How to Buy and Store Salad Greens

I generally buy greens which are ready to eat such as Earthbound Farm Organic mixed baby green salads. I like the fact that they come in a plastic container rather than a bag. The box prevents the greens from getting damaged which helps to prevent spoilage. Greens that come in bags tend to be in rather rough shape by the time you buy them so they last for only a day or two at the most. There is more room for the greens to breath in the box which greatly contributes to their longevity as well. Usually bagged greens get wet faster so they rot and turn slimy very quickly. The organic stuff costs a bit more, but tend to store better. As a result, the prices are a lot closer than you might think.

I usually store the greens in the box that they are packaged in, but occasionally I will move them to a larger container if I am not going to use them in the next day or two. To store them for a longer period of time I like to store them in a large juice container with a lid. This gives them more room to breath and you can store the pitcher on the top shelf which tends to be a little bit warmer.

Washing the greens is optional. I usually buy greens which have already been washed so I don’t usually wash them.

Once the greens are clean and dried lay a couple of squares of paper towel which are still connected on the counter top. Gently place the greens along the length of the paper towels spreading them out. Try not to damage of them in the process. Make sure you examine the greens for damage to the leaves. Damaged leaves go bad very quickly and tend to spoil the entire bunch in the process. Once the greens have been laid out, gently roll the paper towels up so they will fit into diameter of the pitcher. Turn the pitcher on its side and slide the rolled paper towel into the pitcher. Place the lid on the pitcher and store on the top shelf. I would imagine you could leave the pitcher opened to allow some air flow to simulate the crisper drawer air flow settings.

If the pitcher is too small to fit the rolled paper towels, then start with a layer of paper towel in the bottom of the pitcher. Gently place some greens in pitcher and alternate a few handful of greens and paper towels until the pitcher is full. Be gentle.

I can usually get a week or so from the greens before they start going bad as long as they stay dry. If the paper towels start showing signs that they are getting moist, change the paper towels and examine for damaged leaves. When it doubt, toss them out.

May 1, 2009 Posted in: Cooking Techniques