Customer Reviews

Progressive International Stainless Steel Chinoise and Wood Pestle Set

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This product is not a chinois, as the industry understands it. It is a "china cap," or to use a more PC description "a cone strainer." I would submit that any serious chef would gawk at the price because they would find [$$$] to be a great deal, and should shop with that in mind. The point is that you could strain a stock through this thousands of times and end up with a cloudy, unsilken sauce. ... Know your lingo, what you're willing to spend on what you want, and whether or not you really need it--pay the money for the real thing instead of a misnamed product. ...

This is a fine chinois for general straining, but don't be misled by the "extremely fine mesh" mentioned in the product description. This chinois doesn't actually use a mesh, but moderately small holes in the side of the cone. This is great for de-seeding, pureeing, etc., but not sufficient for straining out fine herb particles from bouillon or stock. I had to return mine because of this (I already had a strainer of this grade) and hope that anyone who orders this otherwise excellent product knows what they will use it for and knows its limitations.

great as a china cap, but awful as a chinois. the holes are extremely big, and every little particle goes through. not recommended for serious chefs or those who want to achieve the perfect sauce

Before purchasing this item I read the other reviews where overly-large holes were mentioned. I figured it would probably be ok for my purposes -- I am no professional chef. However, the holes are so large that I really can't imagine what you would be able to use it for. I resorted to using cheesecloth in conjunction with this chinois, but what a pain! Since every other chinois I've seen is far more expensive (you get what you pay for), I am going to shop for a stainless steel strainer with a fine mesh and see if I can make do with that.

Yes, sorta like golf clubs and motorcycles, some choices of kitchen equipment are best for the newcomers to the party. This Chinois is really a modified jelly juice press, as far as I'm concerned. The mesh isn't as dense as those in high-end chinois(es?), which means a) the purees won't be as fine and b) the wire will get dented faster. This may not matter, and if you're not using a chinois now, you're missing out on amazing textures in food; soups that are perfectly smooth, sauces without lumps, and mashed potatoes that are truly food of the gods, even better than those pressed through a ricer. Overall, for up to a third less than the high-end, you'll be very happy with this important kitchen tool.

I purchased this for a chef and the strainer is not fine enough. There should be an choice of the strainer as far as fineness.

From everyone's description of this product, we in the industry call it a china cap. A chinois is the ultra fine mesh used to make sauces silken. A china cap is a very useful tool, but not for the serious straining only a chinois, or maybe a tamis, is good for.

I purchased this a year ago, used it twice (actually, once and a half!)and it fell apart. I was right in the middle of a large recipe and the cap at the point of the cone fell off. Definitely not a good product.

There is a previous review that mentions a china cap as the tool for finer sauces but I disagree. "Wiki" it to be sure. Just didn't want any confusion.

This item solved my plum pulping nightmare. Anyone that makes plum jam has probably tried the old colendar and potato masher trick. This item makes plum pulping easy.