My mother had a Foley Food Mill–it had a red wooden insert in the handle. She used it almost exclusively to make applesauce, using Early Transparent apples. The only thing she added after milling the hot, cooked apples was sugar to taste. That applesauce–hot or cold–forms one of the most precious memories of my childhood. And mom swore by that Foley Food Mill–she said it was simply the best thing around!

Crazy question How do you change blades on a Foley mill and do you put the cooked apples on top of the blades before turning the handle?

Yes, you pile the juicy cooked apples in on top of the blade, and some will slide under a little — just enough. As you start turning the blade with the “crank” handle, the blade’s uplifted front edge picks up the soft cooked apples that lie just ahead, and the lower back edge of the blade presses the pulp through, leaving the skins behind. After every three or four clockwise turns, turn counter-clockwise a couple of turn to give the front lip of the blade new starting points among the cooked apples, and keep the screen below the blade from becoming completely packed with skins.

As far as I know, each Foley Food Mill has only one blade, which is also a part of the whole crank apparatus. So I’m not sure if I understand how to answer the question about changing the blade. The funny little spring-y nut that holds the crank/blade in place underneath the body of the mill place has to be unscrewed completely for cleaning so the blade/crank can be lifted out. (Easy clean up - but it must be done.)