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If You Make Salad (Ever), You Need This $15 Amazon Find

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Credit: Shelly Westerhausen/Kitchn

Look, I know it isn’t complicated to reach for a jar and mix up a salad dressing in a vessel you already own. Why buy yet another kitchen tool when a bowl, whisk, and a deftly moving wrist are perfectly capable of emulsifying your favorite vinaigrette?

I felt the same way until I purchased a salad spinner . In fact, I was wary of the spinner itself — why do I need a bulky contraption to rinse and dry lettuce when I already have a colander and a sink over which to shake it? But I soon came to a clear conclusion: Salad spinners are ridiculously effective. They’re worth the cabinet space if you’re someone who works with greens in any form other than bags of pre-washed salad mix.

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So, for as much as I love a good workaround, I also love having the right tool for the job. And I figured that because my salad spinner turned out to be such a great purchase, surely the companion piece — this OXO Good Grips Salad Dressing Shaker — would be of equally high value to my kitchen.

Reader, I was correct. Mine is the 12-ounce, 1 1/2-cup size, and

Credit: Summer Rylander

This little salad dressing shaker has easy-to-read measurement indicators in cups, ounces, and milliliters, so there’s no need to fuss with conversions. It’s made of thick, BPA-free plastic that’s both dishwasher-safe and break-resistant (which I can confirm, as I have accidentally dropped mine on my hardwood floors more than once); but the real perk of this shaker is its top. The lid spins on and off with a wide, easy-grip band, and the lever flips back and forth to facilitate smooth pouring or — and this part is key — to create a seal to allow for vigorous shaking.

I used to sometimes make salad dressing in a small food storage container. It was a shallow, square-shaped thing with rounded corners and a snug-fitting lid and, while not ideal, could serve the double duty of mixing and later storing leftover dressing. Except, I’d often believe that the lid was properly sealed only to start flinging olive oil and vinegar everywhere as soon as I began my Emulsion Shimmy Dance™.

Credit: Summer Rylander

See? Leak-proof!

Now, with the OXO salad dressing shaker , there are no unwanted spurts of liquid — even while shaking a dressing with all the vigor and showmanship of a professional bartender mixing a cocktail. I just close the lever, keep a finger on it (safety first!), and shake until my salad dressing is combined into a glossy, harmonious, leaf-coating consistency. Then it’s just a matter of flicking the lever and pouring the contents over my freshly washed and spun-dried greens. And if there’s leftover dressing? Awesome. I’ll pop that lever back to the closed position and tuck the whole shaker into the door of my fridge.

Is it a stretch to claim that this salad dressing shaker will help you shake up your life? Maybe. But if you’re a salad enthusiast looking for a low-impact arm workout and a good way to make dressing, well, this should probably be your next purchase.

Do you have a salad dressing shaker you love? Tell us about it in the comments!

Summer Rylander

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Summer is a freelance food and travel writer based in Nuremberg, Germany.

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Source : food