I love salad. I know there’s tons of fitness and nutrition people out there who say salad just isn’t as awesome as everyone things because frankly, lettuce doesn’t have that many nutrients in it. I don’t care: salads are still healthy, delicious and super flexible.
The problem with salad, and lettuce specifically, is it doesn’t last all that long in the fridge. Spinach, too. And veggies are expensive enough already, so making what you’ve bought last as long as possible calls for a life hack.
Here’s how to make your lettuce, spinach, mixed baby greens and other leafy greens last longer:
Store lettuce in a box/container lined with paper towels
I’d always heard that putting the greens into a plastic bag and blowing into it before closing it up was the best answer to keeping lettuce fresh, but I’ve been informed otherwise.
The folks at The Kitchn tested out three well-known life hacks to keep lettuce fresh. The clear winner was a storage container lined with paper towels. In their experiment, after 10 days, the lettuce in that container wasn’t wilted and there was no condensation inside the container. 10 days is a long time to have lettuce stay fresh!
That said, the other two methods, which included blowing air into a plastic bag then tying it tightly, and storing lettuce in a plastic bag with paper towels inside, kept the lettuce fresh for about a week. Not bad. But the container with paper towels performed best over time.
Here’s why it works: The container provides a protective case for the lettuce so it doesn’t get banged up, and the paper towel absorbs excess moisture that would otherwise cause the lettuce to wilt. Very cool!