A colander (or cullender) is a kitchen utensil used to strain foods such as pasta or to rinse vegetables.[1] The perforated nature of the colander allows liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside. It is sometimes also called a pasta strainer or kitchen sieve.
Traditionally, colanders are made of a light metal, such as aluminium or thinly rolled stainless steel. Colanders are also made of plastic, silicone, ceramic, and enamelware.[2]
The word colander comes from the Latin colum, meaning sieve.[1]
The colander in the form of a pasta strainer was adopted as the religious headgear of the religion Pastafarianism in deference to the Flying Spaghetti Monster.[4]
Colanders are also used during solar eclipses to project multiple images of a partial eclipse onto the ground for safe viewing of the eclipse.[5][6]
