How to Store your Greens

One of the most frustrating things is to get your beautiful farmers market lettuce out of the fridge only to realize that it is wilty and slimy. That can happen in just hrs if you do not store your greens the right way. If you store wet greens in a sealed plastic bag, they will rot quickly. If you toss a bunch of greens onto the bottom shelf of the fridge without a bag, they will dry out and wilt due to moisture loss.

Here is a simple guide on how to store you greens:

1. First and foremost, do NOT wash any greens until you are ready to eat them. It fosters rot.
2. Once you get your greens home, wrap them in a paper towel and place in a plastic bag and put into the crisper drawer.
3. If you have left your greens in the car for a few hours, cut them greens like you would the stem of a flower and place in a jar of water to refresh. Then into the fridge.

Containers are essential for storing your greens.

• Plastic bag – you can use an old grocery store bag, or ziplock
• Plastic container- if you are short on crisper drawer place, place greens in a plastic container with lid
• Green bags- yes, the “as seen on tv” green bags really do work. Here is the Amazon link.

Paper towels are your best friend here.  However if you don’t want to use them you can use newspaper or a kitchen towel as long as it will soak up excess moisture.

For best results eat delicate lettuces within 2 days of purchasing at the farmers market. Hardier greens like romaine, kale, swiss chard, and collards can last up to a week in the fridge.