The Greatest Salad Spinner Is from OXO

Salad goes with just about something, however its omnipresence belies its true complexity. Even the best variations profit from consideration to element. Whether or not you’re utilizing spicy arugula, tender spinach, or raucously crunchy iceberg, beginning with contemporary, clear, and dry lettuce yields the most effective outcomes. (I acknowledge the existence of jello, marshmallow, and pasta salads, however for this evaluation, I’m specializing in the leaf-based selection.) 

Lettuce, particularly entire heads, tends to carry on to dust. Nobody desires to chunk down on a rock or a little bit of grit throughout dinner. That is the place the salad spinner is available in. Whereas testing the greatest salad spinners for Critical Eats, I used over a dozen to dry kilos of lettuce and contemporary herbs. After weeks of crunching on assorted greens, I made a decision to maintain the OXO Good Grips Glass Salad Spinner. It wasn’t the one efficient product, nevertheless it was the one one which stole my coronary heart. 

Why the Oxo Salad Spinner Is the Greatest

This mannequin is all the things {that a} salad spinner must be. It’s highly effective, user-friendly, and versatile. All salad spinners use the identical fundamental precept: A perforated basket holds lettuce in place whereas centrifugal pressure, created by rotation, sends water droplets flying. The physics doesn’t change, however the spinning mechanism does. Push-pumps, just like the one discovered on the OXO glass and stainless-steel spinners, are the best to function. They don’t want a lot handbook energy to achieve high pace—making use of downward stress is way simpler than producing lateral pressure as a result of you should use your physique weight. The OXO glass spinner has a clean, sturdy pump that may be locked in a collapsed place for simplified storage. 

A salad spinner’s basket additionally impacts efficiency. Ones with giant holes depraved away extra water than fashions with tiny ones. The OXO salad spinner’s basket resembles a loosely woven wicker—its giant, lateral openings lure greens whereas leaving ample area for escaping water. This design, paired with its highly effective deal with, can dry sopping-wet greens in simply over 30 seconds. 

Drying energy isn’t this spinner’s solely benefit. Our evaluation named 5 worthwhile salad spinners—the successful fashions can all efficiently separate leaves and water. For my part, so long as the product works, aesthetic concerns are additionally legitimate. The OXO’s glass bowl makes this spinner stand out as the most effective of the most effective. 

Each salad spinner I’ve tried claims that the outer container doubles as dinnerware or a serving bowl. In some circumstances, this suggestion isn’t significantly interesting. With frequent use, a plastic bowl can scratch, develop cloudy, and launch chemical compounds. The OXO’s thick glass bowl is sturdy and scratch-resistant. It’ll by no means shed microplastics, even after 100 dishwasher cycles. OXO’s stainless-steel salad spinner gives one other viable different to plastic, however a steel bowl just isn’t my first selection for the dinner desk. Recent salads are stunning, and we eat with our eyes first, so a clear glass bowl makes for a greater presentation. 

Right here’s the place I get actually choosy. Salad spinners have a pivot level—a little bit spike within the heart of the bowl that elevates the basket so it will probably spin freely. It’s structurally obligatory, nevertheless it’s additionally a telltale sign that your serving dish is, actually, a spinner basin. Is that this a contact obsessive? Certain. Am I comfortable there’s an answer? Completely. The OXO Good Grips Glass Salad Spinner makes use of a detachable plastic disc as a pivot level. Once you take this piece out, the basin seems like every other glass bowl. It’s the one salad spinner that actually deserves a spot on the desk. I’ve even served out of it at dinner events.

All of those particulars come collectively to create a very nice product. I take advantage of the OXO Good Grips Glass Salad Spinner a minimum of twice every week. Along with lettuce, it’s an effective way to wash herbs, berries, inexperienced beans, or every other pile of small, delicate produce. With a mixture of magnificence and performance, it greater than justifies the space for storing. 

FAQs

How do salad spinners work?

Once you set a salad spinner in movement, the rotation generates centrifugal pressure. This center-fleeing pressure pushes all the things contained in the spinner out in opposition to the perimeters of a perforated basket. The basket partitions maintain lettuce in place whereas water escapes via the gaps. 

Are salad spinners dishwasher-safe?

Some salad spinners are dishwasher-safe—test the product particulars for particular care directions. Salad spinners have three elements: a perforated plastic basket, a stable outer bowl, and a lid geared up with some sort of spinning mechanism. Plastic elements are typically not backside rack dishwasher-safe.  

Why We’re the Consultants

• Madeline Muzzi is a author, editor, and video producer.
• She has written many opinions for Critical Eats, together with wine decanters and countertop ice makers.
• Madeline has owned and used the OXO Glass Salad Spinner for over two years. 
• Madeline beforehand examined 14 salad spinners for a Critical Eats salad spinner evaluation.