Okay, so today I’m messing around with this old-school flour sifter, the Bromwell one. You know, the kind your grandma probably used. I’ve always seen these things in antique shops and thought they were pretty neat, so I finally snagged one for myself.
First off, I got this thing online. I was curious about how these were first sold. Turns out, they were priced at something like $3.50 for a gross back in the day. My guess is that they are much more expensive today. And this one I got, it’s the “Legendary Flour Sifter,” patented in 1930, or so it says.
Now, I know most flour you grab from the grocery store these days comes pre-sifted. But I wanted to see what the fuss was all about with these sifters.
I started by dumping some flour into the sifter. This one’s a bit different from the modern ones. It’s got this crank on the side that you turn. I gave it a few whirls, and man, it was kind of satisfying to watch the flour come out all fine and fluffy. It did take a bit of elbow grease, though.
- Load it up: I put about two cups of flour into the sifter.
- Crank it: Started turning that crank. It wasn’t super smooth, but it did the job.
- Watch the magic: The flour came out looking way lighter than when it went in.
I also tried shaking it a bit, like some other sifters. This helped to move the flour around and get it through the mesh. But honestly, the crank was more effective.
After sifting, I measured the flour again. It was a bit tricky to get an exact cup measurement. Some sources say 1 cup should be around 120g, but without a digital scale, it’s hard to be sure. I just eyeballed it, and it seemed about right.
So, what’s the verdict? Well, using this Bromwell sifter was a fun little trip back in time. It’s definitely not as convenient as the pre-sifted stuff or even some of the newer sifters, like the Cook N Home or OXO Good Grips ones I’ve seen around. I heard those have better handles. And the Norpro one is famous for exact measurements. But there’s something cool about using a tool that’s been around for almost a century.
Would I use it every day? Probably not. But it’s a nice piece to have in the kitchen, and it’s definitely a conversation starter. Plus, it makes me appreciate how easy we have it now with all our modern gadgets. But honestly, it is fun to use the old-fashioned tools sometimes.
