Milk strainer

At a glance

• Region: Hautes-Alpes
• Material: Swiss stone pine (arolla), carved in one piece
• Use: straining milk straight after milking
• Appeal: a sculptural, silky surface polished by use

What it is

The passe-lait is a shallow carved bowl with a hole or strainer in the base and two projecting handles. It rested across the mouth of the larger vessel, and milk poured through it left behind hairs, straw and other debris from the milking.

The example in the book is described as monoxyle, meaning it is cut from a single block of wood. It is made of pin cembro, the Swiss stone pine of the high Alps.

Why stone pine

Stone pine grows near the tree line and has long been the favored wood for Alpine carving: it is soft enough to work with a knife and gouge, dense and fine-grained, and pleasantly scented. Shepherds who spent the summer in mountain pastures had both the material and the time to make their own tools.

Years of handling and washing give these pieces a smooth patina that the book compares to silk.

Collecting and using one today

A strainer of this kind is now valued as a decorative object as much as a tool. Look for a single-piece construction, sound handles without old repairs and a surface worn by use rather than sanded. Small drying cracks are common and acceptable if stable.

Hung on a wall or set on a table as a bowl for dry things, it brings the mountain dairy into a living room.