Colander
A perforated bowl for draining — a sieve large enough to keep the solid and let the liquid go.
A colander in a dream is the dream's image of a device for keeping the solid part of a thing and letting the liquid run away. The colander does not throw anything out; it sorts by what each part is made of. The dream brings the colander when something in your life — a friendship after grief, a project after a long process, a stretch of work after long preparation — needs to be separated from the medium it was cooked in, so the actual substance can be served. A colander used at the right moment, the steam rising from the drained food, is the dream affirming the clean separation. A colander used too late, with the contents overcooked into mush that goes through the holes, is the dream noting that the separation was available and was delayed past the point where anything could still be kept.