Salad Greens

Lettuce, spinach, swiss chard and other salad greens are highly perishable and wilt easily.  However, because different they have different characteristics, different methods are required for storing salad greens.

Hardy Greens

Hardier salad greens like Romaine and leaf lettuce, spinach and chard, can be washed and thoroughly dried before storing. If there is too much moisture present during storage, salad greens will get slimy and brown.  Store them in the crisper section of the refrigerator, loosely packed in a perforated plastic bag or a damp cloth.

Delicate Greens

More delicate greens such as arugula and water cress should not be washed before storing.  If you buy these with the root attached, wrap the roots in a damp paper towel, and then store the whole thing in a perforated plastic bag.

Storing Salad Greens

Store salad greens away from ethylene-producing fruits like apples, bananas and pears.  The ethylene gas will cause the leaves to turn brown.

Romaine lettuce will keep for 5 to 7 days (maybe up to 10 days),

Boston and leaf lettuce for 2 to 3 days,

Delicate greens like arugula and water cress should be used as soon as possible.

If you found this post useful, or if you have any tips for storing salad greens, please leave a comment.