Bonnie: Space-saving, useful kitchen gadgets like the OXO Good Grips Silicone Collapsible Colander are always welcome in my kitchen.

This colander is useful as a strainer (to drain pasta or rinse fruits, veggies or canned beans) or as a basket (to steam veggies over or blanch in boiling water in a saucepan or stockpot).

What’s best is when it’s open the colander stands upright; and when closed it collapses almost flat for easy storage in a drawer or cabinet. And, it’s also dishwasher safe. Way to go, OXO.

Bryan: There are certain products that come along and are simply a revelation; they absolutely replace whatever existed before them, and we wonder how we ever lived without the new product to begin with. I have a good friend who refers to all antiquated products with one simple term, “buggy whips.” The term originated with a device that has totally disappeared from the modern market, replaced by innovation. The whips, specifically used for driving a horse-drawn carriage, were essentially rendered useless as more people adopted motorized cars.

Today, we see another example of product evolution, with the collapsible colander relegating the normal colander to the annals of buggy-whipdom. Why would I ever want to own a normal colander again? There just isn’t a good answer; if you’re still producing normal colanders, you might as well be making buggy whips. Colanders are the most cumbersome component of my cupboard collection, but no longer. The OXO collapsible colander folds down to lay less than 2-inches high; I can now store my colander in my gadgets drawer!

And surprise: It’s easier to clean than a normal metal or enamel colander as it’s completely dishwasher safe, and hey, it will actually fit in your dishwasher without having to be its own wash! The colander can also double as a steaming basket, as it’s able to be immersed in boiling water for easily blanched veggies. This is a unique and useful device.

One note I found helpful; the colander stands securely upright (with small raised feet for rinsing and draining), but it is not as sturdy as a solid-structure device, so be careful when pouring that big pasta pot out. It may be a bit flexible under pressure, but this is no grandma’s colander either. Modern kitchen silicone is heat-resistant to 600 degrees and safe for use with non-stick cookware… so get in there and get your colander dirty, then wash it and store it in a drawer when you’re done with it!

Eric: OXO is helping to revolutionize the way we think of, and use, kitchen utensils. For me, the beauty of most OXO products is in the simplicity of the design; they’re practical, made of quality, innovative materials and have a long life (After more than a decade, I still use my pair of OXO tongs religiously).

The collapsible colander is an all-around amazing kitchen tool which, aside from it’s space-saving design, also doubles as a blanching/steaming basket that is heat resistant up to 600 degrees. All I can say is my metal colander has been relegated to my full-time compost vessel (it stays in my sink while I cook and collects all compost scraps). OXO, you’ve done it again. Keep on innovating!

OXO Good Grips Silicone Collapsible Colander is available at the Bite of the Best shop