Hotels Restaurants kitchen utensils the Skimmer

Mobasir hassan

04 February

Kitchen Skimmer | jhara

What is skimmer?

A skimmer is a round shape kitchen utensil which varies in size from three to nine inches in diameter and perforated with small holes. And attached to a long handle.

What is a skimmer in cooking?

Skimmer is a kitchen tool that is used to remove food ingredients, excess fluids, fats, particles and other items from the surface of hot oil, boiling water and foods being prepared.

The Spoon is very shallow and has a wide base with numerous small holes or with a fine mesh wire for draining but not releasing the skimmed items.

Skimmer is a preferred and necessary utensil in a Restaurants operations. It is really impossible to work at a commercial kitchen without a Skimmer. It's a unique and has amazing capacity to perform in daily kitchen operations.

5 tips to make kitchen utensil last longer

Also known in Hindi as Jhara ,the Skimmer has different types and size according to its uses.

Mess Skimmer meaning

A mesh skimmer is a kitchen tool commonly used in cooking. It's a utensil with a long handle and a flat, perforated or meshed scoop at the end. In restaurant or at home Chefs and home cooks use it primarily for skimming and removing solid particles or foam from the surface of liquids like soups, broths, and frying oil. This in turn helps in achieving a clearer and cleaner liquids or oils in the cooking processes.

Uses of Skimmer in kitchen (mesh skimmer)

Skimmers are incredible useful tools in daily operations and culinary tasks. Below are few uses of skimmer spoon in short.

Removing foam: when you are cooking any types of soups or stocks, skimmers are used to skim off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface of the soups or stocks. This ensures a clear and clean broth for you.
Frying: Skimmers are very handy for safely placing food items into the hot oil or removing them without getting to close to the hot oil. This is particularly helpful for food items like french fries and fried chicken.
Blanching: When you are blanching some vegetables or pasta, a skimmer can be used to quickly remove them from boiling water and transfer to an ice cold water or stop the cooking process further for pasta or vegetables.
Draining: They are very useful and excellent for draining fried foods or removing excess oil from foods like dumplings or fried tofu.
Scooping solid ingredients: Skimmers can also be used to scoop out solid ingredients like poached eggs or dumplings from simmering water.

They are used in daily operations of a Restaurant kitchen or home for following food items

To skim rice, noodles and vegetables from hot boiling water.
To skim fried food items from hot oil.
To make boondi and motichur ladoo.

How to Choose right Skimmers based on your needs

1. Materials

Stainless Steel : These types of skimmers are very durable, easy to clean, and resistant to rust and staining. They are always a first choice for most kitchen daily tasks.
Mesh or Perforated : Some special tasks like skimming foam or straining small food particles, from stocks or boiling water a mesh or perforated skimmer is ideal and best. The fine holes allow for precise skimming without losing any ingredients.
Wire : Wire skimmers are great and ideal choice for performing tasks like deep-frying and blanching. They allow excess oil or water to drain quickly from them.

2. Size

Always consider the size of the skimmer's head. A larger head is very suitable for skimming larger quantities of food items, while a smaller one is more accurate and precise for dedicated tasks like poaching eggs.

3. Handle length

The handle length should provide a comfortable grip and keep your hand at a safe distance while working from hot liquids or oil. Longer handles for skimmers are better for deep frying food items, while shorter handles are more suitable for stove top tasks.

4. Shape

Skimmers come in various shapes. Like a flat and round skimmer is versatile and good for skimming, while a slotted or spider skimmer with a deeper basket shape is excellent for scooping solid ingredients.

5. Multipurpose and Specialized

You can decide whether you want a multipurpose skimmer that can handle various tasks in your kitchen or a specialized skimmers designed for specific tasks like frying or straining in your kitchen.

Types of Skimmer

1. Large Skimmer ( Jhara) :-

When a large amount of Rice or Noodles is boiling then this type of Skimmer or Jhara is commonly used to remove the cooking items from the surface of boiling water.

It is widely used in kitchen operation for skimming large amount of foods from boiling water or hot oil. Particularly used in banquet operations.

2. Medium Skimmer

This type of Skimmer is use to skimmed Fry items from hot oil. Like French fries potato wedges and papad.

Medium size skimmer jhara Nearme Hotels Restaurants

You can also skim different types of snacks or small size appetizer using this type of skimmer.

Skinner used to skim some food items from hot oil are..

3. Small Skimmer

This type of Skimmer is commonly used at home. Like. To skim Puri, deep fried fish or chicken from hot oil.

4. Chinese spider

This one is commonly used in Restaurants operations. When large amounts of vegetables or Rice is boiling in hot water, you can easily skimmed them using it.