even duct tape to fix it. After all, it doesn't have anything to do with the actual use of the appliance, which, I'm certain, could be used without it. Overall, I'm in love with this product! It does everything it's said to do, and is sturdy enough I'm fairly sure it'll last longer than I will. Last thought: I was a bit hesitant to buy this because of the price. I mean, for that price, how good could it be? Don't be discouraged by the low price. This is a quality appliance!
