This Hack Makes Drying Spinach Easy

From lasagna and spanakopita to spinach and artichoke dip, there are so many recipes that spinach can enhance. Indeed, it's a great way to add some flavor — as well as an extra burst of nutrients — to your dish. However, as any home cook who has ever worked with spinach knows, there is one crucial step you typically must take when using this particular ingredient cooked: wringing out all the excess water. Frozen spinach typically contains more water than fresh spinach you've sautéed or steamed, as Cuisine at Home says. However, whichever form of this leafy green you're working with, you'll likely want to drain it and get rid of all the excess water before incorporating it in your dish, lest you ruin the texture or flavor of your creation by watering it down.

If you've ever destroyed a dish towel by staining it vibrant green as you tried to wring out all the water from your spinach, or if you've ever picked paper towel fragments out of your dried spinach from a wringing-out gone wrong, just know there's a better and easier way. All you need is a gadget or two that you may already have in your kitchen. And if not, you can use these gadgets for more than just drying spinach, so you may want to consider investing in one of them.

Wringing out the spinach in a dish towel, paper towel, or colander can be very messy and challenging. Luckily, there are two other options that are much more convenient. First, if you happen to have one available, consider rolling the spinach in a sushi mat (via Fine Cooking). All you'll need to do is set up your mat on a rimmed baking sheet or something else that can catch the draining water, line it with a paper towel, and then place the spinach in the middle. Now, roll the spinach to remove all the extra liquid. If you're draining a ton of spinach, you may have to do a few batches to avoid overloading your sushi mat, but it's a simple and effective way to get the dried spinach you need.

Alternatively, if you want something super convenient, you can use your potato ricer. Start by loading your spinach into your potato ricer, then gently depress it over a bowl — or even just over your sink — to allow all the excess liquid to drain out. Since this method doesn't require you to handle the spinach as much as techniques like wringing or rolling do, this is a great hack for draining steaming hot spinach.

Whichever method you try out, you'll be moments away from perfectly dried spinach that you can incorporate in any recipe your heart desires.