Sieves and Strainers

[LindaK]

It’s time to replace my sieves—again. Mine get heavy use as strainers, sifters, and colanders. That means I go through a set every year or so. I broke another one last night and I’m wondering whether this time I should look for something beyond the set of standard, nested sieves that I ordinarily buy.

What do you own? What do you really use? Is it time for me to invest in a drum sieve? I already own a few specialty items, such as a chinois and food mill. I don't mind spending the money if I'll actually use something.

[paulraphael]

The two I use all the time are a medium coarseness dime store type strainer, and a fine chinois. My chinois is a not the fanciest or finest mesh one available; it's more of a cone-shaped strainer with a very tight weave. It's fairly small, so I can use it over prep containers and small sauce pans.

For heavy duty stuff I have a coarse chinois (a big one that fits over a stock pot). For the occasional ultra fine straining I have a series of generic superbags from 200 micron to (I think) 50 microns. These are polyester filter bags that you can get on ebay ... much cheaper and in a wider range of mesh sizes than actual superbags.

[Paul Bacino]

I use Matfer Products:

http://www.matferbourgeatusa.com/products/index.php/matfer-kitchen-tools-and-matfer-utensils/strainers-and-portioners.html

The exoglass and the universal screen bowl type

Edited July 18, 2011 by Paul Bacino (log)

[paulraphael]

I use Matfer Products:

http://www.matferbourgeatusa.com/products/index.php/matfer-kitchen-tools-and-matfer-utensils/strainers-and-portioners.html

The exoglass and the universal screen bowl type

I've never seen those. What's the story with the unusual looking mesh?

[Anna N]

In my own kitchen I have many, many sieves and strainers of different sizes and different coarseness. Here in a rented condo on Manitoulin Island I find myself VERY strainer/sieve challenged. There are just two strainers here. A very small strainer that fits a teacup and a much larger one that is about 7 inches in diameter. There are also a couple of colanders. But one learns to cope with the help of coffee filters/paper towels.

[Paul Bacino]

The mesh is very fine, in a tight cross hatch pattern, and flexible!! I use it a lot, and it is very sturdy, so you can push/extract what you would like through the sieve with a spoon , ladle or spatula.

Keller uses this in his veal stock recipe

[gfweb]

I use a large and a small reinforced fine mesh strainer that you can find at restaurant supply stores. Cheap, sturdy and they live forever. Likewise the chinoise. A cheap resto supply item as well. Wms Sonoma et al charge a mint for a chinoise; mine was about $15 0r 20.

[andiesenji]

I also have a lot of sieves, strainers, colanders, a couple of sets of drum type flour sieves and various other perforated things to hold fruits, vegetable, cheeses and so on.

I buy the reinforced mesh sieves that hold up better than the lighter ones.

I have a sets of coarse, medium and fine. Some are now in use but I've photographed several.

I have a couple of the large oblong ones that hang over a sink.

The tall one is very coarse mesh.

There are also the perforated metal ones that hold up for a very long time. The smaller is a "fine" and the larger is a "medium."

I also buy plastic ones that are primarily used in the garden and that I generally throw away after a season. They get stained and are impossible to clean adequately.

I have several colanders - some old, some newer - there is an enameled one and a couple of SS ones in the fridge holding some cheese and yogurt.

These are quite old and have seen a lot of use. The small one is a 4 quart.

The big one is an 8 quart and I haven't seen one recently that large in SS, although I have seen plastic ones that size. It's very handy for washing fruit.

I put the largest of the mesh ones inside it so you can see the difference in size.

[dcarch]

Large blueberries are sweet. They are for eating.

Small blueberries are sour. They are for making muffins.

A blueberry sieve.

dcarch

[nolnacs]

Large blueberries are sweet. They are for eating.

Small blueberries are sour. They are for making muffins.

Interesting. I actually prefer my blueberries with some acidity as I find the sweet ones to be somewhat insipid. To that end, my preferred method of eating blueberries is a small handful of large and small berries tossed into my mouth all at once. Delicious.

[Paul Bacino]

I use Matfer Products:

http://www.matferbourgeatusa.com/products/index.php/matfer-kitchen-tools-and-matfer-utensils/strainers-and-portioners.html

The exoglass and the universal screen bowl type

I've never seen those. What's the story with the unusual looking mesh?

Paul.. Here is a look @ the meshing!!

[Lisa Shock]

I like having a few of these strainers on a handle for draining smaller pots of pasta, hard boiled eggs, etc. where maybe I don't want to put the food into a colander, but back into the original pot. These strainers are easier to wash, and, at home, they fit into the dishwasher and kitchen drawers more easily than a colander.

[Anna N]

I like having a few of these strainers on a handle for draining smaller pots of pasta, hard boiled eggs, etc. where maybe I don't want to put the food into a colander, but back into the original pot. These strainers are easier to wash, and, at home, they fit into the dishwasher and kitchen drawers more easily than a colander.

Very neat idea! I can certainly see a number of occasions when one of these would do the trick. Thanks for sharing.

[andiesenji]

I like having a few of these strainers on a handle for draining smaller pots of pasta, hard boiled eggs, etc. where maybe I don't want to put the food into a colander, but back into the original pot. These strainers are easier to wash, and, at home, they fit into the dishwasher and kitchen drawers more easily than a colander.

Arthritis in my hands doesn't allow me to hold a pot with one hand and this type of sieve with the other.

I have the pasta "dipper" type strainers which also work for blanching fruit, nuts and etc.

I also have some of the conical sieves and strainers, various sizes. Some with handles, a couple with stands. Most of these purchased from Fantes

I also have a couple of the collapsible silicone strainers that are very handy and take up little room because they fold flat.

[gfweb]

I got well scalded with a collapsable strainer. It had unperforated sides and when I poured boiling pasta water carelessly it sloshed all over my hand. Ouch.

Gotta pour it straight down.

I've gone back to a long handled wire strainer that rests across the sink.

[LindaK]

I've got some serious sieve envy! Looks like I'll be buying more than another set of nested sieves...

A few of you have mentioned reinforced mesh. How do you identify that on a product? I don't think I've ever seen one labeled as such--or is that the standard in a restaurant suppply store? For longevity, it sounds like it's worth seeking out.

I'm surprised (but not displeased) that no one seems to be recommending the tamis/drum sieves that I've seen mentioned elsewhere, such as Tamis/Drum Sieve for purees and sauces. They're pricey and don't look like they'd be useful for everyday cooking--though I could be wrong. Then there's Modernist Cuisine, which recommends laboratory sieves. Not cheap.

[andiesenji]

When I indicate reinforced sieves, I mean ones that are like this with the heavy wire cage and a steel base.

The ones from Fantes are heavier.

Bed, Bath and Beyond has some nice perforated metal ones at a pretty good price.

Edited July 19, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[ScoopKW]

I use a chinois procured from my local Asian market. (It's a "chinois" after all, it SHOULD be purchased at an Asian market.)

I also use a set of four nesting cheap-assed plastic colanders. But the chinois does the heavy lifting when making stock and sauces.

[Paul Bacino]

Yes.. "Chinois Strainer" I bought mine on-line as we have no Asian markets.

What I usually do ,is remove the bulk products in a larger mesh strainer, then into the chinois to finish.

Cheers

[paulraphael]

I'm surprised (but not displeased) that no one seems to be recommending the tamis/drum sieves that I've seen mentioned elsewhere, such as Tamis/Drum Sieve for purees and sauces. They're pricey and don't look like they'd be useful for everyday cooking--though I could be wrong. Then there's Modernist Cuisine, which recommends laboratory sieves. Not cheap.

I've read that they produce the smoothest purees possible, at least for things that you don't want to work in a blender. They're probably great, but I've never used one.

There used to be a couple of veterans of Thomas Keller's kitchens who posted here. Maybe you could track them down. I'm pretty sure Keller is a drum sieve believer.

[Paul Bacino]

I'm surprised (but not displeased) that no one seems to be recommending the tamis/drum sieves that I've seen mentioned elsewhere, such as Tamis/Drum Sieve for purees and sauces. They're pricey and don't look like they'd be useful for everyday cooking--though I could be wrong. Then there's Modernist Cuisine, which recommends laboratory sieves. Not cheap.

I've read that they produce the smoothest purees possible, at least for things that you don't want to work in a blender. They're probably great, but I've never used one.

There used to be a couple of veterans of Thomas Keller's kitchens who posted here. Maybe you could track them down. I'm pretty sure Keller is a drum sieve believer.

Would would be the most universal of the Tamis sieves, or maybe two? I'm thinking 12" ? with what size holes?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Here's what I have, plus the not pictured an 8qt cranky action barrel sifter for flour (which, btw, I completely recommend getting if you bake even a little bit. You'll never go back to a basket sieve for flours after you've used a barrel) and a pair of bamboo-sided cloth-based drum sieves that I use as cheese forms. I use all of them heavily for varied and assorted things - in the first picture, the small stainless ones are for removing lumps from things like baking soda and small amounts of icing sugar, and for dusting confections. The tiny brass one is a handmade tea strainer passed through the bakers in the family from my great great great aunt, whose bread recipes I still use. The larger metal sieves are for coarse sifting of things like cornmeals (to remove the black grits from blue cornflour, particularly) and for large volumes of lumpy cacao. The bamboo-handled one with double-meshing is for draining small quantities of things and for fishing gnocchi out of the water. On the lower rack is my juicing strainer (white plastic) and my emergency all-purpose strainer for all small quantities of things. It is often a single-cup coffee strainer, with a bit of napkin tucked in to hold the grounds, and also finds duty when I need to dust just a hint more flour into gravies.

The second set, which are stuck to the side of the fridge, are cheap pasta strainers; the smallest of them does double duty as a pulp strainer when I'm making Colada Morada or similar things which call for insane amounts of juice. (I should probably mention that I make juice in my blender, like most Ecuadorians.)

Edit - bad picture, worse speller!

Edited July 23, 2011 by Panaderia Canadiense (log)

[LindaK]

Here's what I have, plus the not pictured an 8qt cranky action barrel sifter for flour (which, btw, I completely recommend getting if you bake even a little bit. You'll never go back to a basket sieve for flours after you've used a barrel)...

The barrel-shaped flour sifters I've used before have all had squeeze handles. I never found those to work very well--very slow output so that my hand would cramp by the time I'd gotten all the flour I needed. I've never seen a crank model. Aren't they awkward to use, since they must require both hands?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Away from home, so no photos, but I have a couple of ordinary medium weave strainers, a 12" tamis from a restaurant supply, and one really nice Piazza reinforced 8" fine-mesh chinois and a similar Piazza fine-mesh skimmer.

[andiesenji]

You can see some crank-type barrel sifters here.

I've got a large one purchased at a restaurant supply place many years ago, double screen, fine.

I have a 5 cup crank sifter with medium mesh that is about half the size of the other.