Today I wanted to bake a cake, and I realized how important it is to have a good flour sifter. I remember I bought one a while ago, so I dug it out from the back of my cupboard. It was a bit dusty, but I figured, no problem, I’ll just give it a quick wash.
First, I tried to run it under the tap. That didn’t work too well. Flour got stuck in the mesh, turning into a gooey paste. What a mess! Then I thought, maybe I should soak it. So, I filled a bowl with soapy water and left the sifter in it for about ten minutes.

Big mistake! When I came back, not only was the flour still there, but some parts of the sifter started showing signs of rust. I was annoyed but determined to clean this thing. I grabbed an old toothbrush and started scrubbing.
The toothbrush worked better, but it was still a pain to get all the flour out, especially from the edges. It took me a good 20 minutes to get most of it out. While I was scrubbing, I was thinking there has to be a better way to do this.
After I finally got it clean, I realized I didn’t even sift the flour for my cake yet! So I took a piece of parchment paper, put it on the counter, and then started sifting the flour onto it. I used a glass jar to scoop the flour into the sifter, which actually worked pretty well to avoid making a huge mess on the counter.
- First attempt: Running it under water just made the flour stick.
- Second attempt: Soaking made it a bit rusty and didn’t clean it.
- Third attempt: Scrubbing with a toothbrush was effective but took forever.
- Sifting process: Used parchment paper and a glass jar to minimize mess.
Finally, the flour was sifted, and I could start making my cake batter. It was a lot of hassle just for sifting flour. It got me thinking, what’s the best way to clean these things? And what kind of sifter should I really be using? I mean, this whole ordeal took way longer than it should have. Next time, I am definitely going to look for a better sifter, maybe one that’s easier to clean or even dishwasher safe. There’s got to be a simpler way to do this, right? I’ve heard that these things are great for making the cake batter really fluffy. Also, I want to try making my own bread flour with some ancient grains. So, a good sifter is a must in my kitchen.
In the end, the cake turned out great, but the whole sifter situation was a bit of a nightmare. I definitely need to find a better method for cleaning, or maybe just a better sifter altogether.