A sieve, fine mesh strainer, or sift, is a device for separating wanted elements from unwanted material or for controlling the particle size distribution of a sample, using a screen such as a woven mesh or net or

perforated A perforation is a small hole in a thin material or web. There is usually more than one perforation in an organized fashion, where all of the holes collectively are called a ''perforation''. The process of creating perforations is called perfor ...

sheet material. The word ''sift'' derives from ''sieve''. In cooking, a sifter is used to separate and break up clumps in dry ingredients such as

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

, as well as to aerate and combine them. A strainer (see Colander), meanwhile, is a form of sieve used to separate suspended solids from a liquid by

filtration Filtration is a physical separation process that separates solid matter and fluid from a mixture using a ''filter medium'' that has a complex structure through which only the fluid can pass. Solid particles that cannot pass through the filter ...

Industrial strainer

Some industrial strainers available are

simplex basket strainer In geometry, a simplex (plural: simplexes or simplices) is a generalization of the notion of a triangle or tetrahedron to arbitrary dimensions. The simplex is so-named because it represents the simplest possible polytope in any given dimension. ...

s, duplex basket strainers, T-strainers and Y-strainers. Simple basket strainers are used to protect valuable or sensitive equipment in systems that are meant to be shut down temporarily. Some commonly used strainers are bell mouth strainers,

foot valve strainer The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

s, basket strainers. Most processing industries (mainly pharmaceutical, coatings and liquid food industries) will opt for a self-cleaning strainer instead of a basket strainer or a simplex strainer due to limitations of simple filtration systems. The self-cleaning strainers or filters are more efficient and provide an automatic filtration solution.

Sieving

Sieving is a simple technique for separating particles of different sizes. A sieve such as used for sifting flour has very small holes. Coarse particles are separated or broken up by grinding against one another and the screen openings. Depending upon the types of particles to be separated, sieves with different types of holes are used. Sieves are also used to separate stones from sand. Sieving plays an important role in food industries where sieves (often vibrating) are used to prevent the contamination of the product by foreign bodies. The design of the industrial sieve is of primary importance here. Triage sieving refers to grouping people according to their severity of injury.

Wooden sieves

The mesh in a wooden sieve might be made from wood or

wicker Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...

. Use of wood to avoid contamination is important when the sieve is used for sampling. Henry Stephens, in his ''Book of the Farm'', advised that the

withe Withe is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Chris Withe (born 1962), English footballer *Jason Withe (born 1971), English footballer and manager *Peter Withe Peter Withe (born 30 August 1951) is an English former football m ...

s of a wooden riddle or sieve be made from

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

with American elm being best. The rims would be made of fir,

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

or, especially,

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

US standard test sieve series

A sieve analysis (or gradation test) is a practice or procedure used (commonly used in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

sedimentology Sedimentology encompasses the study of modern sediments such as sand, silt, and clay, and the processes that result in their formation (erosion and weathering), transport, deposition and diagenesis. Sedimentologists apply their understanding of mo ...

) to assess the particle size distribution (also called gradation) of a granular material. Sieve sizes used in combinations of four to eight sieves.

Other types

* Chinois, or conical sieve used as a strainer, also sometimes used like a

food mill A food mill (also called passatutto, purée sieve, moulinette, mouli légumes, or passe-vite) is a food preparation utensil for mashing and sieving soft foods invented in Brussels in 1928 by Victor Simon. Typically, a food mill consists of th ...

Cocktail strainer A cocktail strainer is a metal bar accessory used to remove ice from a mixed drink as it is poured into the serving glass. A type of sieve, the strainer is placed over the mouth of the glass or shaker in which the beverage was prepared; small ...

, a bar accessory * Colander, a (typically) bowl-shaped sieve used as a strainer in cooking * Flour sifter or bolter, used in flour production and baking * Graduated sieves, used to separate varying small sizes of material, often soil, rock or minerals * Mesh strainer, or just "strainer", usually consisting of a fine metal mesh screen on a metal frame ** Laundry strainer, to drain boiling water from laundry removed from a

Wash copper A wash copper, copper boiler or simply copper is a wash house boiler, generally made of galvanised iron, though the best sorts are made of copper. In the inter-war years they came in two types. The first is built into a brickwork furnace and was fo ...

, usually with a wooden frame to facilitate manual handling with hot contents * * Riddle, used for soil *

Spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

, used in Chinese cooking *

Tamis A tamis (pronounced "tammy", also known as a drum sieve, or chalni in Indian cooking) is a kitchen utensil, shaped somewhat like a snare drum, that acts as a strainer, grater, or food mill. A tamis has a cylindrical edge, made of metal or wo ...

, also known as a drum sieve * Tea strainer, specifically intended for use when making tea * '' Zaru'', or bamboo sieve, used in Japanese cooking ;Other uses * "Sieve" is a common term used in trash-talk referring to a

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

who lets in too many goals

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Cookware and bakeware Material-handling equipment Solid-solid separation