I stumbled upon this fantastic method for cleaning and preparing lettuce for salads many years ago.This method is quick, it has minimal dirty dishes, and it works very well. I use this method anytime I need to prepare salad greens, and it also works well for preparing herbs (such as basil or parsley).Quick and Easy Way to Prepare Salad Greens
- Lettuce, arugula, or other greens (this works well for herbs, too)
- Equipment needed: salad spinner (I love my OXO Little Salad Spinner, which has worked flawlessly for many years and is small enough to fit easily in the fridge)
- Begin by ripping the lettuce (or other greens) into bite-sized pieces and placing them directly into the basket of the salad spinner. Do not use a knife to cut the greens unless they will be completely consumed immediately after preparation, as using a knife will cause the cut edges of the greens to brown quickly. I like to prepare as many greens as will fit into the salad spinner which usually means there are leftover greens, so I always hand-rip instead of using a knife.
- Fill the salad spinner with water and gently slosh the lettuce/greens around to wash it.
- Pull the basket out and let the water drain. Instead of pouring the used wash-water down the drain, I like to use it for watering plants.
- Repeat the washing twice more with fresh water. Triple-washing the lettuce/greens ensures that all debris and dirt is fully removed.
- Drain the basket and use the salad spinner to dry the lettuce/greens.
- Any leftover lettuce/greens can be stored directly in the salad spinner in the fridge.
3 comments:
This would work with greens that are relatively dirt- and aphid-free, but the only way if the greens are either dirty, crinkly, or have extra insects, is a big, uncrowded basin with relatively few leaves to the quantity of water; and the one-at-a-time final inspection my grandmother called "looking them." I think it's a 2 or 3 person job. Doing it alone makes me too grumpy. If one family member washes and looks them, and another takes them to the draining basket and the drying towel, it isn't so bad. I've come to prefer enclosing the greens in a big towel rolled like a giant cigar, and holding the two ends and agitating the whole thing to shake dry.
I have used this method for very dirty greens as well. Sometimes they require a few extra rinses, and definitely less leaves per the amount of water, just as you said.
Thank you for the quick and easy method!
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