Sieves and Strainers

Sieves, strainers, and colanders are used to sieve, strain, aerate, collect, and help remove any small or large impurities from the ingredients. From straining pasta from water, filtering seeds, washing and blanching vegetables, sifting flour, or powdered sugar. The delicate mesh of some strainers could be fragile and be pierced easily. 

The most common and useful sieves and strainers are as follows:

• Food mills could come with different size disks for fine, medium and coarse textures. It’s the perfect tool for preparing fresh purees, sauces, soups, and more. Stainless steel grinding discs for fine, medium and coarse textures. It could also be used to pass through fish soup, for example. 
• Food ricer is usually used to mash potatoes or other food by forcing it through a sheet of small holes, which are typically about the diameter of a grain of rice. Usually used to mashed smaller quantities, are food mill is faster and can process more at once. 
• Drum sieve features a fine nylon or stainless steel mesh perfect for sifting flour and pureed ingredients for creating smooth mixtures, especially for fish mousse or quenelles. 
• Conical sieve, aka “chinois étamine” is a conical sieve with a very fine mesh. It is used to strain custards, cooked vegetables, soups, and sauces, producing a very smooth texture. It can also be used to dust food with a fine layer of powdered ingredients.
• Conical strainer aka chinois is a conical strainer that ensures fast draining of vegetables or pasta, as water is drawn down towards the base of the cone.
• Colander comes in different sizes. It used to strain foods such as pasta or rice or to rinse vegetables. The perforated nature of a colander allows the liquid to drain quickly through while retaining the solids inside. It makes food preparation safe and easy. 
• Cheesecloth is a loose-woven gauze cloth used primarily in cheese making and cooking. Perfect for straining stocks, broths, Jams, jellies, sauces, and juices. The fine weave is allowing only the liquid to go through, keeping any solid within the cloth.