By now you know how I detest clutter. And how I’m adamant about how everything in the kitchen should earn its space-price. So, I deeply appreciate things that multi-task—it’s simply about space economy.

A good example of a kitchen tool that multi-tasks is the lowly colander. You need to think way beyond draining pasta here. The colander is full of surprises! Here are just a few that I found on www.yummly.com. Article author, Ashley Strickland Freeman, made my day with these.


DE-STEMMER FOR HERBS. The next time you make a big batch of chimichurri, you’ll want to try this. Most recipes want you to add fresh cilantro, parsley, and oregano (ALL de-stemmed) in a blender with oil, garlic, and vinegar. Every time I go to de-stem fresh herbs, I think, “Who has time for this? There’s got to be a better way.”

There is. All you have to do is turn the colander on its side and insert a stem of parsley through the hole facing upwards in the colander. Place the colander flat on the surface, give the parsley a little tug, and voila, the leaves will fall to the counter top and you’ll have a stripped stem in your hand.


CAKE POP HOLDER. While they are time consuming, they’re not too hard to make — if you have the proper tools. And that’s when the handy-dandy colander comes into play. After rolling and dipping and sprinkling the cake balls, the last thing you want to do is lay them on their sides to get dented (or stuck to the baking sheet). An upended colander is the perfect solution to use as a holder while the pops dry.

Ashley said that the holes in her colander were a little large for traditional lollipop sticks, so she put a couple of ramekins inside the upside-down colander. The pops then had a little platform to rest on once they were inserted into the colander holes. And they were spread out enough to avoid touching each other.


SPLATTER SCREEN. Don’t we all love bacon, but don’t we all despise the mess it makes? To combat this irritation, try using your colander as a splatter screen as the bacon cooks. This also helps catch any pops of grease that could burn anyone standing near the stove.

STEAMER BASKET. A colander is the perfect tool for stove top steaming. If you’ve tried using one of those metal collapsible steamer inserts, you may have noticed it can be tricky. The little ring in the center tends to slip or collapse at the most inopportune time, and more often than not your steamed food can fall out of the basket, either into the pot of water or onto the floor. Grrr.

A colander has handles so this never happens! And it doesn’t matter that the handles prevent the colander from fitting completely inside your pot — you can still cover it and steam away.


RICER FOR MASHED POTATOES. While ricers make the most glorious, velvety mashed potatoes, good ones are expensive, they’re bulky and difficult to store, and they only do one job. So forget the ricer and opt for your colander. It’s the perfect stand-in. After cooking your potatoes, drain them in the colander and then use the back of a wooden spoon or spatula to press the cooked potatoes through the holes in the colander into a bowl. You’ll have perfectly riced potatoes. No fancy, space-eating tool required.


Who knew that lowly colander was so full of surprises!