You’ve done it and I’ve done it as well…you just didn’t use those greens or herbs soon enough and now they’re a wilted, soggy, gooey mess. And even worse they’ll have to be thrown away. What a waste of money! I don’t like wasting money or food so I’ve tried many methods that are supposed to keep your greens fresher for longer, and I’ve finally found a method that works well for me. Since using this method, I have not had to throw away any of my fresh greens and herbs. Below are the steps I take to keep my leafy greens fresh as the day I bought them.

How To Store Your Greens To Keep Them Fresh & Crisp

These steps will work for all lettuces, dark leafy greens (ex: kale and collards), and rough herbs (ex: parsley and dill).

1.  Remove any rubber bands or elastic that is around the produce.

2.  Create a cold bath in your kitchen sink. I like to add a ½ cup of vinegar.  Veggie wash works just as well. This helps kill any harmful bacteria and gets rid of any other residue on your produce.

3.  Soak for about 20-30 minutes. Swirl the produce around a few times. If there is heavy dirt on your greens or lettuce, use your fingers or a soft bristle brush to remove it.

4.  To speed up the drying process, I use my trusty salad spinner. If you don’t have a salad spinner, consider getting one, because its a very useful kitchen gadget. Who wants to have wet salad leaves? Trust me, it will change your life

* If you don’t have a  salad spinner, make sure to towel dry completely and lay out for about 15 minutes on a paper towel.
Please note that you can reuse these paper towels. I like to leave them out to dry and use for the next time.
Now that you’ve thoroughly washed and dried your produce, you must properly store them. Proper storage is key to longer lasting fruits and vegetables.

5.  You can use ziploc containers, ziploc bags, store produce bags or green bags (ex: Evert Fresh bags) to store your greens and herbs. Wrap your lettuce, greens and herbs with paper towels. The paper towels will absorb moisture, preventing leaves from turning limp and/or moldy.

6.  Place into the bags or green bags and store in your refrigerator. If you are using a container, line the inside of your container with paper towels and place your greens inside. Place the lid on the container and refrigerate.

* Keep your greens closer to the front to prevent any freezing. If space is limited make sure the stems or tips are pointed towards the back, just in case any freezing occurs, you can just cut of the stems.

The benefit to following this procedure is that once you’ve washed and stored your produce for the week, it’s ready to use. It cuts the time down tremendously. All it takes is about 30 minutes once week or twice a week, depending on however many times you head to the grocery store or market.

Your leafy greens and herbs will keep up to a week, some will even keep up to two weeks.

*Special tip, if you’ve brought back semi wilted greens, you can soak them in cold water for 30 minutes or overnight. This method will help revive your greens.

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This is the method I use and it works very well for me. Do you have a different method or technique to extend the life of your leafy greens and herbs? Please share below in the comment section.