A skimmer is a type of kitchen utensil characterized by a wide, shallow, and perforated head attached to a long handle. Its primary function is to remove solid particles, foam, scum, or excess fat from the surface of liquids during cooking, or to gently lift delicate items from hot liquids without scooping up excessive liquid.
Design and Construction
Skimmers typically feature:
- Head: The head is usually flat or slightly curved, and can be round, oval, or rectangular. It is perforated with numerous small holes, slots, or a fine mesh, allowing liquids to drain through quickly while retaining solids.
- Handle: A long handle provides distance from hot pots and pans, ensuring user safety.
- Materials: Common materials include stainless steel for durability and ease of cleaning, heat-resistant plastic, or silicone. Some specialized skimmers, like the chashaku used in the Japanese tea ceremony, might be made from bamboo.
Function and Uses
The design of a skimmer makes it ideal for several culinary tasks:
- Removing impurities: Skimming foam or scum from broths, stocks, soups, or jams to clarify them and improve their appearance and taste.
- Fat removal: Separating excess fat from the surface of braises, stews, or gravies.
- Deep-frying: Lifting fried foods like doughnuts, tempura, or french fries from hot oil, allowing excess oil to drain.
- Blanching and boiling: Gently retrieving blanched vegetables, pasta, or poached eggs from boiling water.
- Tea ceremony: A specialized bamboo skimmer (chashaku) is used to remove foam from whisked matcha tea.
Types and Variations
- General-purpose kitchen skimmer: Often made of metal or heat-resistant plastic, with a round or oval perforated head.
- Spider skimmer (or Chinese skimmer): Characterized by a round, bowl-shaped, coarse wire mesh head, often with a long bamboo or metal handle. It is particularly common in Asian cooking for deep-frying and blanching.
- Slotted spoon: While similar, a slotted spoon typically has a deeper bowl and fewer, larger slots, making it more suitable for scooping solids with some liquid, rather than just skimming surfaces.