This spinner uses a rotating knob mechanism and has to be operated with both hands — the other hand holds the lid down or it'll tip. It's a little arduous to crank, but the operation is quiet, and although it's not the most effective spinner in our bunch, the greens are dry enough to use. The bowl can be used for serving, but it's got a fairly basic design and is made of filmy clear plastic that makes it look like the base of a food storage container. This spinner has to be hand washed.

Salad spinners will get lettuce almost completely dry–about 90% of the way with a good quality model. Freshly-cleaned lettuce will last longer and experience less wilting if they're rolled up in towels after spinning since the towels will absorb the remaining moisture while keeping the leaves from drying out. As far as bowl material goes, for efficient spinning, you need to be able to see your product to know when it's dry. Clear bowls are best for this, but they're not as attractive if you want to also use them as a serving bowl. Stainless steel bowls tend to be more expensive but make attractive serving bowls. The humble salad spinner may seem like an unnecessary kitchen tool, but we beg to differ: It's revolutionary when it comes to yielding crispy, fresh greens. The centrifugal force created by spinning pulls out dirt particles hidden in the ribs and crevices of your lettuce, spinach, arugula, and more while drawing out any excess liquid. Warding off that lingering moisture helps keep your salad from getting soggy or moldy, but also maintains the consistency and flavor of your salad dressing. Apart from helping to achieve the perfect salad, these handy gadgets are also useful in washing large batches of herbs, cleaning cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or brussel sprouts, and washing berries.During our tests, we evaluated several products that are designed to dry and clean veggies. We chose options ranging from small and compact to large and voluminous. In addition to evaluating the functionality of each, we designed objective tests to look at how well each cleans fine particulates and dries. We also look at the capacity and ease of use. After hours of spinning veggies, we gather our data for a well-rounded look at what the best salad spinners on the market have to offer. We liked the attractive design of this product: The bowl is frosted plastic, and it has a pretty flared shape that makes it a nice serving piece. The colander basket is bright green, matching the cord handle, and the company says it's heat resistant so it can double as a colander for hot foods, like pasta and potatoes.

Certain units performed poorly in this category, specifically the Brieftons BR-SS-02, which only removed 67% of the dirt water, and the Mueller 5-Liter Vegetable Washer, which only removed 70% of the dirt water. Ease of Spinning This updated version of Zyliss' classic salad spinner has a redesigned spin basket that's designed differently from other spinners. Instead of being perfectly round, it has wide ribs, and is designed to "fluff" the salad when you hit the brakes on the spinner. We're not sure if this design is any more effective than a traditional round bowl, but overall the spinner performed well, yielding greens that were fairly dry.For each test, we noted how operating the pump or knob felt and how much strength was required to start and continue spinning. After recording the responsiveness of each spinner and the level of stability the base provided, we saw how many pumps or spins it took to completely clean and dry the produce, noting any difficulty in stopping the spinner once it got going.

We tested each salad spinner using salad greens and herbs with varying water content levels, including romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, radicchio, and cilantro. We also used them on bulkier vegetables, strawberries, and blueberries to asses how they perform with delicate and firm produce. To test the strength of the baskets, we used each to drain freshly-cooked pasta. Oxo is a widely recognized and trusted brand for durable, intuitive, and efficient kitchen tools. This salad spinner is no exception. With this model you can easily prep, wash, and dry a large amount of lettuce, strawberries, bulky root vegetables, canned beans, and so much more. With a 4.95-quart capacity, the basket was able to handle enough food for a family meal when we put it through washing and spinning a large head of romaine lettuce, a pint of blueberries, a quart of strawberries, and a pound of cooked pasta. There are two considerations here: How much storage space you have and the needs based on your family size. The largest basket has a capacity for up to 6 quarts of greens, while the smallest can accommodate about 2.5 quarts. If you're feeding more than a couple of people regularly, the larger model is the way to go, but if it's just you and one other person, the smaller model can get the job done. The Oxo Good Grips Salad Spinner is our top choice because of its large capacity, patented brake, and easy-to-use patented plunger. Equally as impressive is the Oxo Good Grips Little Salad & Herb Spinner, which comes in handy for smaller produce items. How We TestedTwo sturdy clamps keep the lid in place for storage and while you're pouring water out. The spinning action is initiated by a knob that you turn, which is comfortable to hold and can be turned in either direction — nice for lefties. We couldn't resist adding this fun and unique twist on a salad greens dryer to our list, even though it's not technically a salad spinner. The Salad Sling is a double-layered piece of bright green terry cloth fabric (made of polyester, nylon, and polyurethane). It's shaped in a large square, with elongated corners. A plethora of great features make this all-plastic salad spinner a winner. The lid has a hole and a strainer, so you can fill the whole thing with water, use the spinner to agitate the greens, then pour the water out through the hole, while the strainer keeps everything inside. This is especially helpful for very dirty or sandy greens, such as spinach, and it's the only spinner we tested that had this feature. Oftentimes salad spinners can double as serving bowls. Much of this comes down to personal preference, but stainless steel bowls are generally considered more attractive for serving, while clear, plastic bowls are more convenient because they allow you to see the greens as they spin. Consider whether or not you want your spinner to double as a stylish serving bowl (that means less dishes!).

Meal prep for weekly lunches is made easy with the Farberware Professional Salad Spinner. With 5.5 quarts of capacity in the basket and an almost 7-quart bowl, you can easily wash and dry multiple heads of lettuce. During our tests, we washed and spun two large heads of romaine lettuce and observed there was still space in the bowl for more. It can also be used as a colander for other kitchen tasks, such as draining pasta or washing bulky vegetables. Manual Spinners: These may be in the form of a hand crank or a knob, but all manual spinners are going to require a little effort on your part. Most spinners on the lower end of the price range tend to be manual. The SwiftDry Salad spinner uses the same plastic bowl and unusually shaped spin basket as its pull-cord model. But this version has a lid with a lever that pops up. Pushing the lever down will activate the spinning motion through a series of gears that you can actually see through the translucent green plastic housing if you look underneath the lid. Anyone who has grown their own vegetables knows that sometimes things can get a little dirty during the harvesting process. Though greens from the store or your local farmers' market would most likely never be this dirty, our lead reviewer saw it necessary to put the spinners through a more extreme test.

Allrecipes product tester Jessica Harlan used each salad spinner to prep Romaine lettuce for Caesar salad, and kale for Mediterranean kale salad. To start, the lettuce was weighed while still dry, then washed, spun, and weighed again to see how much water remained on the lettuce. During testing, Jessica paid special attention to the following factors: The 4.95-quart basket capacity was ample to clean and dry a large head of romaine lettuce in one of our tests. After a soak in cold water for five minutes, it took only 10 easy pumps to completely remove dirt and thoroughly dry chopped romaine. In another test, we cleaned and spun a pint of blueberries but found the steel bowl caused bruising on the berries. We repeated the test with a quart of strawberries and were pleased with the thorough cleaning without any bruising. With that in mind, this model may not be a wise choice for more delicate berries.