Progressive 3-Quart Collapsible Colander
Is your kitchen a bit tight on space like the one in our RV? We have very little room for bulkier kitchen items like colanders, which take up more real estate than our cupboards allow. Still, we eat our fair share of pasta, veggies, and fruit so a good colander is a must have for us.
When it came to finding a colander, we first looked at the Progressive International product line, since we’d recently bought progressive collapsible measuring cups. Fortunately, we found that they had several excellent collapsible colanders available. All are lightweight, compact, and made of durable food-grade silicone.
Our colander is 12” in diameter with the handles, and has a 9” diameter bowl. It stands 5” high when expanded and collapses down to 2” high. It’s large enough for all our straining needs – yet small enough to easily tuck onto a cupboard shelf. Best of all it doesn’t rattle during travel and it’s easy to clean.
Most RV kitchens have space limitations. In spite of that, many of us RV’ers love to cook, and feel it’s important to have at least the basic kitchen tools. Rich loves to cook and while living in our home he put together quite the collection of quality, metal pans, pots, colanders, knives and so on.
Unfortunately when we began moving our kitchen equipment into our RV we began to see a trend, in that we were running out of space for kitchen equipment even before we got started! Still, a colander was on our ‘must’ list.
Our Process:
We’d hoped to bring our nice, large, stainless colander with us. But we could easily see it was too bulky – and would rattle around while driving, too.
So we put our nice colander in the storage pile, and looked at other options like small strainers and steam baskets. But none of them fit the bill.
We needed an actual colander, and recognized plastic was the best option. Problem was, most plastic colanders take up as much room as the stainless ones, plus they feel cheaply made.
Bottom Line: We wanted a quality, compact, lightweight, durable, and cost-effective colander.
The Solution:
We had a sneaky suspicion that Progressive might have a Collapsible Colander, since we’d bought their collapsible measuring cups for the RV. We found them on Amazon within minutes and since we knew of Progressive’s quality, we ordered it right away.
When our colander arrived, it was just what we’d hoped for! It was lightweight and compact, and collapsed from 8” tall, down to a compact 2” height. Plus there were no worries about it rattle around or damaging other stuff in the cupboard.
A word about quality: Quality is important to us, and I’m happy to report that our colander looks and functions exactly like it did 2 years ago. There’s no cracking or discoloration, and it still collapses and expands just like a new one.
What’s Included when you buy the Progressive Collapsible Colander:
One silicone colander
Dimensions: 12” W outside diameter and 9” W inside (bowl) diameter
Stands 5” tall when expanded and collapses down to 2” tall.
Pros
- Quality, colorful, and attractive product
- Lightweight and compact collapsible design; collapses and opens easily
- Cleans easily and made of dishwasher-safe silicone
- Well designed – has outer lip and built in handles for safe carrying
- Large enough to strain 1 pound of pasta
- Won’t rattle while driving
- Durable product AND cost-effective pricing
Cons
- There have been some complaints that continuous dishwasher use may encourage the silicone to separate (we don’t have a dishwasher)
- Holes are all in the bottom portion of bowl so may drain a bit more slowly
Summary
The Progressive Collapsible Colander is perfect for RVers. It’s even a great solution for a traditional home that has a small kitchen.
If you’re looking for a reasonably priced colander that’s attractive, durable, lightweight, and compact, the Progressive Collapsible Colander is a great solution for any home!