What Is a Colander Used For? | Kitchens Best Drain Tool

If you boil pasta, rinse berries, or open a can of beans, you reach for a colander. Its rigid bowl and wide perforations let water gush through while holding every last piece of food inside. Unlike a fine-mesh strainer, which catches tiny seeds and grains, a colander handles the jobs that produce gallons of water — pasta, potatoes, big batches of greens. Pick one with sturdy handles, a flat base, and stainless steel construction, and you own the one kitchen tool that makes draining effortless.

The Three Main Colander Jobs

A colander has three everyday tasks that cover nearly every drained-food scenario in a home kitchen.

1. Draining Pasta

Set the colander in a clean sink basin. Pour the cooked spaghetti, penne, or fusilli directly into it — water and all. Shake gently to get rid of the hot water clinging to the noodles. Don’t rinse unless the recipe explicitly calls for a cold pasta salad; rinsing strips the starch that helps sauce stick to every strand. Tip the drained pasta back into the dry pot or a serving bowl and mix in your sauce.

2. Rinsing Produce

Place the colander in the sink, load in berries, lettuce leaves, or cherry tomatoes, and run cool water over them while you shake the colander gently. This exposes every piece to running water. Finish with a firm shake to shed excess moisture, then pat dry with paper towels. It is the fastest way to clean a pound of strawberries without bruising them.

3. Draining Canned Foods

Open a can of black beans, chickpeas, or fruit cocktail and pour the contents straight into the colander set in the sink. Shake it a few times and the brine or syrup is gone. If you want to save the liquid (aquafaba for vegan recipes, fruit syrup for cocktails), set the colander over a large bowl first — the liquid collects below, the food stays above.

Creative Uses Beyond Draining

A stainless steel colander does far more than drain water. Because it holds heat without melting, it steps in for tools you do not own.

Steaming vegetables: Set the colander in a pot with an inch of simmering water (make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the colander), add broccoli florets or carrot sticks, and cover with a lid. Steam until tender — the colander pores vent steam evenly. Making yogurt cheese: Line the colander with cheesecloth, set it over a bowl, pour in plain yogurt, and let gravity drain the whey overnight. By morning you have thick, spreadable Greek-style yogurt. Stripping fresh herbs: Push rosemary or thyme stems through the colander holes from the outside. A firm tug separates the leaves, and the stems stay in the colander. Making potato mash: Press cooked potato chunks through the holes with a rubber spatula to produce a light, even mash without a ricer. Preventing grease splatter: Invert a metal colander over a skillet of sizzling bacon or ground beef. The steam can still escape through the holes, but the grease stays inside the colander’s dome.

Common Mistakes and Material Tips

Knowing what a colander cannot do is just as important. Its large holes let seeds pass: straining lemon juice or skimming broth foam demands a fine-mesh strainer. Overfilling a colander makes it unstable when you lift it, so match the batch size to the colander size. A plastic colander warps under boiling water or direct heat — use stainless steel for any hot-task or steaming use.

If you are ready to upgrade or buy your first quality colander, our tested roundup of the best colanders for every kitchen task shows which models hold up to daily use and which design features actually matter. Most importantly, rest the colander flat in the sink or in a large bowl — curbed basins without a rim can tip a base-less colander, dumping pasta and hot water onto the floor.

For safety, always use dry oven mitts or a thick towel when handling a stainless steel colander fresh from draining boiling pasta. The handles get hot fast, and steam can billow upward when you pour. Plastic colanders never get dangerously hot, but they deform and degrade when exposed repeatedly to boiling water — they are fine for rinsing fruit and draining cans, but not for pasta or steaming.