{{Short description|Tool for separation of solid materials by particle size}} {{About|the tool}} {{Redirect|Sift}}{{Redirect|Drainer|the music culture|Drain Gang}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}} [[File:Laboratory sieves BMK.jpg|thumb|right|Laboratory sieves]] [[File:Ami shakushi.Scoop.jpg|thumb|An ''[[ami shakushi]]'', a Japanese ladle or scoop that may be used to remove small drops of batter during the frying of ''[[tempura]]'']] [[File:Gezer (6).png|thumb|ancient sieve]]
A '''sieve''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|v}}), '''fine mesh strainer''', or '''sift''' is a tool used for [[separation process|separating]] wanted elements from unwanted material or for controlling the [[particle size]] distribution of a sample, using a screen such as a [[warp and weft|woven]] [[mesh]] or [[net (device)|net]] or [[perforation|perforated]] sheet material.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ruhlman|first1=Michael |last2=Bourdain|first2=Anthony |title=The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9WXclAEACAAJ&pg=PA278 |year=2007 | publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4391-7252-0 |page=216}}</ref> The word ''sift'' derives from ''sieve''.
In cooking, a '''sifter''' is used to separate and break up clumps in dry ingredients such as [[flour]], as well as to aerate and combine them. A '''strainer''' (see [[colander]]), meanwhile, is a form of sieve used to separate [[Suspension (chemistry)|suspended]] [[solids]] from a liquid by [[filtration]].
==Sieving== Sieving is a simple technique for separating particles of different sizes. A sieve such as used for sifting flour has very small holes. Coarse particles are separated or broken up by grinding against one another and the screen openings. Depending upon the types of particles to be separated, sieves with different types of holes are used. Sieves are also used to separate stones from sand. Sieving plays an important role in food industries where sieves (often vibrating) are used to prevent the contamination of the product by foreign bodies. The design of the industrial sieve is of primary importance here.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.powderprocess.net/Checking_Powder_sieve.html|title=Powder Checking - Vibrating sieve - Vibrating sifters - PowderProcess.net|website=www.powderprocess.net|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=5 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250205113111/https://www.powderprocess.net/Checking_Powder_sieve.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[Triage]] sieving refers to grouping people according to their severity of injury.<!-- is this Triage Sieve related to article?-->
==Wooden sieves== [[File:Wooden sieve one eighth mesh.PNG|thumb|right|A wooden mesh in which the withes were one eighth of an inch wide and set the same distance apart. This would be used on an English farm of the Victorian era to sift grain, removing dust and soil.]]
The mesh in a wooden sieve might be made from wood or [[wicker]]. Use of wood to avoid contamination is important when the sieve is used for sampling.<ref>{{cite book| author = B. De Vivo|author2=Harvey Belkin |author3=Annamaria Lima | title = Environmental Geochemistry: Site Characterization, Data Analysis and Case Histories: Site Characterization, Data Analysis and Case Histories| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FBn0iv8ILHIC&pg=PA84| year = 2008| publisher = Elsevier| isbn = 978-0-08-055895-0| page = 84 }}</ref> Henry Stephens, in his ''Book of the Farm'', advised that the [[withy|withe]]s of a wooden [[riddle (tool)|riddle]] or sieve be made from [[fir]] or [[willow]] with [[American elm]] being best. The rims would be made of fir, [[oak]] or, especially, [[beech]].<ref>{{cite book |pages=414–416 |title=The Book of the Farm |volume=1 |author=Henry Stephens|publisher=W. Blackwood |year=1852}}</ref>
== US standard test sieve series ==
A [[sieve analysis]] (or gradation test) is a practice or procedure used (commonly used in [[civil engineering]] or [[sedimentology]]) to assess the particle size distribution (also called gradation) of a granular material. Sieve sizes used in combinations of four to eight sieves.<ref>{{cite book | edition = Second | first = Thomas J. | isbn = 9780962235900 | last = Glover | location = Littleton, Col. | oclc = 34710295 | publisher = Sequoia Publishing | title = Pocket Ref | url = https://archive.org/details/pocketref00glov | url-access = registration | year = 1992 }}</ref>
{|class=wikitable |+ Designations and Nominal Sieve Openings |- ! rowspan=2|Tyler ! rowspan=2|Nominal ! colspan=2|Sieve |- ! opening |- | — || 5 inch || {{convert|125|mm|in}} |- | — || 4.24 inch || {{convert|106|mm|in}} |- | — || 4 inch || {{convert|100|mm|in}} |- | — || {{frac|3|1|2}} inch || {{convert|90|mm|in}} |- | 2.97 inch || 3.0 inch || {{convert|75|mm|in}} |- | — || {{frac|2|1|2}} inch || {{convert|63|mm|in}} |- | — || 2.12 inch || {{convert|53|mm|in}} |- | 2.10 inch || 2 inch || {{convert|50|mm|in}} |- | — || {{frac|1|3|4}} inch || {{convert|45|mm|in}} |- | 1.48 inch || {{frac|1|1|2}} inch || {{convert|37.5|mm|in}} |- | — || {{frac|1|1|4}} inch || {{convert|31.5|mm|in}} |- | 1.05 inch || 1.06 inch || {{convert|26.5|mm|in}} |- | — || 1 inch || {{convert|25.0|mm|in}} |- | 0.883 inch || {{frac|7|8}} inch || {{convert|22.4|mm|in}} |- | 0.742 inch || {{frac|3|4}} inch || {{convert|19.0|mm|in}} |- | 0.624 inch || {{frac|5|8}} inch || {{convert|16.0|mm|in}} |- | 0.525 inch || 0.530 inch || {{convert|13.2|mm|in}} |- | — || 1/2 inch || {{convert|12.5|mm|in}} |- | 0.441 inch || {{frac|7|16}} inch || {{convert|11.2|mm|in}} |- | 0.371 inch || {{frac|3|8}} inch || {{convert|9.5|mm|in}} |- |}
==In culture== [[File:Metsys Elizabeth I The Sieve Portrait c1583.jpg|thumb|The Metsys portrait of Elizabeth I holding a sieve]] In iconography, the sieve was used as a symbol of chastity, in reference to the Latin legend recounting how the vestal virgin [[Tuccia]] carried water from the Tiber in a sieve without losing a drop, thus proving her virginity.
At least two portraits of Queen [[Elizabeth I]] of England, known as the Virgin Queen, show her holding a sieve in her hand. The earliest was the [[Plimpton Sieve Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I|1579 portrait]] by [[George Gower]], showing the 46 year-old queen with a globe as symbol of imperial expansion, and a sieve for her declared virginity.<ref>[https://www.folger.edu/explore/collection-highlights/elizabeth-i-sieve-portrait/ Elizabeth I Sieve Portrait] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250915030651/https://www.folger.edu/explore/collection-highlights/elizabeth-i-sieve-portrait/ |date=15 September 2025 }}, Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC, USA. This is also known as the Plimpton portrait after its donor.</ref> The same symbols appear in a later portrait signed by [[Quentin Metsys the Younger]].<ref>[https://www.pinacotecanazionalesiena.it/portfolio/ritratto-di-elisabetta-i/ Ritratto di Elisabetta I] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250430032605/https://www.pinacotecanazionalesiena.it/portfolio/ritratto-di-elisabetta-i/ |date=30 April 2025 }}, Pinoteca Nazionale di Siena {{in lang|it}}</ref>
==Other types== * [[Chinois]], or conical sieve used as a strainer, also sometimes used like a [[food mill]] * [[Cocktail strainer]], a bar accessory * [[Colander]], a (typically) bowl-shaped sieve used as a strainer in cooking * Flour sifter or bolter, used in flour production and baking * Graduated sieves, used to separate varying small sizes of material, often soil, rock or minerals * [[Mesh]] strainer, or just "strainer", usually consisting of a fine metal mesh screen on a metal frame ** Laundry strainer, to drain boiling water from laundry removed from a [[Wash copper|wash copper]], usually with a wooden frame to facilitate manual handling with hot contents * {{annotated link|Pickle lifter}} * [[Riddle (tool)|Riddle]], used for soil * [[Spider (utensil)|Spider]], used in Chinese cooking * [[Tamis]], also known as a drum sieve * [[Tea strainer]], specifically intended for use when making tea * ''[[Zaru]]'', or bamboo sieve, used in Japanese cooking ;Other uses * "Sieve" is a common term used in [[trash-talk]] referring to a [[goaltender]] in [[ice hockey]] who lets in too many goals<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uwbadgers.com/sports/2016/8/12/sieve-chant.aspx?id=1191 |title=Sieve Chant |website=uwbadgers.com |access-date=September 9, 2020 |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205011408/https://uwbadgers.com/sports/2016/8/12/sieve-chant.aspx?id=1191 |url-status=live }}</ref> * "Leaks like a sieve" is an English language idiom to describe a container that has multiple leaks, or, by allegory, an organization whose confidential information is routinely disclosed to the public.
== See also ==
{{portal|Food}} * {{annotated link|Cheesecloth}} * {{annotated link|Cloth filter}} * {{annotated link|Filtration}} * {{annotated link|Gold panning}} * {{annotated link|Gyratory equipment}} * {{annotated link|Mechanical screening}} * {{annotated link|Mesh (scale)}} * {{annotated link|Molecular sieve}} * {{annotated link|Separation process}} * {{annotated link|Soil gradation}} * {{annotated link|Water filter}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Commons category-inline|Sieves}} * {{Wiktionary-inline|sieve}} * {{Wikiquote-inline}}
{{Kitchen Tools}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Cookware and bakeware]] [[Category:Material-handling equipment]] [[Category:Solid-solid separation]]