Buy an Oxo Good Grips salad spinner or mini salad spinner online

My other half told me once how when he was a kid, his mother used to pick lettuce from the garden, wash it, and then dry the leaves out by wrapping them in a tea towel and whirling it around her head.  This was a very effective technique but it did have a few disadvantages, one being the tendency of everyone and everything within reach to get a good spraying with cold water!  However, there is an alternative: invest in a salad spinner!  You will find that washing and drying your salad and other vegetable leaves becomes less of a chore, and you won't be so tempted to give the salad a miss and go for other, less healthy options.   There are several good salad spinners available to buy online, including a place you might not have thought of - Amazon.com.

The Oxo Good Grips salad spinner can be used one-handed - you put your rinsed salad leaves in the strainer, place the strainer in the bowl and then just give the non-slip knob a single push and leave it to its own devices; the non-slip base ensures that it won't go walkies across your kitchen countertop. To stop, apply the brake - you can do this with just your fingertip. Such ease of use has major benefits for people who find it hard to do things with their hands - in fact, Oxo's Good Grips products have actually won the Tylenol/Arthritis Foundation Design Award. The Oxo Good Grips salad spinner is dishwasher safe, provided you put it on the top rack, and you can use it for storing your lettuce/greens in the fridge. This salad spinner will work with lettuce, spinach and broad-leaved herbs. The Oxo Good Grips salad spinner's dimensions are 6.8 x 10.2 x 10.2 inches.

Want something a bit smaller that can also dry small herb leaves and berries? Then you might like to try the Oxo Good Grips mini salad and herb spinner, which has a ten ounce capacity and is about 8 x 8 x 6 inches in size. A small salad spinner like this is a bonus for anyone who's short of space! Like its big brother, the Oxo Good Grips mini salad and herb spinner has a non-slip base, can be operated with one hand and is dishwasher safe.

Some other salad spinners and products you might like to try

The Progressive International Salad Spinner is a good basic model. Rather than a push-button mechanism, you operate it by turning the handle in the conventional way. As an extra touch, it has a long handle, and is dishwasher safe. Dimensions are 11.5 x 9 x 5.8 inches, which sounds quite large but it will actually hold enough salad leaves or vegetables to feed one or two people, rather than a large family.

If your kitchen is sleek and monochrome, then you might find that the equally sleek and monochrome Starfrit Salad Spinner will fit right in!  Dimensions are 11.5 x 11 x 8.5 inches.  The side handle spins the basket quickly and easily and there is also a "stop" button on the lid. Like the Oxo models, this has a non slip base and is dishwasher safe.

Another option is the Chef'n Large salad spinner, which has a lever-style handle that you pump up and down - again, there's a "stop" button and a non-skid base. 9 x 9 x 6.5 inches in size.

Once you've got your lettuce dry, you'll need to cut it with something!  You can of course use a conventional knife but the Zyliss lettuce knife is something you might also like to try - the serrated plastic blade helps to prevent the cut edges of your lettuce from turning brown.  This knife can be used to cut other food items such as cake, and won't scratch non-stick surfaces.
 
Finally, if you're looking for something that will store your lettuce (and fruit/vegetables) for up to about two weeks, then you might be interested in the Progressive International Lettuce Keeper.  This actually doubles as a colander (although it doesn't spin), and is dishwasher safe.  It has a water reservoir in the base and adjustable vents - together, these ensure that your lettuce has an adequate supply of the moist wafts of air it needs to stay fresher longer!

© KitschKat July 2010