Salad and herb storage
With 178 million bags of salad leaves thrown away in the UK every year it would seem wilted lettuce is a common problem.
The bags most shop-bought salad is stored in is pumped with preservatives to make the leaves last but as soon as they are opened it's a matter of days before they become undesirable. The impermeable packets also create a humid environment for the leaves meaning they are likely to sweat, resulting in wilting.
But fear not, there is a very simple solution to keep your lettuce crisp and fresh for far longer than what’s expected.
Lettuce and salad leaves
As soon as you open a packet of salad leaves or lettuce, transfer the leaves to a sealable tub with a piece of kitchen paper at the bottom.
Seal the tub and place it in the fridge.
The kitchen paper will absorb excess moisture, whilst the sealed tub avoids the harsh conditions of the fridge.
This method tends to work well for all leafy greens, such as kale, cabbage, spring onions, and even soft herbs.
Herbs
It’s rare to buy a pack of herbs and use them all in one recipe. They will often find their way back to the fridge and get lost in the chaos of the vegetable draw, getting crushed and bruised to be eventually retrieved for another dish black and watery.
When you have leftover herbs, damp a piece of kitchen paper or cloth and wrap it around the herbs, like a tight bouquet.
Store the herbs in a container alone to avoid being crushed by other items.
If you have the space, you can store soft herb stems in jars of water, like flowers in a vase, changing the water regularly ensures the herbs stay fresh for longer.
My preferred method for utilising herbs, however, is drying them.
Although dried herbs have a very different flavour from their fresh counterpart, I find it useful to always have dried herbs around the kitchen.
It’s particularly useful if you grow your own herbs, or forage seasonal herbs, such as wild garlic or elderflower, to preserve them all year round.
Simple steps for drying herbs
Gather a bunch of whichever herb you have.
Tie some string around the stems.
Hang them upside down anywhere dry and warm in your house until they are crisp and dry. Depending on the herb and the temperature, this can take anywhere between 1 week and 3 weeks.
Once dry, either keep them hung up until needed or strip them, crush the leaves, and store them in airtight jars.
Information courtesy of Rowen Halstead
