Keeping salad fresh....

mattogier

Why not get some planters or grobags and plant some seed for the types of leaf you like - you could have "free" salad in a couple of weeks and keep it going right through to autumn.

VickyA_2

My mum uses these from Lakeland. They seem to work for her. I know that 3 years ago, when I was a packaging buyer for a salad company Tesco and Sainsbury were looking at a similar sort of product to extend the shelf life. Their problem? Due to the (natural) chalk that is in them, the bags are translucent, not transparent and you couldn't see the leaves properly.

When the bagged salads are packed, the leaves are washed in a light chlorine wash before being dried (a big salad spinner ) and packed. The bags are flushed with carbon dioxide immediately before they are sealed.... so, if you can recreate that the bags should last a while!

Iguana

angelavdavis wrote: »

Plant up a couple of pots of mixed lettuce. You can then keep it on the window sill (keep away from cold drafts this time of year but somewhere bright). Once it starts sprouting, you can cut the leaves as you need it. Keep it watered and spray regularly with a water spray to stop red spider mite attacking it. You can grow a selection of rocket, mizuna, baby spinach, lollo rosso and baby gem easily and for only a few pennies.

Thats the best and cheapest idea of all.:beer:

Fruball

:T As Angela and mattogier have said, Get a Growbag and grow your own.

Pack of seeds £99p
Growbag 99p

Salad all summer for £1.98 AND fresh as a daisy

I have been growing my own ever summer for a couple of years and hate it when I have to buy bags.

You can also do tomatoes, courgettes, dwarf french beans etc in pots or growbags... Hell, why not go the whole hog and get an allotment £20 per year rent and all the veg you can grow ! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: I bought my seed potatoes for about £8 (3 varieties) and that will keep my family in new potatoes and salad potatoes all summer long, and winter ones all autumn :T :T :T :T

Try https://www.alanromans.com for the cheapest seeds around at only 50p per pack

floyd

I can heartily endorse Lock and Lock boxes. I use the long one with a grid in the bottom for storing Cos and Romaine lettuce and these keep for up to 2 weeks like this as long as you wash and shake dry before putting in the box

dianadors

I stopped buying the bags of prewashed salad when I found out that they blasted them with chemicals to keep them looking fresh (long story about a dancing grub who by all accounts shouldnt have survived in the bag!!!). Lettuce was always the thing that I threw away every week from the bottom of my fridge, but now I have fresh growing "baby leaves" in my kitchen window and I just cut a few when I need them. I got mixed varieties and they are so tasty!. They cost £2 for a pack with about 5 little sachets in. I have only used 1 sachet so far and it looks as if its going to be enough to keep me going all summer. Its very "cut and come again" and much tastier than shop bought. I got the idea from Carol Klein on gardeners world.

redmel1621

Hello

We are on a healthy eating spree this week, but was wondering how feasible it would be too prepare all the salad item in advance, ready to just chuck onto a sandwich.
The items in question are..
Cucumber, Tomatoes, Onion, Lettuce...

Would they keep in airtight containers in the fridge or would they just turn inedible....

Mel x

randomtask_2

Lettuce might bruise depending on the leaf, but tomatoes can definitely cut in advance and refrigerated.

purpleivy

I find that tomatoes go off quickly once chopped. A few times in a restaurant I've been given a salad where stuff was prepped too soon. Once veg is cut it starts to lose its vitamin content, I seem to remember via the enzyme activity that is caused by the cut, it's what makes lettuce go brown at the cut.

Linda32

I think it would be okay if you just made up, say two days worth and the container was air tight.

An idea would be to just try a little bit at a time and see if that keeps okay rather than risking a great batch