Tamis

A tamis (pronounced "tammy", also known as a drum sieve, or chalni in Indian cooking) is a kitchen utensil, shaped somewhat like a snare drum, that acts as a strainer, grater, or food mill. A tamis has a cylindrical edge, made of metal or wood, that supports a disc of fine metal, nylon, or horsehair mesh. To use one, the cook places the tamis above a bowl and adds the ingredient to be strained in the center of the mesh. The food is then pushed through using a scraper or pestle. Tamises have been in use since the Middle Ages.

Because the tamis' mesh is flat, downward pressure can be applied with little effort simply by scraping with a horizontal motion. In comparison, a chef using a chinoise must push down through the tip. A tamis should be used with the inner hoop uppermost, first because it holds more, and second so that the bowl below will rest on the hoop rather than the mesh. Tamises sift and grate ingredients finer than any other utensil, and the texture of the strained material is evenly consistent.

Timiș River

The Timiș or Tamiš (Romanian: Timiș; Serbian: Тамиш or Tamiš; German: Temesch; Hungarian: Temes) is a 339 km (211 mi) long river originating from Semenic Mountains (1,410 m (4,630 ft)), southern Carpathian Mountains, Caraș-Severin County, Romania. It flows through the Banat region and flows into the Danube near Pančevo, in northern Serbia.

Name

In antiquity, the river was known as Tibiscus (in latin) and Tibisis (Θίβισις in ancient greek); in addition, Edward Gibbon referred to it as the Teyss.

The Romans, who traversed the plains of Hungary, suppose that they passed several navigable rivers, either in canoes or portable boats; but there is reason to suspect that the winding stream of the Teyss, or Tibiscus, might present itself in different places under different names.

Characteristics

The drainage area covers 13,085 km² (5,052 sq mi) (Romania 8,085 km² (3,122 sq mi), Serbia 5,000 km² (1,900 sq mi)). With the Danube, it belongs to the Black Sea drainage basin. The river flows through Romania for 241 km (150 mi), and 118 km (73 mi) through Serbia.