Salad spinner self-destructs

Years ago when our friend Patty gave us this plastic contraption with a handle that you crank to spin the water off lettuce or other greens I thought we'd rarely use it. Still, it was shiny and new, seemed a waste to throw it away.

LIttle did I know that we'd end up eating a lot more than the occasional iceberg lettuce salad that we did back then.

Now, several times a week I throw handfuls of rinsed lettuce, cilantro, parsley, spinach or other greens into the Tupperware-like bowl and crank that sucker for twenty or thirty seconds. Until yesterday, that is, when as I cranked there was a loud "snap" and the lid came apart, gears flying.

Today salad without a salad spinner seemed an insurmountable obstacle. I had a big bag of spinach, a head of red leaf lettuce and a bunch of parsley. It's easy enough to fill the sink with water to rinse the greens, but drying them without mechanical assistance... well, the result was no salad today.

I've been researching salad spinners online and have narrowed it down to an OXO (at right) or a Zyliss (left). They both get 4-1/2 stars from Amazon purchasers, and other websites seem similarly split on which is better.

Anyone have any experience with either? Please use the "Comments" link below to share your opinion. We're facing a dire salad emergency here on West 32nd Street.

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