As a design editor, I’ve never been shy about my opinions. You may know my thoughts on open floor plans, “Live, Laugh, Love” signs, and inflatable lawn decor. I’ve also gone on the record to question the existence of one particular kitchen tool: the drying rack. I’d mainly seen them as wastes of counter space and cesspools of mold, and ardently advocated for their banishment from the kitchen. That is, until I tried this one: Food52’s Five Two drying rack manages to solve virtually all of my problems with the device. And so, I’m forced to do something I don’t often want to: admit I was wrong.
First of all, all of this newfound at-homeness has left me facing unprecedented amounts of dishes. Like, truly unprecedented. I live alone—how are there this many dishes? As soon as I finish cleaning up after breakfast, it seems it’s time to dirty another dish for lunch, and then for dinner, and the cycle continues ad infinitum. Suffice it to say, my previous method of drying by dish towel and setting larger items on the range to air-dry was not cutting it anymore. So when I heard Food52 had come out with a drying rack, I decided to give it a try.
The first thing that appealed to me about the design: It’s made to fit above the sink, so drips of water don’t fester in a mildewy tray but rather disappear right down the drain. The rack is made of silicone-coated stainless steel, so it’s naturally mold-resistant and doesn’t get the gross, slimy feeling that seems to befall any kind of wood or bamboo rack the second it’s been used. Perhaps best of all, the rack is super flexible—it can fold to be just about any size, meaning it doesn’t take over valuable counter—or, in this case, sink—space.
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But I think what truly won me over about the Food52 design (the pretty color options didn’t hurt) was its multifunctionality. Part of my issue with drying racks is that they simply don’t earn the space they take for serving a function that could be completed by a towel. Food52’s silicone rack can be taken apart so just the cups can be used to dry utensils; rearranged to act as a holding place for freshly washed produce; separated to hang a colander to drain; or even used as a trivet or cooling rack. Point is, it earns its keep. And when you’re done using it, it folds neatly into about a 21" × 3" bundle that stows easily away—even in the smallest kitchens.
OK, drying rack, you win this round.
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Hadley Keller is the Director of Editorial and Community Engagement at the Design Leadership Network, a community of top interior designers. She has covered design, interiors, and culture for over 10 years.
