Your Cooling Rack Doubles as a Drying Rack

I don’t have a dishwasher but, even if I did, there are certain pieces of glassware I would never trust to such a brutish machine. Delicate and vintage drinking vessels often need to be washed by hand, then air-dried to prevent streaks and scratches. If you don’t have a dedicated drying rack (or if yours is full), a wire cooling rack — the kind you use for cookies — works wonderfully.

Setting glasses upside-down on a drying mat or towel is not enough. The water drips down, away from the glass, but it gets trapped inside, causing condensation. This isn’t a huge problem if you remember to flip the glasses over after a few minutes but — guess what? — I never do. (One of my chores growing up was dishes and if I forgot to flip the glasses over to allow that last bit of water to evaporate, my mum would sigh and say “I guess someone doesn’t understand basic physics!” To be fair: I did almost fail thermodynamics.)

Anyway. A wire cooling rack set atop a towel allows water to drip away and evaporate, while offering a sturdy, safe place for your glasses to hang out while they dry. (We previously featured an ATK tip that suggested drying your glasses on chopsticks, which seems a little unstable now that I really think about it.)

Actually, you can use a wire cooling rack to dry any kind of dish or piece of flatware. If you generate a lot of dishes but have no dishwasher, it’s good to have an overflow contingency plan. Large pieces can be set on a big rack inside a baking sheet, which is especially helpful when it comes to catching drips. (Wire racks are generally just so helpful. Bacon? Guac? Dishes? What can’t they do?)

[referenced id=”949132″ url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2020/08/how-to-keep-baked-bacon-from-sticking-to-the-rack/” thumb=”https://www.gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/08/20/s4tbawy9docyhcvgtgab-300×169.jpg” title=”How to Keep Baked Bacon From Sticking to the Rack” excerpt=”I cook a lot of bacon. Sometimes I fry it (starting in a cold pan, of course), but most of the time I bake it on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. It lays flat, crisps evenly from end to end, and I never have to worry…”]