LiveFresh Stainless Steel Micro-Perforated 5-Quart Colander - Professional Strainer with Heavy Duty Handles and Self-draining Solid Ring Base - Dishwasher Safe

Great quality. Can’t believe I put up with a cheap plastic colander for so many years. Easy to use as the mesh allows easy rinsing of smaller food items without falling through. Easier to clean and rinse as holes aren’t so far apart. Very durable. I expect it will last a long time.

This is an excellent colander. I've been using a plastic one that I got many years ago. Having replaced all my plastic food storage containers with glass bowls, out of food safety considerations, I decided it was about time I did the same with my colander that has to handle contact with boiling-hot liquids. Originally I came to Amazon expecting to buy the similar product from RSVP (having recently discovered America's Test Kitchen product reviews, which recommended the RSVP one several years ago). BUT then I noticed this one from LiveFresh. When I bought it, this colander was $7 less than the RSVP one - in other words, it's about 27% less expensive! And IMO, this LiveFresh one is the better product, which I will go into in more detail below. Note that the steel is apparently 18-8 and not 18-10 as the description says. I base that conclusion on this site: http://www.bosunsupplies.com/StainlessInfo2/ which says that "type 304" and "18-8" are two ways of describing the same steel. This is the steel used in all kinds of food-related applications. (And I mean ALL kinds - fruit juice processors, meat processors, stainless countertops, cooking pans and flatware, etc, etc - read the page if you want to know more. Or google "type 304 steel" and see your own results.) I conclude that the steel is the right kind for a colander, and note that LiveFresh also offers a lifetime warranty with this product. The steel feels substantial and not likely to bend under normal use. The colander is smooth both inside and out - nothing to snag your kitchen towels on. The handles are riveted on and very solid, and flush with the side of the colander. Some users with relatively large hands might prefer a bigger handle "loop," but it's big enough for my four fingers. (The loop measures 3 and 15/16" across its widest dimension, on mine.) The holes of this LiveFresh colander are 2mm, according to the label that came with the item from the manufacturer. They look to me like they may be too big for rinsing raw quinoa, but small enough for just about anything else, including draining cooked orzo pasta and rinsing raw short-grain rice. (I have a fine mesh strainer to use for rinsing quinoa, if this product turns out not to be good for that.) The base ring of steel is welded onto the bottom, and the product sits solid and level on my countertop. This product corrects at least one of the things that people complained about who bought the RSVP colander -- the base ring of this LiveFresh product has two big holes punched in it, so if you set the colander on the bottom of your sink and use both hands on the hot pot of pasta & water that you need to drain, the water will be less likely to back up into your food after contacting the sink. The holes in the base ring are there to let the water drain out the sides of the base ring. (The RSVP colander has a solid base ring, with no holes.) My colander came with a small, cosmetic scratch across each handle, near the attachment points where the handles meet the bowl. To me this does not warrant reduction of a star, or returning the item for replacement. But I mention it in case this would be a deal-breaker for others. You might want to order the colander in a separate order, so it would be the only item in the box, or specify the kind of packaging you want, to prevent the cosmetic issue. My colander will be stored inside a cabinet, not hung on a wall, so I'm not bothered by the cosmetics. (My definition of "cosmetic" in this case - The scratches are barely detectable when I run a fingernail across them, and not enough to snag a towel.) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This product is made well. It's very sturdy. I like the handles on the side instead of touching the hot base. The holes are small enough that you can rinse rice if you wanted to. Cleans well in the dishwasher.

This colander is well made and ready for my garden produce. I almost bought the smaller size, but I’m glad I didn’t. It is a great size. The handles are riveted, not spot welded, making this a much better buy than the others with less secure handles. I bought this for the normal reasons, but I needed a colander to rinse rice. I have long grain rice but some rice went through the holes when putting the rice in and when rinsing it. The holes need to be a little smaller. I know some types of rice may not go through, but most people prepare long grain white rice and they need to specify what rice will and won’t go through. Smaller holes solves that problem. That is why I gave it four stars instead of five. The vast majority of the rice stayed in and this is a quality product.

When I want a new piece of gear for my kitchen, I'll turn to America's Test Kitchen for guidance, but will rarely buy the exact one they suggest. By the time I get to seeing the review, every other idiot in the country would have seen the same exact review, and will rush out to buy that specific thing. The manufacturer (or is it the seller?) will notice, and jack the price up way more than it was when it started. I'm sorry but $45 for a plastic handle, and 8" is ridiculous (I'm looking straight at you, Victorinox knives). What I will do is search for a dupe that has the features I like from the ATK suggested, and get that one. I don't need my kitchen gear to last a lifetime. I just need it to be good enough for what I'm using it for. This is similar to the colander suggested by ATK, but a lot cheaper. The material isn't heavy duty or anything, but the handles feel nice and solid, and for my purposes, it's durable enough. I make pasta maybe once a week (if that). If it's spaghetti or something, I'm pulling it from the water with my tongs anyway. The only time I reach for this guy is when I need to drain a pound of macaroni or something. It's relatively easy to clean. I use one of those silicon scrubby pads, and it gets right in between the holes to clean this out thoroughly. It dries pretty quickly too. The pedestal raises it up off the bottom of the sink so that pasta water doesn't slosh back up on it. For the cost, this is a solid piece of gear, and well worth having in your kitchen.

Made of professional grade material. Perfect size.

This colander is a workhorse in my kitchen! The micro-perforations drain water quickly while still catching even the smallest bits of food. The stainless steel is sturdy and easy to clean, and I love the heavy-duty handles. The raised base is a great feature for keeping countertops clean. I highly recommend this colander to any home cook.