Commercial Colanders

Large enough to take the biggest single drop of pasta in one go. Draining a batch in two lots means the first half sits and sticks while the second drains, which is where gluey pasta comes from.

Then hold a smaller one for portions and a mid-size for vegetables. Three sizes covers nearly every kitchen; one compromise size covers none of them well.

Aluminium for speed and weight — it is lighter to lift full, cheaper to replace and perfectly fine for pasta, rice and vegetables. The limit is acidic food, which reacts with bare aluminium.

Stainless lasts longer and is inert, which matters for tomatoes, citrus and anything held in the colander rather than drained and moved. 304 stainless steel is the food-safety grade used in Australian commercial kitchens.

A colander is a bowl with large holes for draining bulk. A strainer is a finer mesh for separating solids from liquid you intend to keep, such as stock or a sauce.

Using a colander where you need a strainer puts sediment through; using a strainer for pasta is slow and the mesh clogs. Keep both — see commercial strainers.

More than the diameter does. A flat or footed base lets the colander stand in a sink with the drain holes clear, which means it drains unattended while you do something else.

A rounded base has to sit inside something, and if that something is a sink full of water the food sits in it. Check the base in the photos rather than assuming.

On a commercial colander they should, and that is a real difference from a domestic one. Riveted or welded handles carry weight; a handle pressed out of the same thin sheet as the body will bend with a full pot of pasta in it.

Look at how the handle is attached. It is the first thing to fail and it is the reason colanders get replaced.

Through the machine, usually, and they come out better than by hand because the water gets through the perforations from both sides. Starch dries in the holes and is hard to shift once set.

Rinse immediately after use rather than leaving a starchy colander to sit. Aluminium can dull and stain in a commercial dishwasher over time, which is cosmetic rather than a problem.

Nested and inverted so water drains out. A stack of colanders stored upright holds a film of water in each one and that is what marks them.

They are bulky for their weight, so overhead kitchen wall shelves suit them better than a bench or a low cupboard.

Salad is the usual answer, and a colander is the wrong tool for it — wet leaves dress badly and wilt. A salad spinner removes far more water than draining can.

For frying work, a basket rather than a colander is the right tool. See commercial frying baskets for that end of it.