Why You Should Use a Rotating Colander?

What is a rotating or swivel colander?

As an amateur cook with three years of restaurant experience, I’m constantly on the hunt for products that will assist me in my kitchen adventures. I cook at least twice a day, so when I find a product I like I stick to it (and, naturally, boast about it).

I tried out a product called a rotating colander and was immediately hooked. Now I use it everyday, multiple times a day. It’s my go to colander for berries in the morning and an excellent help when I’m prepping dinner because of its seamless ability to convert into two bowls to help me with my veggies.

It even converts into a mixing bowl to help me stir up my omelets, mix pancake batter, or whip up chocolate chip cookie dough. I haven’t seen many of these used in the states, so I figured I’d introduce you to this contraption: the rotating colander, the swivel colander, or whatever we want to call it.

Here are some of my favorite features that have made my life easier through the use of this handy product.

1. It's a colander–but better!

Yup, you guessed it. Called a colander, it functions as a colander—but better. The colander itself is positioned on a swivel above a sturdy and functional bowl. This bowl allows you to catch water to wash your berries, then once thoroughly washed you can simply tip the device over and the water down the drain!

The colander piece and your berries will stay parallel to the ground–safe from spilling. This feature is especially useful when you need a cold shock for noodles like ramen. I tend to fill the bottom bowl with cold water, drain the ramen in the colander, slowly place the colander and ramen down into the cold water, and then drain in your sink!

2. It’s a two-in-one

This type of colander is a two in one. This feature has helped me A LOT with prep cooking. Once I wash my veggies, I can take the basket out of the bowl and use the bowl as a space to put my chopped veggies. If I want certain veggies separated for cooking purposes, I’ll put one set in the colander basket and one set in the bowl. Perfect separation!

3. It’s a superb mixing bowl!

This colander has a handle, which really comes in handy when you're mixing something which requires a lot of force. Cookie dough, burger patties, and pizza dough all benefit from the handle. Recently, I made dumplings for the Chinese Lunar New Year. This was the perfect bowl to mix the pork meat with the herbs and spices.

4. A clever use of space

Having a 2 in 1 product really helps in smaller spaces. Living in an apartment, my space is very limited in the kitchen. Cabinet space must be conserved diligently. Having a product that replaces my mixing bowl and my colander saves space is a huge blessing when it comes to conservation of space. Not to mention, it's much easier to keep track of and to mitigate messes!

5. Bonus use: deicing meats

There are probably hundreds of creative ways to use this simple product, but I’ll leave you on this perk. When you need to run water over icy meats, like shrimp or scallops, this is the tool to use. I put my frozen seafood right into the colander and run cold water over them until the ice melts. The water will naturally pour out the spout and the colander stays stable because of its swivel contraption supported by the bowl. When it's ice free, you can simply tilt the bowl and release all the water! This has saved me from a lot of messes and has made it so much easier to work with tasty seafood.

To sum up, this is a product that I use daily and highly recommend. It saves space from having a mixing bowl AND a colander, and it can be used for countless tasks around the kitchen.

Here’s a quick story to illustrate just how handy these things are. When I prepare potatoes for roasting, I wash them to prevent dirt from getting in my dish. I can wash them in the colander, strain them, and put them to the side outside the bowl. Then, when I cut them up on my cutting board, I simply put the colander to the left and the bowl to the right. As I chop, into the bowl the potatoes go. Mix in some oil, salt, pepper and rosemary, and the potatoes are ready for the oven. Now I only have to wash the colander, the cutting board and the knife. So easy!

Click here to watch the instruction video.