One thing I love about cooking is that there’s always more to learn. It can be something involved, such as a cooking technique, or—in the case of my most recent aha moment—something straightforward, such as a different way to use an everyday kitchen tool like a salad spinner.
Equipment
Have You Been Using Your Salad Spinner Wrong? I Have.
This new-to-me method opened my eyes and gave me the cleanest greens I’ve ever had.
By Published May 5, 2022
Sign up for the Well-Equipped Cook newsletter
Shop smarter with our ATK Reviews team's expert guides and recommendations.
America's Test Kitchen will not sell, rent, or disclose your email address to third parties unless otherwise notified. Your email address is required to identify you for free access to content on the site. You will also receive free newsletters and notification of America's Test Kitchen specials.
With my CSA subscription and backyard raised beds, I’ve been using my salad spinner a lot this summer. Until a few days ago, this was how I did it: I’d place my greens, herbs, or vegetables in the perforated basket; run it under water in the sink; return the insert to the salad spinner’s bowl; and then spin it dry.
Simple, yes. But not always very effective.
The Best Salad Spinner
Our Winner: OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner
This salad spinner is easy to use—with just one hand—and was the most effective of our lineup at removing water from a variety of greens.Buy Now
This technique never got all the dirt off the food, but I figured it was the best it could do. That is, until I came across this article on how to use a salad spinner. I’d been using it incorrectly—or at least inefficiently—this whole time.
To get greens and vegetables really clean, here’s how our ATK Reviews team recommends using a salad spinner:
How to Use Your Salad Spinner
1. Place your food inside the basket. Keep the basket of food inside the outer bowl and fill it with water to thoroughly soak the contents.
2. Lift out the basket, let water drain out, and empty the outer bowl. Repeat until the food is free of dirt and grit.
3. Return the basket to the bowl and spin its contents dry. If a lot of water has come off the food, remove the basket, dump the excess water, and spin again.
The insert and bowl are a colander-and-container combination! Running water over my ingredients in the sink was never going to be as effective as submerging them in water and sloshing them around. Using the two parts of the salad spinner this way made all the difference.
At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this method has been a real game changer. It opened my eyes and gave me the cleanest greens I’ve ever had.