A flat strainer is a kitchen tool that helps drain liquids. These are typically made of stainless steel and come in a variety of sizes.
Strainers are used in a wide range of applications, from coffee machines to ice cream makers, and they are a must-have for any home cook! These are also commonly found in restaurants and bars.
Colander
A flat strainer is a kitchen utensil that can be used to drain pasta or other items. It’s a useful tool that has several different uses in the kitchen and is a great addition to any cook’s arsenal. It’s also a great gift for someone who enjoys cooking and baking.
Colanders come in a variety of sizes and materials, including plastic, silicone, ceramic, and stainless steel. Each material has its benefits and disadvantages, so choose the colander type that best suits your needs.
Metal: A stainless steel colander is sturdy and can withstand high pressure, so it’s a good choice for straining purees or other delicate foods. It’s also easy to clean, and it doesn’t rust. If your colander does get rusty, you can easily scrub it with a toothbrush dipped in toothpaste.
Plastic: Some plastic colanders have clips that can attach to the side of the sink for convenient draining. Others feature a long panhandle that makes lifting the colander out of the sink easier and placing it on a serving dish.
Silicone: Most colanders made of silicone are foldable and collapsible for easy storage. They’re also non-slip to prevent movement in the sink when working with liquid.
Bamboo: A bamboo colander is a durable and versatile option for kitchen use. It has a wide range of uses and is especially suited for draining vegetables and fruits. It’s also heat-resistant and can be cleaned with a sponge or brush in hot water.
A colander is an essential tool in any kitchen. It’s handy to drain pasta, rinse veggies and fruit, or strain larger food items like soup or stew. It’s also a great way to save space on your kitchen countertop and keep food fresher for longer.
If you’re planning on using a colander often, consider investing in one made from quality materials with perforations for quick draining. Choosing the right colander will make your cooking experience more enjoyable and save you time in the long run.
Tamis
A tamis is a flat strainer that looks like a drum (pronounced “tammy”). It’s also called a chalni in Indian cooking. It’s used in professional kitchens for filtering, sifting, and grinding food. It’s handy for separating clumps and removing lumps from soups, sauces, and other thick liquids.
The flat mesh on a tamis makes it easier to strain ingredients. It also helps prevent accidental spills and drips. To use a tamis, place it over a bowl and add whatever you’re straining in the center of the mesh. Then, use a plastic bowl scraper to pull the food through.
Tamis sieves come in various sizes and are available in either wire or nylon mesh. Nylon mesh is more resilient and holds its shape better than wire mesh. Wire mesh is stronger and sharper, but it rusts more easily when not dried carefully after each use.
Chefs use tamises to sift cocoa, sugar, flour, and other dry ingredients into small pieces that are easier to work with. They can also remove clumps of ingredients, such as cooked pasta or dried chickpeas.
Some chefs use tamises to rice potatoes more finely than a potato masher or food mill. This is especially helpful for making silky, velvety mashed potatoes or pommes purees.
In the same vein, tamises can be used to scrape shrimp shells and other shell particles from a bisque, making it more creamy and velvety. This technique is often used in the classic French shrimp bisque recipe or to make a light, fish-based seafood dumpling known as a quinelle.
For the best results, chefs recommend using a medium-coarse mesh. A tamis can also be used to grate vegetables, like potatoes or carrots.
A tamis is also useful for removing impurities from foie gras, which turns into silky pates and terrines after pressing it through the mesh. It’s also handy for removing seeds from soft foods, such as eggplant or spinach.
China Cap
A China cap is a special strainer with a conical basket that can be used with a small pestle to move soft food through the mesh. The mesh is fine enough to remove seeds from softer foods such as fruits but also large enough for liquids like sauces and purees to pass through without becoming lumpy.
The China cap is a great tool to have in your kitchen. It can help you remove lumps from sauces, separate solid ingredients from cooking liquid, sift flour, dust desserts with powdered sugar, and much more!
It can also be used to sift large chunks of cooked meat, removing them from the broth so that it is easier to debone. The strainer is made from durable stainless steel with a fine mesh, ensuring you get the most out of your food.
Typically, the mesh of these strainers is perforated to prevent the buildup of large clumps of food and ensure that they can be easily strained. They are also easy to clean and store, so they are a great investment for any kitchen.
They can be used for a variety of purposes and come in different sizes, so you can find one that works well for your needs. Some are designed to sift ice and muddled herbs in a cocktail shaker, while others are meant to be dipped into boiling water to blanch vegetables or pasta.
Some of these strainers are also designed to be dipped into hot oil to skim the solids out of fried foods or rinse rice before you cook it. They are a useful addition to any kitchen and can be a lifesaver when you are cooking a big meal!
Another type of flat strainer is a spider strainer. They look a lot like a sink basket but are made with metal wire, making the holes larger than a standard strainer. They are a quick way to filter out a lot of particles, making it easier for your plumbing to drain them down the sink instead of into the garbage.
Spider Strainer
A spider strainer is a flat strainer with a long handle and a wire mesh basket that resembles a spider’s web. It is used for scooping up foods, skimming fat, and draining hot liquids such as boiling water or oil. It is also a useful tool for straining sauces and broths.
While they are similar at first, a spider strainer and a skimmer differ in their design. The skimmer has circular wires in its basket, and the holes are larger.
Unlike a skimmer, which allows only one direction of flow, a spider strainer has two sides, so it can be used to drain both liquid and fat at once.
This is a great way to save time and avoid splashing when you’re working with hot or boiling liquids. It also helps to reduce the risk of burns or injuries.
It’s an especially good option for frying whole fish or boiling whole chickens, as it can scoop up smaller pieces of food without getting burned. It can also be used to drain the pasta when it’s finished cooking.
A spider strainer is also useful for removing small amounts of produce and separating eggs. It’s a lot easier than carrying a big colander around the kitchen.
In addition to a wide variety of cooking and eating uses a spider strainer can also help improve presentation on plates by creating a delicate spider-web pattern. In this way, it can be a great serving tool for salads and soups.
There are many different types of strainers to choose from, so it’s important to find one that is suitable for your needs. You may want to consider a strainer that is made of a material such as stainless steel or aluminum, which are both durable and easy to clean.
Another consideration is the fineness of the strainer’s mesh. The finer the mesh, the more effective it will be at catching small bits of food. For example, if you’re just trying to drain a few slices of tomato, a spider strainer with a coarser mesh will be more effective than one finely woven.
