Making food last for as long as possible is something we are all trying to do in order to cut costs on our food bills.
In particular, fresh food like fruit and veg that go bad very quickly. Salad, whether it is lettuce, cabbage or spinach, tends to wilt pretty quickly.
However, one person on the online forum site Reddit asked for advice on how to keep the item edible for as long as possible.
In a thread titled: ‘How to keep salad fresh?’
The post stated: “I love salad vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes.. anything that you can put into a salad) but I don’t buy salad ingredients often. I live in the middle of nowhere, literally (out my front window is a forest. Out the back window is a mountain).
READ MORE: Replicate BBQ food in an air fryer with ‘great trick’ to ‘instantly’ add flavour
that we tend to seem to go off such as
“I eat for one. When I buy salad ingredients they go off before I can eat all of them. They last 3 days then I have to throw them out. So I have no salad ingredients for the rest of the week. As a result, I usually don’t bother.
“Is there a way to store salad ingredients to make them last longer? I’m thinking of getting mason jars, would that work?
“What’s the difference between mason, Kilner and regular glass jars in terms of preserving vegetables, do they all work the same?
“Is there a better way to stop my spinach going flaccid before I eat it?”
People took to the thread to give their advice on how to keep salad fresh for longer, with one person writing: “Air-tight container with 1 piece of paper towel. Keeps it fresh.”
Another added: “I don’t wash my lettuce until I use it and when I put it back I put a paper towel in it and replace it as needed. I have had lettuce last three weeks.”
A third said: “Rethink salad.
“For the greens use a base of massaged kale or shredded super thin cabbage. For added veg do tomatoes and cucumber the beginning of the week and sliced radishes, shredded carrot and marinated mushrooms towards the end of the week.
“If you love spinach for salads use the first few days then cook the rest before it goes off.”
Another commented: “I’ve found if I want my lettuce to stay fresh longer I’m better of getting romaine and only washing chopping enough for one or two days. With tomatoes and cucumbers I also only chop as needed and feel they tend to stay fresher than prepping all at once. Things like sun dried tomatoes and jarred artichoke hearts are also really good on salad and have a longer shelf life.”
One user suggested: “Tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, celery, avocados all keep well in the fridge. Toms and avocado taste better at room temperature so keep a small bowl out on the worktop and refill it from the fridge.
“Ready-packed salad doesn’t last nearly so well as a head of lettuce. Romaine or Little Gem keep really well if you just remove and wash a few leaves as you need them. Wrap the heads in a plastic bag with a piece of paper towel inside, but allow a little bit of ventilation.”
A fifth said: “Honestly, salad greens are very easy to grow in a container. I’d recommend getting a container for your counter or something and growing your own greens. You can do different lettuces, spinach, kale, whatever you desire.
“For tomatoes, you can use the first half of the pint fresh and the second half you can prep as marinated tomatoes done in olive oil and Italian spices for the end of the week or cook them low and slow in olive oil and garlic in the oven and stash them in a jar in the fridge. They’ll be similar to a sun-dried tomato.
“Try quick pickling some of your salad veg. I love pickled green beans, cucumbers, and cauliflower on a salad. The quick pickles should last about a week to ten days in your fridge.”
Do you have any suggestions for how to keep salad fresh for longer?
