Best trick ever.
This tip is brought to you by the incredible Jamie Oliver, and it’s pretty darn brilliant if you ask me. I’ve been storing it this way for the past week. It’s dead simple to do, it saves on waste, and you can have ready-to-go salad at your fingertips everyday of the week.
Begin by plunging all of your lettuce leaves into a clean sink. I’m using a mix of Red Batavian and Boston lettuce. Fill with plenty of cold water and plug up the drain. If your drain insert doesn’t twist shut, wrap it in plastic wrap and pop it back into the sink (upside down) for a good seal. Let the leaves soak until all of the dirt floats to the bottom. Then, dry thoroughly in a salad spinner.
For storage, line the bottom of a cripser drawer with a kitchen towel and place the lettuce inside. Do not overcrowd the bin. Place a paper towel on top to absorb any excess moisture. Refrigerate until ready to use. It’s that easy!
Your lettuce will stay fresh and crisp this way for up to a week. All you have to do is open the drawer and take out whatever you need.
It’s like having your own personal salad bar…
Comments
Janette says
Should all the veggies in the salad draw have to be wrapped up because I have a lot of condensation under the glass shelf dripping on the food. ?
Emilie says
Hi Janette,
When following this tip, I would recommend reserving one drawer for the salad, only (space permitting of course). So there would be no need to wrap the veggies. However, if space is an issue I would definitely wrap the veggies to prevent them from getting wet.
Silvia says
That’s genius!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I wish I had the space to do this! I usually store washed lettuce in the spinner so it’s ready to go and I have no excuse not to use it ;).
Charulie says
Fantastic idea! Thank you.
Jayme Henderson says
Love this idea – I also store my greens in my salad spinner, after I’ve washed them. Thanks! :-)
Laney (Ortensia Blu) says
I always rinsed, spun, wrapped in paper towel and put in a bag – I’ll for sure try laying it in the drawer…what a great idea!
Pam Green says
Never would have thought of this! I always rinse my lettuce and stick it in a resealable plastic bag lined with paper towels. This skips the plastic bag waste!
Kelly @ Inspired Edibles says
It’s a great tip (my sister shared the paper towel tip for wet lettuce with me a number of years ago and it’s truly fantastic!) — I would never be able to devote an entire fridge drawer to lettuce though ;-) — gosh, I would love it if my fridge were that neat and available !! (p.s. love the finish on these photos… instagram? beauties!).
Maria says
Doesn’t it dry out? I know whenever I have certain veggies in the fridge without a plastic bag they tent to dry. Even carrots!
Emilie says
Hi Maria! You know, I’ve been doing this with my lettuce for quite some time now and I never had a problem with dry leaves. In fact, there always seems to be a little extra moisture due to the water content in the lettuce! Maybe it could have to do with the temperature settings in your fridge? You could always test out a small batch to see if it works for you, or otherwise, another reader mentioned (above) to wash, spin dry, and store the the lettuce with paper towels directly in the salad spinner. Hope this helps! Thanks for stopping by :)
Liz says
Good tip, but it takes up a lot of room. Thank you.
Emilie says
Hi Liz! Yes, storing your leaves in the crisper drawer definitely takes up some space! My poor carrots and potatoes had to be relocated :( You might want to utilize this tip only once in a while, perhaps if you are entertaining and want to wash the salad the night before, or if you have more than one fridge. Ahh, could you even imagine having a salad bar fridge?! A girl can dream…
Leanne says
Thanks! Alternatively, if your sink is too large or your crisper too full, you can do the lettuce soaking in the salad spinner, spin, and then store in the spinner with a couple of paper towels in the refrigerator. Will also last a week.
Emilie says
That’s fantastic! Thanks so much for the great tip :)
Padaek says
Wow – it can keep up to a week – that’s impressive – got to try this. Thank you for sharing the idea. Best wishes! :)
Emilie says
Yes! If you store your lettuce properly, making sure that the leaves are thoroughly dry it will keep very well. Enjoy!!