It is important to clean and wash salad greens. Do not trust that greens have been "washed." Have you ever wondered why salads in restaurants taste so different? The secret is the texture. Restaurants have salad spinners which keep each individual leaf dry yet crisp. Where can you find a salad spinner? The oxo company manufactures a terrific salad spinner (include link) that makes washing greens fun and easy.
Create an Ice Bath
- Follow the instructions to remove the lid of the spinner. Rinse the bowl.
- Add 4 cups of ice to the bowl and fill with to ¾ with water. Set aside.
Wash Your Salad Greens
- Gently rinse your salad greens under the faucet and place each leaf in the ice bath until every leaf is cleaned.
Refresh Your Salad Greens
- Allow the leaf greens to refresh in the ice bath for 15 minutes.
- Grab a separate bowl.
- Remove the refreshed greens from the ice bath and place in the other bowl.
- Pour out the ice bath in the sink.
Place the greens back into the spinner and then place the lid on top.
- Fasten the lock and press the black button on the lid. This will start spinning your salad. The salad spinner works just like a washing machine on the spin cycle. The spinning motion spins the water off each leaf.
- Remove the lid and pull out the perforated basket. Pour out the liquid from the bowl. Repeat process one more time. Each salad leaf will be clean, crisp, and dry!
Storage
- Dampen a paper towel and lay across a flat surface.
- Place the washed salad greens on one half of the towel.
- Fold the other half of towel over the greens.
- Gently roll into a "bundle."
- Place the bundle in a large plastic freezer bag
- Seal and store in the fridge
Your salad greens will stay fresh and hydrated for up to five days. You can savor the joy of eating salad with greens like Bibb, Endive, Romaine, Butter lettuce, Radicchio, and Arugula throughout the week. More importantly, you will be able to re-create restaurant quality salads at home at a fraction of the price.
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