Making Salad Last - Advice Please

Beckyy

Make sure you don't prepare it until you need it. If you leave a bowl of it in the fridge it will spoil much quicker than just chopping it when you want some.

I prefer buying a whole lettuce over leaves and I find it last much, much longer.

Ardent-Admirer

We always have a (clean) piece of coal handy. If your lettuce has gone limp soak it in a bowl of water with the piece of coal and it will crisp up beautifully.

murzlee

To keep most salad leaves fresh for 5 -7 days just put them in a bowl of water to which you have added a teaspoon or so of either lemon juice or vinegar. Make sure that all the leaves are covered or else the bits sticking out will go brown. Keep in the fridge and just take out what you need each day.

Mrs_Grey

The best tip I've found for keeping lettuce is to store it in a wet tea towel in the fridge. it last a week easily. When you use it just pull off the outer leaves, don't use a knife. Then re-wet the tea towel if its a bit dry before you put it back.

Calder686

The best way to make bagged salad last is to put a sheet of kitchen roll in the bag and reseal with a clip (don't buy clips use a washing line peg) your salad will last for a lot longer, I have never had to throw salad away.
Or buy whole Iceberg , cos and Romano which last longer anyway

JasperJames

Buy the 'living salads' now available from all supermarkets.
Only a quid but lasts all week.
Just cut what you need!

larissa

This is a fantastic method which keeps bunches of fresh herbs ( parsley, coriander, dill. mint etc.) - and salad veg (like lettuce & spinach) fresh for over a week.
As soon as you get home with the greens run a sink full of cold water and soak them in it for around 30 mins. Then wrap them ( all together if you have lots ) in a clean tea towel and leave in the fridge. They will come out crisp and clean - even up to 10 days later ! A great way to revive wilted herbs too.

Mags_-_Nottingham

Have you thought about sprouting your own foods? Can't beat it for freshness. Mung, lentil, chickpea, pinenut, alfalfa, sunflower, corn . . . the list goes on; it rather depends on your taste. Plus, of course, eating live food can only be a benefit. There's masses of info on the internet. Enjoy!!

booter

I'm the same as you MaddyWaddy (except I don't have cucumber - I like it, but it doesn't like me ) in that I got fed up of buying and then throwing lettuce and cabbage out. Then my MIL told me to wrap the lettuce (only works with iceberg) completely in kitchen roll and keep it in the bottom of the fridge. When you come to use it, peel off the outside leaves and discard (they go papery) and then peel off as many leaves as you need, wash in cold water and shred. Never use a knife. I can make an iceberg last over a month if I'm careful

With cabbage, I cut off what I need, then wrap very tightly in clingfilm and also keep in the bottom of the fridge. When I want to use it again, I cut off any dodgy looking bits/edges and peel off any dodgy outer leaves, then cut what I want to use. Always re-wrap in new cling film. However, if I use cabbage for salad/coleslaw, I only ever use it when first bought - the flavour seems to intensify with time, so I don't enjoy it as much when it's older - but it's fine for boiling!

Algolthedemonstar

Always cut the cucumber in half and use the blossom end first. It contains more of the enzymes which make it go soft.