3 Ways to Keep Your Salad Greens Fresh for 10 Days
Every week, without fail, the first item I write down on my grocery shopping list is salad greens. A simple green salad appears almost nightly on my dinner table, so it’s important that I have an ample supply geared and ready for the week.
And it’s equally, if not more, important that those salad greens stay fresh throughout the week. Here are three ways to make that happen.
1. Grab a salad spinner.
My go-to way to store salad greens is always in the spinner. I wash and spin-dry the greens in the kitchen tool, then put the top back on and tuck the whole thing in my refrigerator. Since the greens sit in the spinner’s basket, there’s about an inch or so of space between them and the bottom of the container, allowing any excess moisture on the leaves (that may lead to mold and sliminess) to drip and fall off.
2. Reach for a plastic container.
If you don’t have a salad spinner or don’t have enough room in your refrigerator for keeping one in it, just grab a plastic storage container large enough to fit the salad greens. Line it with paper towels, wash and dry the greens, dump them inside, seal the lid, and throw it in the refrigerator. The paper towels absorb any excess moisture that might cause the leaves to get slimy.
More on Storing Greens: We Tried 3 Ways to Store Salad Greens and Here’s the Winner!
3. Or empty out that crisper drawer.
If you have a lot of salad greens to store (like, say, enough for an upcoming big dinner party), you might have to take a different approach. Empty out one of your crisper drawers, wipe it clean, line it with paper towel, and toss in all of your washed and dried salad greens. This method works just like the paper towel-lined plastic container, just on a bigger scale.