Why We Love This Pasta Strainer

There’s nothing a few colander I discover fulfilling. From the house it occupies within the cupboard and the dishwasher to the concept that it holds meals an inch or so above the underside of a—let’s be trustworthy—germy sink, almost all the things concerning the software wants assist. For many pasta dishes, I fish noodles out of boiling water with a spider so I can end them in sauce in a separate pan. Nevertheless, having a child modified how we make pasta.

Any dad or mum who denies leaning on boxed mac and cheese is mendacity. For years my spouse grumbled about what a ache our colander is, which is about the identical dimension as our four-quart mixing bowl, dragging it out to empty the medium saucepan stuffed with water required to make about two-and-a-half cups of pasta, as a part of a kid-approved dinner. So when she identified the Chef’s Planet Clip On Pasta Strainer years in the past, I shrugged when requested if I assumed it will work. I used to be uncertain because it had an “as seen on TV” vibe to it. I waited a couple of weeks—simply lengthy sufficient for the mac and cheese troubles to bubble up once more—earlier than gifting it to her. Sure, reader, I do know: Not all heroes put on capes. That was seven or eight years in the past, and the strainer has basically changed our colander for all however the greatest jobs (although we nonetheless save a cup of that candy pasta water once we need to end it with a sauce). 

Now we boil the pasta, clip the strainer onto the pot on the range, drain the noodles principally dry, pop off the strainer into the sink, after which end the prep off with butter, milk, and neon orange powdered cheese. After dinner, we nestle the Chef’s Planet neatly between a pair of tines within the dishwasher’s higher rack.

Why It’s Nice

The rationale the strainer is so profitable is a numbers sport. An ordinary six-ounce field of mac and cheese is crammed with dozens of tiny shells, although your child’s favourite model may need small elbows or Paw Patrol footprints. None of those shapes are simple to tug out with a spider strainer or slotted spoon and it’s such just a little quantity of water that utilizing an enormous colander seems like overkill. We’re coping with about six cups of water to make a field, so we normally flip to our small, 1.5-quart saucepot or the taller, three-quart model. With both, it’s hardly the quantity of water wanted to make a field of spaghetti. The Chef’s Planet is simply the correct quantity of problem to take care of on the subject of small to medium-sized pots. When not in use it sits in our kitchen junk drawer, proper subsequent to these small plunger-style measuring cups.

The Form Is Common

The strainer’s 91 holes drain water effectively, however you must pour with a bit extra consideration than when utilizing a bigger colander. The roughly seven-by-three-inch wall retains a lot of the meals within the saucepot, however for those who pour too aggressively some shells would possibly bounce ship and into the germy pool that’s your sink. The clamp has a silicone pad that grips the skin of the pot, stopping the attachment from sliding, so you’ll be able to ship scalding sizzling water to your drain with confidence. It’s produced from ABS plastic, so it’s food-safe and hasn’t warped. As an alternative of a typical coiled steel spring to offer the clamp’s stress, the Chef’s Planet makes use of a large strip of stainless-steel that is remained rust-free all these years later. It grips onto any pot we now have, although the design, which features a quick fence that hugs the skin lip of the pot, appears to suit finest on our three-quart saucepan, which is about 7.75 inches large. Whereas we’ve used it for full packing containers of standard pasta, it may be awkward to tip a Dutch oven or stockpot over into the sink and maintain it there for a couple of seconds whereas it drains. So, we nonetheless maintain a colander round for giant batches of spaghetti.

Its Makes use of Go Past Mac and Cheese

It’s not a spec you’ll discover on-line, however the radius on the arch of the strainer is 9.05 inches—so it should match a variety of spherical diameters. Different methods I exploit it: to pressure water away from microwaved veggies in a one-quart bowl, to catch the shredded bits of meat on the backside of our pressure cooker that I didn’t need to clog up the drain, and to pressure tomato juice away from solids in a 28-ounce can.

FAQs

Is the Chef’s Planet Clip On Pasta Strainer heat-resistant?

Sure, the Chef’s Planet is produced from heat-resistant, food-safe ABS plastic. Whereas some descriptions point out its capacity to pressure grease from a frying pan, I’d solely suggest doing that when the oil has cooled to room temperature. The attachment can be dishwasher-safe.

What’s the distinction between a strainer and a colander?

They will typically carry out comparable duties, however usually, a colander is a bowl-shaped vessel perforated with holes or areas that permit the cooking liquid to cross via whereas capturing the meals. A strainer, usually referred to as a fine-mesh strainer, is a handheld system that is sort of a small colander with a deal with, although the holes are a lot smaller and spaced nearer collectively so it may filter out meals particles like pulp from juice.

My pot or bowl has a lip, will the Chef’s Planet match?

The strainer has a fence molded in that hugs the outer fringe of the pot’s rim, with a tab that then sits on the within of the pot. There’s a roughly 0.375-inch large hole between the 2, so so long as your pot’s lip is narrower than that, it ought to match.

Why We’re the Specialists

• Sal Vaglica was the tools editor for Critical Eats. He now freelances for the location.
• Sal has used the Chef’s Planet strainer, as a substitute of a full-size colander, not less than as soon as every week for years now.