Dig In: Keep Those Leafy Greens Fresh
Do you have questions about planting, cooking, and the best restaurants in L.A.? Send them in to our Living Editor Katherine Spiers at fooddesk@kcet.org and she may answer them in this column!
Dear Katherine: I recently joined a CSA and am getting a lot of different leafy greens each week. I have been storing them all together in one bag in the fridge's bottom drawer, but they are going bad pretty fast. What do I do? What's the best way to store leafy greens? -- Zach
You're on the right track! The crisper drawer is the best place for your leafy greens. There are a couple of other steps you can take to make sure the veggies stick around for longer than a day or two.
Firstly, it's a good idea to wash your greens as soon as you get them home. This will help prevent any molding. After you wash them, you can chop the leaves into salad-sized pieces if you think it'll encourage you to eat them quicker -- getting prep work done ahead of time is, I think, the crucial element to eating healthy at home.
Whether your leafy greens are whole or chopped, you'll want to wrap them in a damp towel next. You can use a tea towel or a kitchen towel if you like, and you can rubber band the ends to make sure everything stays in place. If you go that route, the whole shebang is now ready to go into the fridge.
Alternatively, you can wrap the greens in a damp paper towel. And you can continue to use the same paper towel until it disintegrates. With this method, you also want to place the bundle into a plastic bag, preferably a Ziploc-type bag that you can at least partially close. And don't pack it too tightly -- the greens need room to breathe.
And you're in business!
