In a world where consumers are bombarded with expansive lists of the best kitchen gadgets you can buy, it may give a person pause to ponder whether some of these low- and high-tech tools are needed. After all, generations that came before didn’t have all these conveniences, and they seemed to get by. Still, there are those that intrigue, including the humble salad spinner. This kitchen tool, which consists of a bowl, a colander, and a lid with a spinning mechanism, was designed to quickly wash and dry salad greens.
To use, simply place your greens in the basket-like colander and rinse with water. Then place the colander into the bowl, snap the lid in place, and press the button, which causes the basket and greens to go spinning. Centrifugal force is at play here. It pushes the water off the leaves, which seem to fling across the sides of the bowl like a rainstorm. The end result is salad leaves that are dry and ready to toss in a spring salad with asparagus or a summery strawberry spinach salad without having to wait an hour for them to drain and dry. But do you really need one?
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Should You Buy A Salad Spinner?
Hands placing veggies into a salad spinner – Westend61/Getty Images
A salad spinner is not a small, dainty gadget. It takes up cabinet space, which can be a premium if your kitchen is small. However, if you eat a lot of salad, this tool could be your best friend, and it has other uses. Soggy leaves can destroy the crunch of leafy greens and make it difficult for salad dressing to cling and adhere to them. A salad spinner will help ease this common problem when you wash the leaves and don’t have time to adequately dry them.
This tool can also be multi-purpose, which is the real test of any good kitchen gadget. A salad spinner is perfect for washing and drying those delicate fresh herbs, for draining pasta, washing and drying berries, and when you are salting moisture-rich veggies to push out the excess water. Place just about anything in the salad spinner basket and give it a spin to remove any remaining liquid.
That said, you might still be wondering what you can use if you don’t have a salad spinner. If you love the idea of this contraption, but don’t have the room, a pillow case can mimic what a salad spinner does. Just place your wet greens in one of these cases, clamp it so it doesn’t open, and spin it around until the leaves are no longer soggy. So, do you really need a salad spinner? No. Is it nice to have? If you have the space and love salad, yes.
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