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How to Wash and Store Salad Greens

By Deborah L Melian

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Learn how to keep lettuce, spinach and chard fresher, longer with these quick tips how to wash and store salad greens, along with some delicious salad greens recipes, too!

Swiss Chard

Summer is a great time to include salad greens of all sorts in your diet. Here are some great tips and ideas to wash and store salad greens, along with some delicious recipes to whet your appetite. Let’s begin.

You might be wondering what salad greens entail. Basically, salad greens include many of the well-known leafy vegetables we all know and love:

  • Lettuce – Red Leaf, Green Leaf, Iceberg, Romaine, Butter, Oak Leaf
  • Escarole
  • Endive – Belgian, Curly
  • Radicchio
  • Chervil
  • Arugula
  • Kale
  • Spinach
  • Mizen
  • Watercress
  • Mache
  • Purslane

Lettuce and other greens are a great choice for any meal of the day. They can be eaten raw, like in salads, or cooked gently to wilt. Plus, they offer a variety of flavors from mild to slightly bitter, to mustardy, to earthy, which makes them the perfect ingredient for many recipes. (See Recipes below).

Best of all, salad greens are nutritionally sound and are low in calories. They also provide insoluble fiber, which helps in digestion.

Red Lentils Salad in Endive

DID YOU KNOW? THE LONG HISTORY OF LETTUCE – You might not know this but lettuce is actually part of the daisy family. It is an annual plant that also flowers if you let it. It has a long history that spans back to the Egyptians. Back then, they used the seeds for oil and the leaves for food. Word spread of this delicious vegetable and soon even the Greeks and Romans were hooked on this amazing plant.

Most salad greens are easy to grow whether in a container or in the ground. And it doesn’t take long before you have yourself fresh greens to eat. Check out this handy video on how to grow lettuce in containers:

Choose the Freshest Greens

Regardless whether you grow or buy your salad greens from the store you’ll want to make sure that you only buy the freshest greens.

The reason is because once the greens are cut, the timer begins for them to lose their taste and nutritional value.

So you should look for salad green heads that are tight and packaged leaves that are crisp to the touch and bright in color (think deep greens and reds).

And, avoid produce that is yellowed, wilted, or bruised.

Easy Guacamole Salad with Prosciutto

How to Wash and Store Greens – 5 Easy Steps

But greens do come with a bad wrap (no pun intended). You might have seen quite a number of recalls on lettuce over the years and it’s no wonder. Lettuce by default is grown close to the ground, and as such, can pick up all sorts of contamination.

The biggest culprits are Salmonella and E.coli. These can cause food poisoning or worse.

That’s why it’s essential to make sure that any and all salad greens are washed properly before consuming.

You can do this in five easy steps:

  1. First wash your hands before handling the greens.
  2. Remove outside leafy greens if using lettuce.
  3. Use cold running water and rinse with a colander or a salad spinner. If the leaves are excessively gritty, allow the greens to soak in the water for a minute or two and shake the leaves in the water to loosen the grit. Then proceed with rinsing and draining. It is not advisable to use dish soap or antibacterial gels to wash fruit or vegetables. Doing so can leave harmful residue on the surface.
  4. Use a clean towel or paper towel to completely dry if storing.
  5. Place salad greens in a storage bag (sealed) and wrapped in paper towels and place in crisper until use.

Cooking Tip: Make sure salad greens are completely dry before dressing.

Keep in mind, too, that even ready-to-eat greens should be washed prior to consuming.

RELATED: Jaime Oliver’s Principals for Superb Salads

Spinach Leaves

Recommended Product: OXO Steel Salad Spinner

Salad spinners are invaluable for helping to dry lettuce quickly and effortlessly. In my home, I use the OXO Steel Salad Spinner.

OXO Steel Salad Spinner
OXO Steel Salad Spinner

It’s easy to use with one hand, although I feel better using one hand to steady the bowl and the other to pump the spinner.

What I love best about this unit is that I can drain the extra juice out of the bowl, rinse and then use it as a salad bowl.

Best of all, this salad spinner holds 4.95 quarts, which is enough for a large head of lettuce.

Favorite Recipes Using Salad Greens

Red Lettuce Leaves

You can’t go wrong with fresh garden greens to make the most delicious recipes.

Here are my favorite recipes using summer’s best greens:

1. Fresh Cobb Salad

Lined to Perfection - Classic Cobb Salad - Wisconsin Homemaker

2. Simple Tuna Nicoise Salad

Simple Tuna Nicoise Salad - WisconsinHomemaker.com

3. Mexican Salad – Get Curried (Video)

4. Emery’s Classic Caesar Salad Recipe (Video)

5. Baked Penne with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Baked Penne with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes - Slice

5. Jacques Garlicky Romaine Salad (Video)

6. Spinach Strawberry Salad – Aashpazi (Video)

7. Kale and Potato Soup with Italian Sausage

Kale and Potato Soup with Italian Sausage - creamy version

And, for more amazing ideas to use your fresh stored salad greens, be sure to check out my round up for 21 Delicious Salads to Make at Home.

Heirloom Tomato Prosciutto Salad with Fresh Blueberries
How to Wash and Store Salad Greens 5 Easy Steps found on Wisconsin Homemaker

 WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! If you do try any of Wisconsin Homemaker’s recipes, ideas or products be sure to share your comments below and photos on Instagram or Pinterest with a tag @wisconsinhomemaker and hashtag #wisconsinhomemaker Thanks!


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About Deborah L Melian

I am a midwestern wife and mother who loves to share family friendly recipes, along with my two cent's worth on everything home and garden. I live in Wisconsin. You can follow me on FACEBOOK • TWITTER • PINTEREST • INSTAGRAM

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***Deborah L Melian is a participant in the Amazon Service LLC Associate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate she earns from qualifying purchases. She also is a participant in Google AdSense Affiliate program.***

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