Depending on your cooking method, you might require two or three colanders. Several options are available with various capacities, sizes, and shapes of the draining holes, which is fantastic news. We’ve compiled some of the top colanders to choose from to meet your home demands. To ensure that these colanders were the best, a lot of pasta was drained, and fruits, vegetables, salad greens, rice, and other small grains were rinsed.
Most of us are unaware of how crucial a decent colander is. It’s undoubtedly one of the kitchen appliances you use the most. You may use it to rinse berries, drain pasta, clean off canned beans, and much more. The truth is that you probably don’t give your colander much thought until you notice that your current filter isn’t draining as well as you would like it to. We’ve conducted the tests to assist you in selecting the best colander for your requirements, whether you’re looking to purchase a new colander or update the one you already own.
What is Exactly Colander?
A colander is a hemispherical cooking tool with two handles and holes typically made of plastic or metal (most commonly aluminum or enameled iron). It is employed to remove cooking liquid from meals. Spaghetti is often drained in a colander after cooking, and the colander is filled with the contents of the pot—water and pasta—and shaken briefly to remove all the water. In any Italian kitchen, a colander is necessary for draining pasta, cleaning products, and even draining the water from salty veggies like eggplant.
The Best Colander for your Kitchen
Here are some of the best colanders for your kitchen:
LiveFresh Stainless Steel Micro-Perforated 5-Quart Colander
Features:
- Microperforated Holes Drain Faster And Prevent Fall-through. Extra close, small holes on every surface allow for super-fast drainage, so you don’t have to tilt the bowl to get all the water out. Our robust sieve holds onto your spaghetti noodles and cooked rice and stops small foods from falling through.
- Save Time Cleaning. 100% dishwasher safe and rust-proof, this 5 Quart colander has never been easier to clean. The smooth pierced metal is gentle on your dishcloths and hands.
- Indestructible Design With Riveted Handles. Constructed of professional-grade 18/10, 304 stainless steel and built to last a lifetime. Our steel will never deform or bend as it’s 20% thicker than other colanders. Our premium handles are riveted to the bowl and will never come off!
- Warranty For Life. Rest assured, and we are so confident that you will love our product that we back it up with a 100% lifetime manufacturer’s warranty. If you are unhappy with your purchase for your reason, get your money back, no questions asked.
- Rapid Draining Ring Base That Won’t Tip Over. The sturdy solid ring base keeps the colander from tipping over so you can fill it up without fear of dumping your food. Precision-cut drainage ports are added to the base to prevent backflow, and now water will not get trapped in the base.
Chef Craft Select Plastic Deep Colander
Features:
- The colander is 11 x 5 inches in size with a 5-quart capacity
- Large holes allow water to flow out easily
- Balanced feet allow the colander to sit sturdily on the counter or in a sink
- Made of durable, safe BPA free plastic
- Dishwasher safe for an easy cleanup
Colander Set 2 Collapsible Colanders
Features:
- Best colander set for your kitchen – Works for draining most foods like spaghetti, pasta, potatoes, broccoli, green beans, carrots, spinach and other veggies. User these strainers to rinse your salad leaves, fruits and fresh vegetables.
- Collapsible, folding, space-saving design – Ergonomic, space-saving design. Strainers are foldable, so they do not take up much-needed room in your kitchen cupboards. Collapsed filters are less than 2 inches high!
- Use a colander for two pot sizes. The two included food strainers are 8 and 9.5 inches in diameter. Now you can work with two food products simultaneously and use them on different pot sizes.
- Comfortable & safe – The handles are comfortable, soft and rubberized. Heat resistant up to 212ºF/100°C. These filters can be quickly immersed in boiling water to blanch vegetables like spinach, broccoli, green beans etc.
- Quality and support: We created a great product for you. Our promise to you, our customer, is that you will always be treated fairly and with respect. You will not be disappointed with our industry-leading policies and customer service.
Cuisinart Over-The-Sink Colander
Features:
Cuisinart CTG-00-3MS Set of 3 Fine Set of Mesh Strainers
Features:
- The Cuisinart set of filters comes in 3 sizes 3-⅛-inch, 5-½-inch and 7-⅞-inch sizes
- Excellent for sifting dry ingredients
- Made from durable stainless steel mesh
- Easy to use and dishwasher safe for an easy cleanup
- Refer to the user manual for troubleshooting steps and questions surrounding warranty policies – this product is BPA-free.
What to Look for in a Colander?
When you are buying a colander, you should remember these important factors:
Size
A large colander will be useful for washing food for a large group, but storage can be difficult. Smaller colanders are ideal for modest jobs like washing a single salad’s worth of greens or cleaning a handful of berries. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, it may be wise to keep several colanders on hand to accommodate all of your cooking methods.
Material
Because stainless steel is strong and rust-proof, it can be used as a bowl for foods like onions, potatoes, and fruits that benefit from some air circulation. However, stainless steel costs more than plastic, putting a strain on the wallet for such a basic item. Modern plastics are strong, yet they are not unbreakable. Although they will eventually need to be replaced, while they are in use, they are unquestionably cost-effective.
Hole Size/Shape
A colander with big holes is useful when washing root vegetables, berries, or greens since the grit and debris may readily pass through with the water. Larger holes are more effective since they drain more quickly. However, it’s crucial to have small holes in the colander if it will be used to drain or rinse rice or microscopic pasta so that the food won’t drain away.
What is the Proper Way to Use A Colander?
If the colander has the right feet or base, you can place it directly into the sink and pour it while resting it on top of a large dish or pot. Not only can this be disgusting if the water combines with other things in the sink and washes back onto what you’ve cooked, but you also don’t want to toss everything into the colander and watch the water fill up. Therefore, please ensure the sink is empty and clean and the drain is uncapped and open before placing a colander.
To avoid surprises, pour the cooked food into the colander in stages and check to see that the water has completely drained before adding more. This is because the physics of hot water sluicing down a kitchen drain causes the water to run out more slowly than you might anticipate. It takes a couple of extra seconds of patience, but it can help.
Can you Use Colander to Steam?
You can use a colander to steam food if your pot has no built-in steamer component, but you’ll need to exercise caution. When everything is cold and empty, you should check to see how well or poorly the colander fits into the pot you intend to use, regardless of whether it has a single handle, two handles, or feet.
There should be an inch or more space between the bottom of the colander and the bottom of the pot, and the colander should hang evenly or sit on the rim. Without it, the food in the colander’s bottom sits in the water, causing you to boil rather than steam the food.
Check to see if the lid fairly fits on top after that. Although it doesn’t need to seal properly, a lid too slack will allow all the steam to escape, defeating the purpose. It’s time to buy a pot with a steamer insert or a separate steamer if you can’t get all three sections to nest adequately together. It’s also better to forego the idea of utilizing a plastic colander as a steamer insert rather than pushing the boundaries of what could and might not melt when exposed to high heat. It is likely to melt or distort when in touch with the pot or while being splashed with hot water unless it is silicone and specifically made for the task.
How do you Clean the Colander?
When you’re done using a colander, it can be tempting to rinse it under water, but that isn’t acceptable. Food particles will conceal, and things will stick even if the residue isn’t apparent, especially to silicone and plastic. Rice and pasta starches are naturally sticky and will adhere to the surface of the colander. Put the colander in the dishwasher if it is safe to do so. If not, scrub it well with soap, inside and out, using a bottle brush or other sink scrubber to get into the holes or mesh. Put the colander through the dishwasher fully open if it is collapsible and dishwasher safe, so the water goes into all the cracks. Any colander should be dry before being stored.
Conclusion
A sturdy colander is a need in any kitchen. You can use a sieve, but it won’t provide the same drainage, won’t be able to handle huge amounts, and won’t support the weight of your potatoes. In other words, a colander is a piece of necessary equipment around the house and when working with boiling water.
Consider the amounts you’ll be draining before choosing which colander to purchase. You won’t need anything substantial if there are simply a few potatoes or berries. Some of the tiniest colanders double as ladles with holes so you can quickly scoop a little serving of pasta or peas from the pan.
On the other hand, a larger colander would be a better option if you frequently make mashed potatoes for four people.
If cabinet space is limited, you might want to think about a colander that collapses into itself. Finding a colander that can perform multiple tasks is an additional choice. We put some to the test by making them serve double duty as bowls.
