Plastic Bags Are Actually The Key To Keeping Salad Greens Fresh

Soggy salad greens ... we've all been there. So how do we deal with this problem and keep salads as fresh as possible, for as long as possible? Obviously, you should refrigerate them, but there's another issue you're fighting, in addition to temperature. The true enemy is the thing all living organisms need to survive: oxygen. Too much of it kicks the cycle of decay and rebirth into high gear. The solution, thus, makes perfect sense: sealing greens in airtight plastic bags.

Though food is usually pretty gross when it goes bad, it's hard to think of a single item (other than maybe squishy onions) as disgusting as what happens to lettuce and other greens when they're past their prime. The leaves get a combination of soggy and slimy that would make a horror movie director blanche. They're basically the evil version of cooked spinach and can put you off it forever.

It doesn't matter how you're getting your greens. Whether they're bought in huge leaves from an outdoor market or in a clamshell container from the grocery store, the packaging isn't likely to be as airtight as it could be. And plastic bags are the answer. 

While Ziploc bags aren't perfectly airtight for this purpose — they're not a hermetic seal or anything — they're going to keep oxygen out far more efficiently than a prepackaged container that's been opened.

There's an additional component to this process aside from just putting the greens in bags. Blow a big puff of air into the bag before you seal it (obviously, you should mostly seal it before you try this, to make the process easier). The carbon dioxide from your breath will help keep the greens fresher for longer.

There's another technique you can layer on top of this one that keep greens fresh longer, too. When you're separating greens into plastic bags, add one (or even two) folded paper towels to the mix. Space them out within the greens for best effect. 

The reason this works is that the paper towels act as a sponge for moisture within the lettuce, wicking the excess and keeping it from causing the greens to spoil. They'll still go bad eventually, of course — nothing can stop the cold, remorseless march of time — but this method can keep salad greens fresh for well over a week.

There are all sorts of tricks to keeping food fresh longer, and it's important to learn as many as possible if you're committed to combating food waste. Dealing with food waste in your home isn't going to solve the environmental issues at play, but they'll help keep your wallet healthy.