7 Kitchen Strainer Types To Consider For Your Home

Kitchen strainer types have been around for centuries. But they are changing with the times. What’s more, it is important to know how to use them properly so that you can get the most out of your kitchen investment and avoid accidentally destroying your dishes or utensils.

At a very basic level, kitchen strainers are used to sift food. You can use them to separate larger pieces of food such as corn kernels from the water after boiling it. Or, you can take advantage of their ability to prevent unwanted solid ingredients and stubborn bits from being mixed in with your pureed foods.

However, before you can use your kitchen strainer, you need to know which one is the best. If you want to find out more about what makes a reliable kitchen strainer type, read on!

Colander

A colander is the most common type of strainer. It has holes in it that are placed to allow food to drain through while retaining the solid pieces. A colander can usually hold a lot of liquid and there are many different sizes available so it can suit any large amount of food, making it an ideal choice for larger pots and bowls, and so on.

You can use a colander for preparing ingredients for cooking, serving healthy side dishes and meals, or chilling out with cold foods. The collected solid food is typically rinsed away using water but you can also use it to serve food from hot liquid directly as there won’t be any danger of scalding yourself.

A colander is made up of metal, plastic or a combination of the two.  It can also have legs and come with a handle. Its size varies from one manufacturer to another but it ranges between eight and eighteen inches in diameter. A lot of colanders are stackable so that several can fit inside each other for storage purposes.

A colander’s holes can be placed in different positions. Larger holes usually drain faster and smaller ones allow you to separate the solid ingredients more easily. When buying a colander, be sure to check how much liquid it can hold at one time so that your food doesn’t end up spilling out onto your counter or floor instead of going in the sink to be rinsed.

A perforated colander can be used for straining smaller solid foods that might otherwise get trapped in the holes of a flat colander. They are also made so that you don’t have to handle them directly and risk getting your fingers burnt when pouring hot liquids from them. This makes them safer to use when you are cooking.

Spider Strainer

A spider is a type of strainer that looks like a spider's web with circular holes throughout the body. It features handles on either side or each end that allow for easy handling, allowing you to put your hands underneath them as you sift away excess liquid from your food.

The spider is designed to be used with a kitchen bowl or pot while the food is being boiled. It has holes of different sizes scattered throughout its legs so you can collect solid foods that are wet or soft enough to fall through and leave behind drier or harder ingredients such as seeds.

There are even spider strainers that come with lids that you can use to cover your boiling food so that nothing falls into it. These spider strainers are very handy and easy to clean, making them ideal for use in homes or restaurants where there may be many cooks around.

Some people like to use colanders or other types of kitchen strainer but prefer a spider strainer over them when they want to get certain pieces of food separated from the rest. A spider strainer is very versatile and allows you to drain almost anything with great ease, especially if it has a lid that makes use of its circular holes for placing its legs in.

Food Mill

A food mill is a kitchen strainer that can be used to separate solid ingredients from liquid. It has a feeder tube, paddle, and disc as well as a handle at the center of its circular base with feet on it for stability.

An insert sits inside the feeder tube while you pour your foods through it into another bowl or pot. The insert has holes that catch the food while letting excess liquid pass through and fall out as it rotates with the paddle on top of it, which you can turn while the whole thing is in place. A disc refines the texture of your foods after rinsing them if needed.

A food mill is commonly used to remove seeds, skin and pith from fruits and vegetables, as well as to mash them. Its main purpose is to turn your meals into a smooth consistency with very little effort on your part.

A food mill can also be used for grinding foods such as meat or stone-fruits you want to use in your recipes but has not been able to obtain at its natural state.

A food mill is quite versatile and is able to grind, press or sieve and remove the skins of fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains or nuts that may be too hard for a normal blender or food processor to handle. In addition, it can turn your ingredients into a smooth consistency before use if you should want to use them in recipes that require a very smooth texture.

It is said that a food mill can make soups and sauces from scratch easier than if you had to do everything by hand. It can even be used for making baby food from fruits and vegetables that are not too soft or hard. You will have to experiment with it first before you can get the hang of it, but once you have used it a few times you will find that a food mill is one of the best items to add to your kitchen for making certain meals tastier and smoother.

Food processors are usually preferred over food mills if you can afford them because they are more versatile and can also grind, whip and sieve. But they are quite expensive and difficult to clean if you do not have a dishwasher, while food mills can be cleaned in the sink with some soap and hot water.

Salad Spinner

A salad spinner is a kitchen strainer that has been designed to make drying foods easier. It has a bowl and basket made of plastic or stainless steel with a rubberized lid held in place by small but powerful springs.

It is used by pouring water over your washed food, which makes them drip less as you put them into the basket. You can then spin the basket by its handle to remove excess water as well as any dirt or debris stuck on your foods. A salad spinner is probably one of the best kitchen strainer options if you are making salads at home.

You can use a salad spinner for other things besides drying lettuce and other greens, though. For example, for shredding up meats that you will be using in your recipes or for making apple sauce by cooking down apples. It does not have to be used just for drying foods in the kitchen as you would with a colander, which makes it more versatile and better at what it is supposed to do.

A salad spinner can also be used to remove excess water from meats before cooking them if you are doing stir-fry dishes and don't want your meats to be drenched in sauce like they will if you use a colander to drain them.

Buy a salad spinner if you want to save time when cooking or if you have a garden where you grow your own food or if you like to cook and prepare meals for large groups of people on special occasions. You will love how easy a salad spinner makes things and how simply it can be used as well as stored when not in use.

Mesh Kitchen Sieve

A kitchen sieve , also known as a "strainer," is made of stainless steel or plastic and perforated with holes that are large enough to allow liquid and small grains of food to pass through while holding back the larger pieces.

Sieves can have several different uses in your kitchen. One use is to strain cooked food with a sieve, which can be used for making pastas from scratch or for making tea leaves or herbs that you want to remove their excess water before using them in your concoctions. You could also use it as a colander and drain liquid off your foods after cooking them.

Sieves are also great when baking because you can dust flour on top of your dough before rolling it out. This will make the dough softer and easier to handle without tearing since most people do not want to use their hands while patting down and flattening a soft piece of dough.

Drum Sieve

A drum sieve is a kitchen strainer that has been designed more specially for baking and cooking. It can be used in the place of a colander because it will have smaller holes than most other strainers on the market.

It is usually made out of stainless steel or aluminum with wood, plastic, rubberized mesh or even silicone handles that make it easy to grip.

You can use a drum sieve to drain liquids or solids from your foods. Its holes are very fine which means that you will have to press the cooked product through if you are using this kitchen strainer for draining purposes.

If you want, though, you can also use a drum sieve as a sieve for dusting flour on your dough and you can use it instead of a colander to drain water from food while cooking.

A drum sieve is also just as good as an ordinary kitchen strainer because it can be used for drying foods, too. You could arrange meats or vegetables on top of the mesh drums, and then spin the drums by their handle to get rid of excess liquid, or you could simply place foods on top of your mesh kitchen strainer and let them air dry upside down.

Cooking Basket

A cooking basket is a kitchen strainer that has been designed for making things like stir-fry dishes and other foods where the food needs to be cooked in something that is enclosed to keep the food from flying around and burning while it cooks.

Cooking baskets are usually made of plastic material with short sides and a gentle slope that makes it easy for you to add and retrieve your ingredients without having to worry about them falling out of your cooking basket or strainer. It will also help to direct food into the center of your dish rather than away from it.

You can use cooking baskets for all types of foods, such as meats, vegetables or other ingredients and dishes that you are making. You can use them for baking, too, because they will help to hold your dough in place while it is rising instead of smothering the dough with your hands. Mesh Straining Basket

A mesh straining basket is another type of kitchen strainer that has been specifically designed for cooking purposes and not just general use. It is usually made out of a synthetic material like plastic or nylon and it has very large holes which makes it easy to drain water from foods quickly, but you can also use it to drain juices from meats or even fruits.

FAQS

How do you use a kitchen strainer?

You can use your kitchen strainer in many ways, depending on what you want to do with it. You can strain food from boiling water so that you are left with only the solid bits or liquid behind, which is very handy for making things like pasta sauces. Straining food can also be done when you are cooking meats such as chicken and beef where you do not want to have the fat drain off into your foods, or when you are making stocks or broth.

You can also use a kitchen strainer as a sieve for dusting food with flour before baking so that it will stick together instead of tearing apart. You can also use it to dry out liquids from meats and other foods by placing them on top of the strainer and letting them air dry.

How do I choose the right kitchen strainer for me?

When choosing a kitchen strainer for your needs, you should know that there are many different types of kitchen strainers that have been designed for a variety of purposes. Some kitchen strainers are bigger than others; some strainer holes can be much larger while others can be just as fine and sharp as sewing needles.

What is the difference between a colander, strainer and sieve? What are the benefits of using them?

There are no strict definitions for these terms. The term colander can describe any shape best suited to draining liquids from solids through holes, while a strainer is made specifically with small holes to get rid of larger particles. It is possible that sieve is used in this context to describe a kitchen utensil made for straining solids from liquids, but we don't know much about it yet!

The benefits of using each are different. A colander would be the most suited for rinsing grains or vegetables while a strainer is more effective for separating solids from liquids. A sieve, on the other hand, is used to create a finer texture in things such as custards and sauces.

Conclusion

There are a lot of different uses for kitchen strainers. Even though they have the same name, each type is designed to be used for very specific tasks in order to ensure that you get the most out of your strainer and do not waste any time or money on anything you will not need for your purpose. 

The info provided above should give you a good idea of the different types of kitchen strainers that are out there. Now, it is your turn to look around and see which one will best fit your needs!