The Care and Keeping Of Salad Greens

It’s definitely salad season. Sure, I love a salad all year ’round, but this is the time of year when the Farmer’s Market is full of fresh from the Earth produce. Do you know how to keep your produce the freshest? 

Here are a few tips:

*I purchase bags of loose leaf lettuce at the Farmer’s Market, but when I’m at the store, I go for hearts of romaine. I move the plastic to the side, because I want to chose the romaine with the least amount of “rustiness” at the core. Heads of lettuce will last longer than a bag of chopped “salad.” Look for crisp leaves that are evenly colored and unwilted. When purchasing Spinach, turn the bag over and make sure that you see no shiny pieces.

*Salad greens need a bit of air, so poke a couple of holes in your bag. The air circulation slows decayand keeps your crisp leaves from turning into lettuce soup. (Eww, yuck). I wait to wash my lettuce until just before I use it. I rinse it thoroughly, then dry it. If you have a salad spinner, even better. I store the unused portion in a zip lock that I’ve popped a couple of holes in.

Image credit: Michelle Smith