Sieve vs. Strainer — What's the Difference?

A tool in cooking to create smooth textures.

Often made of metal or plastic with larger holes.

A device with a mesh used for separating fine particles.

Can be used for rinsing or draining various foods.

Used in baking to aerate and refine dry ingredients.

A kitchen utensil used to drain liquids from foods.

In laboratories for particle size analysis.

Not suited for fine filtration tasks.

Symbolic for selecting or separating.

Emphasizes ease of use and versatility.

A sieve, fine mesh strainer, or sift, is a device for separating wanted elements from unwanted material or for characterizing the particle size distribution of a sample, using a screen such as a woven mesh or net or perforated sheet material. The word "sift" derives from "sieve".

A device having holes punched in it or made of crossed wires for separating solid matter from a liquid

A utensil of wire mesh or closely perforated metal or plastic, used for straining, sifting, ricing, or puréeing.

One that strains, as a device used to separate liquids from solids.

To pass through a sieve.

A standing or fallen tree whose branches are partly submerged in a fast-flowing river, presenting a hazard to navigation or to swimmers.

To use a sieve; sift.

An apparatus for tightening, stretching, or strengthening.

A device with a mesh bottom to separate, in a granular material, larger particles from smaller ones, or to separate solid objects from a liquid.

A device through which a liquid is passed for purification, filtering or separation from solid matter; anything (including a screen or a cloth) used to strain a liquid.

A process, physical or abstract, that arrives at a final result by filtering out unwanted pieces of input from a larger starting set of input.

A perforated screen or openwork (usually at the end of a suction pipe of a pump), used to prevent solid bodies from mixing in a liquid stream or flowline.

(obsolete) A kind of coarse basket.

One who strains.

(colloquial) A person, or their mind, that cannot remember things or is unable to keep secrets.

One who strains.

An intern who lets too many non-serious cases into the emergency room.

That through which any liquid is passed for purification or to separate it from solid matter; anything, as a screen or a cloth, used to strain a liquid; a device of the character of a sieve or of a filter; specifically, an openwork or perforated screen, as for the end of the suction pipe of a pump, to prevent large solid bodies from entering with a liquid.

(category theory) A collection of morphisms in a category whose codomain is a certain fixed object of that category, which collection is closed under precomposition by any morphism in the category.

A filter to retain larger pieces while smaller pieces and liquids pass through

To strain, sift or sort using a sieve.

(sports) To concede; let in

A utensil for separating the finer and coarser parts of a pulverized or granulated substance from each other. It consist of a vessel, usually shallow, with the bottom perforated, or made of hair, wire, or the like, woven in meshes.

A kind of coarse basket.

A strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particles

Examine in order to test suitability;

Check and sort carefully;

Separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements;

Distinguish and separate out;

While possible, a strainer might not be as effective as a sieve for sifting flour because of its coarser mesh.

Yes, a sieve can sometimes be used as a strainer for finer filtration needs, but it might be less efficient for quickly draining large volumes of liquid.

A strainer is generally better for pasta due to its larger holes, allowing for quick drainage of water.

A fine-mesh sieve is preferable for rinsing quinoa, as its small grains may pass through the holes of a coarser strainer.

The main difference lies in their mesh size; sieves have a finer mesh for filtering fine particles, while strainers have coarser meshes for separating solids from liquids.

Plastic strainers can handle hot liquids but are less resistant to heat compared to metal strainers.

Yes, materials can affect durability and suitability for specific tasks, with metal being more durable and suitable for hot ingredients.

Consider the task's requirements, such as the size of particles you need to filter or the volume of liquid to drain.

Both should be cleaned immediately after use with warm, soapy water to prevent residue buildup.

Strainers often have handles designed for resting on pots, while sieves might not have handles designed for this purpose.

Yes, there are specialized designs, such as tea strainers or flour sieves, tailored for specific tasks.

Yes, but finer teas might require a sieve for more effective filtration.

Yes, sieves come in a range of mesh sizes for different degrees of filtration.

Regular cleaning and avoiding exposure to extreme conditions will help maintain their condition.

Yes, sieves are used in various industries, including pharmaceuticals and construction, for particle size analysis.