Reasons to add a tamis to your kitchen

Do you ever need to sift, strain, separate, steam, or aerate ingredients? If so, you might have a couple of different devices you use: a mesh strainer, a flour sifter, and a colander. Food writer and former deputy editor of The Washington Post Food section Bonnie Benwick says you can get rid of most of those things and replace them with a single piece of equipment: a tamis.

You might think such a multi-purpose tool would be expensive, but a tamis (pronounced TAM-ee) has a humble price tag that belies its usefulness, says Benwick. The circular tamis looks a lot like an inverted snare drum. What differentiates a tamis from other strainers and sifters is its wide, flat screen. This feature allows you to use tools like flexible bowl scrapers to “take advantage of the sweep of the surface, and apply downward pressure by pulling across, without much effort,” according to food writer Amy Scattergood.

You can use a tamis for more than just sifting, Benwick notes. She uses hers as a steamer, replacing yet another piece of equipment. She also offers a list of eight more ways to use it that you might not think about. While Benwick now gets a lot of mileage out of her tamis, she admits it took her over a decade to become a “devoted” user of the device. I understand where she is coming from. My tamis lives in the uppermost cabinet and I forget about it unless I’m doing something where its unique properties shine, like sifting almond flour and confectioners’ sugar to make macarons. After reading Benwick’s article, I will make mine more accessible and see if I can’t replace a couple of items in my never-ending quest to de-clutter my kitchen.