Kitchen Utensil Quandary

[kiliarien]

So, me and a few people I know have had this debate for a while just as a giggle (yes, pangs of needing to get out more, drink less/more have already been said in relation to this question).

When does a sieve become a colander, and why is the word strainer there if the other 2 already starin stuff?

So, facto differences in process or form that define a sieve, colander & strainer. Can you come up with them?

 

[Ormorof]

well strainers are there to strain things, where as colanders are there to drain things! to sieve something you use a sieve.

for example, a sieve is a sieve (in a kitchen sense) if you use it to get rid of air from flour for example (try doing that with a colander ) colanders just need to stop pasta and veg and shiz from escaping!

 

[kiliarien]

well strainers are there to strain things, where as colanders are there to drain things! to sieve something you use a sieve.

for example, a sieve is a sieve (in a kitchen sense) if you use it to get rid of air from flour for example (try doing that with a colander ) colanders just need to stop pasta and veg and shiz from escaping!

Ah, but a colander is a type of sieve....this is why it's silly and gets more perplexing!!

 

[Ormorof]

# A device to separate larger objects from smaller objects, or to separate solid objects from a liquid.

and so all colanders are sieves, but not all sieves are colanders!

just like you get bread knives, butter knives, cake knives.... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm cake....

 

[Access Denied]

Lol I've had many discussions that have been as random as that. Good job =P

Oh and:

Colander.
"a metal or plastic container with a perforated bottom, for draining and straining foods."

Sieve.
"an instrument with a meshed or perforated bottom, used for separating coarse from fine parts of loose matter, for straining liquids, etc., esp. one with a circular frame and fine meshes or perforations."

Personally I think it started as a game of one upmanship that got out of hand. "My sieve is bigger than yours." "Well I've got something new that's twice the size of yours and I'm calling it a Colander!"

 

[Lamp]

Reminds me of an episode of Black Books where Manny uses a collander to drizzle champagne. Quality episode

 

[Fuggz]

Too deep for me. Am staying out of this one.

 

[Ezteq]

aye tbh sieve for draining fine/small things like rice etc and collender for big stuff like veg and a strainer is a very small sieve usually used in conjunction with retrieving jelly babies or broken bits of biscuit from beverages.

fuck frank...ask Ez.

 

[old.Tohtori]

I heard jelly babies

On topic, it's as simple as EQ said. Varying size of draining/separating stuff.

 

[Ezteq]

I heard jelly babies

On topic, it's as simple as EQ said. Varying size of draining/separating stuff.

yoooou lucky bastard


they never speak to me

 

[Fafnir]

And you got the chinoise

 

[kiliarien]

aye tbh sieve for draining fine/small things like rice etc and collender for big stuff like veg and a strainer is a very small sieve usually used in conjunction with retrieving jelly babies or broken bits of biscuit from beverages.

fuck frank...ask Ez.

Ah - but - what is classed as 'small'? Surely bits of jelly baby could be smaller than rice, which you apparently sort with 2 different implements. There needs to be a defacto explanation and no-one can give it. Check this quick googled attempt out for example:

Large Stainless Steel Strainer from Overstock.com

In the "people who viewed this also viewed" box, the third one along looks the same-ish as the fifth one along - and yet one is a strainer and one a colander. So the mystery continues imo.

And jelly babies are disgusting uke: