A colander (or cullender) is a kitchen utensil used to strain foods such as pasta or to rinse vegetables.[1] The perforated nature of the colander allows liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside. It is sometimes also called a pasta strainer or kitchen sieve.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Blue_colander.jpg/300px-Blue_colander.jpg)
Description and history
editTraditionally, colanders are made of a light metal, such as aluminium or thinly rolled stainless steel. Colanders are also made of plastic, silicone, ceramic, and enamelware.[2]
The word colander comes from the Latin colum, meaning sieve.[1]
Types
edit- Bowl- or cone-shaped – the traditional colander
- Mated colander pot[3]
Other uses
editThe colander in the form of a pasta strainer was adopted as the religious headgear of the religion Pastafarianism in deference to the Flying Spaghetti Monster.[4]
Colanders are also used during solar eclipses to project multiple images of a partial eclipse onto the ground for safe viewing of the eclipse.[5][6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "colander". merriam-webster.com. Merriam-Webster. 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Colander". CooksInfo.com. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
- ^ "Mated Colander Pot". justcooking.in. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Pastafarian protester carries an icon of the Flying Spaghetti Monster at Piazza XXIV Maggio square in Milan, Italy, on June 2, 2012". Wikimedia Commons.
- ^ "Annular Solar Eclipse Safety". NASA. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "How to observe an eclipse safely". BBC Sky at Night Magazine. BBC. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
External links
edit- Media related to Colanders at Wikimedia Commons
- The dictionary definition of colander at Wiktionary
- Colander vs Strainer