Quick-drying salad spinners are super

Making pesto from fresh basil is easy -- provided you have the right tools. You’ll need a food processor (any model will do) and a salad spinner to quickly dry the fresh basil leaves.

Salad spinners really do make quick work of the drying process, and over its life span, you’ll save enough money on paper towels to more than cover the cost. (Noticed how a decent roll of paper towels costs nearly two bucks these days?!)

Spinners typically range from about $15 to $35 at kitchen shops and “mart” type stores. We’ve had good luck finding top-of-the-line spinners at a significant discount at TJ Maxx and Marshall’s stores.

Spinners work using centrifugal force and the faster the basket spins, the faster water flies off the leaves and collects in the outer, “holding” container. There are basically three types of mechanisms used to power salad spinners -- there’s the crank type, the kind with a pull string, and those with a push-down knob that turns the drying basket.

We’ve owned both the pull-string and the knob style and both work really well. (We both currently own the OXO brand with the knob on top that you push down to turn the basket.)

Do you own a salad spinner? What kind and how do you like it?