A tamis (pronounced "tammy", also known as a drum sieve, or chalni in Indian cooking) is a

kitchen utensil A kitchen utensil is a small hand held tool used for food preparation. Common kitchen tasks include cutting food items to size, heating food on an open fire or on a stove, baking, grinding, mixing, blending, and measuring; different utensils a ...

, shaped somewhat like a

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

, that acts as a

strainer 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 sheet material. ...

grater A grater, also known as a shredder, is a kitchen utensil used to grate foods into fine pieces. Uses Food preparation Several types of graters feature different sizes of grating slots, and can therefore aid in the preparation of a variety of ...

, or food mill. A tamis has a cylindrical edge, made of

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

, that supports a disc of fine

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pet ...

, or

horsehair Horsehair is the long hair growing on the manes and tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wallc ...

mesh A mesh is a barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible or ductile materials. A mesh is similar to a web or a net in that it has many attached or woven strands. Types * A plastic mesh may be extruded, oriented, exp ...

. To use one, the cook places the tamis above a bowl and adds the ingredient to be strained in the centre of the mesh. The food is then pushed through using a scraper or

pestle Mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used from the Stone Age to the present day to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The ''mortar'' () ...

. Tamises have been in use since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Because the tamis' mesh is flat, downward pressure can be applied with little effort simply by scraping with a horizontal motion. A tamis should be used with the inner hoop , first because it holds more, and second so that the bowl below will rest on the hoop rather than the mesh. Tamises sift and grate ingredients finer than any other utensil, and the texture of the strained material is evenly consistent. Tamises range in size from and the mesh is available in different gauges. The nylon mesh is more resilient than wire and keeps its shape better. It is the best (preferably medium-coarse) mesh to use for fruit purées, which are liable to become discoloured and tainted by wire. A wire mesh is sharper and stronger than nylon, but it will rust if not dried carefully after each use. Horsehair mesh tamises were previously common, but are now difficult to find outside of antique stores.

References

External links

* {{Kitchen tools Food preparation utensils Indian food preparation utensils

See also

References

External links