Salad spinner

A salad spinner, also known as a salad tosser, is a kitchen tool used to wash and remove excess water from salad greens. It uses centrifugal force to separate the water from the leaves, enabling salad dressing to stick to the leaves without dilution.

Salad spinners are usually made from plastic and include an outer bowl with an inner removable colander or strainer basket. A cover, which fits around the outside bowl, contains a spinning mechanism that when initiated causes the inside strainer to rotate rapidly. The water is driven through the slits in the basket into the outer bowl. There are a number of different mechanisms used to operate the device, including crank handles, push buttons and pull-cords. The salad spinner is generally easy to use, though its large and rigid shape has been criticized by food editor Leanne Kitchen and Herald-Journal reporter Mary Hunt. A salad spinner is often considered bulky and difficult to store.

Although devices used to wash, dry and spin salad have long been in existence, including one from the 19th century, the modern mechanism-operated spinner originated in the early 1970s. In 1974, the Mouli Manufacturing Co. introduced a crank-operated salad spinner to the American market; other companies were not far behind with their own patented variations. The product sold favorably and demand was high, with stores struggling to keep it in stock. Despite the product's popularity, however, it was not entirely without criticism; some were skeptical about the necessity of "another gourmet gadget".^[1]