RSVP International International Endurance Stainless Steel Precision Pierced Colander, 5-Quart (Punch-5), Silver

This is a great colander. This colander has lots and lots of holes, without any unperforated areas like most metal colanders have, so food drains quickly and completely. The holes are small enough so that small items such as orzo or rice don't fall out into the sink, but not small enough that they get clogged easily or are hard to clean. The strainer is much stiffer and sturdier than a mesh strainer with similarly sized and spaced holes, and it tends to be easier to clean than the mesh. The pedestal base on this colander holds the food high enough that any standing water in the sink won’t touch my food, although I would've liked to see some slits in the base to let water escape out the sides. I do have to remember to position the colander over the drain in the sink when I will be passing a lot of liquid (like a big pot of pasta) through it, but it hasn’t been a big deal. My colander has gotten pretty heavy use over the past few months, and despite that it isn't showing any signs of rust or discoloration, and the surface is as shiny as ever. I purchased this colander along with the matching 5 Qt colander, and it is the perfect size to nest inside the larger colander when stored in the cabinet.

As recommended by ATK. This is an excellent stainless steel strainer that’s good for hot or cold foods. I like so many others are making the shift back to old school methods and products and am ridding my kitchen of plastics and the chemicals that leach out from them when hot food comes in contact with it. The stainless steel is rust resistant, I hand wash and towel dry after each use and its size is perfect for me and my cooking. The quality is obvious making this an excellent value that will last through years of use when taken care of.

When space and cost are no object, you can own several tool for one job, and bigger might be better. This smaller colander does everything well, takes up less space, cleans like a dream. For me, it replaced both a larger big-hole colander and a woven fine-mesh strainer. Perforations are the perfect size, large enough that liquid drains through quickly and completely, and small enough to keep rice and even quinoa contained. Perfect size to rinse and drain a head of lettuce or to strain off a pot of pasta for 4, or to separate solids from broth after stewing a whole chicken. It's sturdy enough that I've used a rubber spatula to push boiled potatoes through the holes as a stand-in for a potato ricer. Very smooth surfaces, with very clean and smooth joins where the base and the rim and the handles meet the bowl mean this tool will do its job with no fuss. If you miss my fine mesh strainer, put a coffee filter inside this colander and it's a perfect substitute--just pour slowly. If you cook a huge batch of something, strain in two batches. Saves several cubic feet of cabinet space. Beautifully made tool that does the job!

I have had one of these mini Stainless Steel Strainers for years and was pleasantly surprised to find it offered for sale on Amazon. I bought 4 of these as gifts for my friends because I know that they are great for mixed berries and other small amounts of fruits and vegetables that we use. They also never get old.

I don't know if other people are like this, but I tend to keep using kitchen items that I've had since the 70's just because the thought never occurred to me to replace them (e.g., "Harvest Gold" and "Avocado Green" plastic items). And, while there are some things that I would NOT replace with something from today's market because the quality would not be nearly as good, there are other things that I'm kind of embarrassed to pull out of the cabinets when friends and family are around (e.g., bent, scratched, Teflon-coated cake pans and cookie sheets). Such was the case with my old, white, plastic colander that I probably got as a bridal shower gift back in 1973. It was on the small side, had holes that were too large, often tipped over while pouring spaghetti and boiling water into it, and didn't always come clean - even when washed in the dishwasher. But I didn't really give it much thought until I happened to see Cook's Illustrated's review on colanders. This RSVP Stainless Steel 5-Quart colander was "Highly Recommended". Something about this colander just caught my eye. It looks expensive. It's sleek design and the shiny stainless steel definitely put my old colander to shame. I've had it for 6 months now, and realize every time I use it, that it really was a good purchase. It's larger size is more practical - yet it's not so large that I had trouble fitting it into the spot where I stored my old colander. Even though the holes are much smaller than my old colander, because of the design and the number of holes, water drains out several times faster than my old one - and less time holding a heavy pot means less strain on my wrists. It has a solid well-designed base that keeps it from tipping over (although I found that I need to place something (like a table knife) just under one edge of the base so that the water draining out of the colander doesn't rush into the sink drain faster than the drain can handle -- as a previous reviewer (Shelley Ryan) mentioned in her review). I would like to give it 4.5 stars, taking off 1/2 star because it has to be hand washed, but since half stars are not an option, I will have to go with 4 stars. If it were dishwasher-safe, it would merit 5 stars. I probably would have disregarded the hand wash only suggestion, had Cook's Illustrated not said that washing this colander in a dishwasher will eventually result in the handles becoming loose or falling off. Having had it for a while now, I find that it really isn't as hard to wash as I thought it might be. Even the starchy gunk from pasta washes off pretty easily with a few swishes of a dish cloth or sponge.

This colander is awesome. The sieve holes are just the right size for draining/rinsing without losing noodles or smaller vegetables down the drain. I love the solid base. Great all around kitchen colander. I would recommend this product.

I used this to replace a plastic colander as I am trying to reduce the plastics in my kitchen. The plastic one was dropped and one of its handles broke off. No worries of breakage with this product either. I like the fact it’s solid metal with holes in it rather than a screen. Screens can get misshapened.

This is the perfect size to wash blueberries etc and keep those berries well aerated and drained. We have some soup bowls that these fit perfectly inside of, so we can wash the berries and store them in the fridge while they drain completely and dry off, ready to be scooped out at busy breakfast time. Good product.

After burning hands spending tens of quid on multiple colanders on market, I bought this bit pricey Colander and I am not disappointing this time! :) This product arrived from US. The item is of top quality and a stunning beautiful piece. I have been using this from last two weeks, mainly to drain cooked rice. Rice doesn't pass through the holes and starch water drains perfectly. I am also using this to clean other raw and cooked vegetables. Unlike other colanders on the market, the cooked rices doesn't stick to it. The cleaning is easy and doesn't need scrubbing. Its a wonderful piece and the raised base provides no contact with the base of sink so you can simply place it your sink and drain hot water. This is almost similar to the one you will find it Lakeland store but I preferred this as it is bit bigger and it doesn't have that blue grip on top of stainless steel handles and base. I felt that grips on the Lakeland colanders are not good enough and may spoil when you use it regularly to drain boiling water.

Expensive product that does not match the photos. Poor build quality. Returns are difficult, as the product has to be shipped back to China. Avoid.

Arrived within a week from the States. My Mum really likes it!

I haven't used my large colander for a while because of this. I'm usually making pasta for 2-4 people and its really easy to strain with this. I also discovered that boiling vegetables and straining the 'stock' for later use is very easy. I can strain it right into a glass container that I can cool and let store. Previously I would try to place a bowl under the colander and hope that the water would mainly go in. Great for small straining, but I would still keep the larger colander for bigger pots.