On Apr 28, 6:57*pm, Kalmia > wrote:
> On Sunday, April 28, 2013 7:26:24 PM UTC-4, Janet Bostwick wrote:
> > On Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:00:58 -0400, Brooklyn1
>
> > > wrote:
>
> > >Kalmia wrote:
>
> > >>I saw one hanging in a restaurant's kitchen and wonder
>
> > >>if it serves a need no other cooking tool can perform.
>
> > >>If you own one, what's your verdict?
>
> > >I see no use for a chinois in a home kitchen, not even in a commercial
>
> > >kitchen... it's an atiquated relic, only a baby step above Cro Magnon,
>
> > >in the same realm as mortar and pestle... nowadays there are far more
>
> > >sophisticated tools, some are hand operated and some are motorized.
>
> > >For occasional use in a typical home kitchen a hand cranked food mill
>
> > >is a much better choice, and there are many types for different
>
> > >purposes, but not are very costly. *And once the main bulk of solids
>
> > >are separated out if one wants a finer degree of separation there are
>
> > >fine wire sieves and paper filters that are far more efficient than
>
> > >any chinois. *There are inexpensive and very efficient hand cranked
>
> > >tools for separating seeds from berries and tomatoes too. *The chinois
>
> > >was developed centuries before the technology existed to produce fine
>
> > >wire sieves.
>
> > I've never used a chinois or seen one in operation. *Does it or does
>
> > it not do as good a job as cheese cloth to produce a clear broth?
>
> > (does a chinois come in different grades of 'fine?') Is there a time
>
> > advantage to using a chinois -- that is, does it work faster than a
>
> > fine-meshed strainer or other methods? *As you say, there are many
>
> > products and ways to remove seeds that are less bulky.
>
> > signed Curious
>
> I imagine they'd be a lot faster to use to strain a ton of stock, than, say, setting up cheesecloth in a sieve, which would be MY method. *I guess they have their uses in a busy commercial kitchen.
>
> I didn't ask the chef how often he used it - just happened to note it hanging there.
>
> I saw one with a hefty, wooden masher in an antique shop - 19 bucks. *But the chinois was dark metal, not quite pitted but---well, not spanking clean. Prob. 90 years old.

Mine is antique..my granny's..with the wooden cone-style pusher. I
use it only for jelly making and applesauce, but a regular modern food
mill would probably do the same thing.

N.