Kitchen Craft Stainless Steel Round Strainer / Sieve, 18cm

Having had a sieve from Tesco break after only a weeks use I sent for this. Much better quality and several months along the line still functioning perfectly

I bought this after having looked around for a really good one for a while. I've bought others in the past that have let me down because they've simply rusted not long after the first use. But this one seems good so far - though I must confess I HAVE NOT put it in the dishwasher even though it says it's dishwashable. This is because my previous one began rusting after I dishwashed it. I think the best way to look after it is to clean it in warm soapy water, rinse and thoroughly dry immediately.

Mind you I do have another make but it's a very small one ( 8cm diameter - if only I could find it in a larger size ) that I put in the dishwash daily and don't bother drying it and that one has lasted me for years and years, so maybe if I took a brave step.....

As to its practicality, it's great!! You can rest it on a bowl rim, leaving you both hands free. And it's a perfect size to store away in a small drawer, especially if your kitchen space is restricting like mine is.

Originally, I did consider a Kitchen Craft Flour Sifter / Aerator, Stainless Steel but this is much quicker and easier to use as you're not having to use a trigger technique which would take longer than this to sift, making your hands ache and this holds a bigger quantity in any case.

Plus the cleaning is much more straight forward - no awkward, hard to get to bits to clean. And especially if it's not completely clean it begins rotting and if it's not completely dry your flour sticks in the awkward, hard to get to bits.

So, overall this one's worked out better all around and it's cheaper.....

Follow-up 13/04/13

Having had this since Dec 2011, it's great and hasn't rusted nor fallen apart.

I've never ever put it in the dishwash, decided against it as I didn't want to take any chances. My teenage daughter loves it and is a keen baker and uses nothing else. She too loves this one and in comparison to the ones at her school, which have rusted and the mesh began to fall apart - this one, if looked after properly, will serve you very well!!

This solid little sieve has managed to withstand having potato put through it as an alternative to mashing, so its got to be made of stronger stuff! I've bought a couple in the past that would have come apart at the thought of that! Its reasonably hard to get excited about a sieve, but this one is fairly easy to clean and shows no sign of rusting just yet, so I'm happy!