How do I keep salad leaves fresh?
Making a bag of leaves last a week instead of three days, and reviving ones that have already gone limp.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 10 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Wash and dry the leaves thoroughly, then store them loosely in a container lined with kitchen paper. Moisture on the leaves is what makes them slimy; drying them properly is the whole technique.
Salad leaves rot from moisture sitting on the surface and from the ethylene they release in a sealed bag. Drying them and giving them a little air handles both, and turns three days into a week.
What you'll need
- Salad spinner or clean tea towel
- Container or bag
- Kitchen paper
Step by step
- Wash the leaves in plenty of cold water.Even pre-washed bagged leaves benefit. A short soak also revives leaves that are slightly limp.
- Dry them thoroughly — this is the important part.A salad spinner is ideal; a clean tea towel gently patted works. Surface water is what causes sliminess.
- Line a container with kitchen paper.It absorbs the moisture the leaves continue to release, which would otherwise collect at the bottom.
- Store loosely, not packed.Crushed leaves bruise and rot at the bruise. A larger container with room is better than a full small one.
- Keep in the salad drawer, not the coldest shelf.Leaves suffer cold damage near the back of a cold fridge, which shows as translucent patches.
- Keep them away from apples, bananas and tomatoes.Those release ethylene, which accelerates deterioration in leaves noticeably.
- Revive limp leaves in ice water for 15 minutes.They reabsorb water and crisp up remarkably well. Dry them thoroughly again afterwards.
- Dress only what you are serving.Dressing wilts leaves within minutes. Undressed leftovers keep; dressed ones do not.
Tips
- Whole lettuces keep considerably longer than bagged leaves — the cutting is what starts the deterioration.
- Store herbs like coriander and parsley upright in a glass of water with a bag over the top. They last a week or more that way.
- If a bag of leaves is already starting to turn, wash and dry it immediately. It buys several more days.
Common mistakes
- Storing leaves wet — Surface moisture is exactly what makes them slimy. Drying properly is the single most effective step.
- Leaving them in the original sealed bag — Ethylene and moisture build up with nowhere to go, which is why bagged leaves collapse so suddenly.
- Dressing a whole bowl in advance — Salt and acid draw water out of the leaves and wilt them within minutes. Dress at the table.
Questions people ask
How do I revive limp salad leaves?
Soak them in ice-cold water for about fifteen minutes. They reabsorb water and become crisp again. Dry them thoroughly afterwards or they will go slimy.
Why does bagged salad go slimy so fast?
Moisture and ethylene build up in the sealed bag with nowhere to escape. Washing, drying thoroughly and storing loosely with kitchen paper roughly doubles how long it lasts.