You Should Be Using Your Salad Spinner To Dry Fruit. Here's Why

If you're not using your salad spinner to dry fruit, especially berries, you're missing out on one of its best (and most underrated) uses. After washing produce, it's crucial to dry it thoroughly — moisture left on the surface leads to faster spoilage, mold, and a soggy texture. That's especially true for delicate fruits like strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, which tend to mold faster and don't hold up well to rough handling or paper towels.

A salad spinner is surprisingly perfect for remedying this. The centrifugal force gently whisks away excess water without bruising the fruit or crushing softer varieties. Compared to air-drying (which takes forever) or patting with paper towels (which can smush and stain), a few spins in your salad spinner keeps berries dry, intact, and ready to eat or store. It's a trick pro chefs and home cooks swear by, and it works like a charm.

Clean, dry fruit lasts longer. That's a rule worth remembering, and your salad spinner makes it easier than ever to follow. After rinsing your fruit, line the basket with a clean dish towel or a few paper towels, then give it a spin. The towel cushions more delicate berries (like blackberries or raspberries), while the spinner removes lingering moisture efficiently and gently.

Drying your fruit this way helps prevent mold and slimy textures once you store it in the fridge. And because it isn't sitting in a wet container, it's a hack to make sure your fruit stays fresher longer. After spinning, you can transfer the fruit to a paper towel–lined container with the lid slightly ajar to maintain airflow — an ideal environment for keeping berries bright and firm for several extra days. If you've been letting your salad spinner collect dust in the cabinet unless it's salad night, this is your sign to put it to work beyond lettuce. It might just become your go-to tool for fruit prep.