Storing washed leaves
The most convenient way to store a clean, ready-to-eat product, so the salad brought from the market or from the store is immediately washed. It is best to do this in a spacious saucepan with water, carefully turning each piece of paper, discarding the yellowed parts. After washing the salad must be dried. At the same time it is impossible to squeeze the leaves, they must remain without damage.
To dry the leaves, first shake them off, put them in a colander or on a sieve to drain the water, and then transfer them to a dry kitchen towel or paper napkin.Dried green lettuce is ready for storage in the refrigerator. It can be placed in a plastic container, covered with a napkin on top and tightly closed with a lid. The napkin is needed to absorb excess moisture and prevent rotting. If you do not have a special container, then the salad can be stored in an enamel bowl, covering it on top with a colander, a plastic bag with holes or a towel.
Another method is also used: the leaves are wrapped in a dry cotton towel and sent to the vegetable compartment. There is a little secret: you need to put any silver object to the wrapped leaves. This will keep the salad fresh for a month.
Under the film
Try to store unwashed leaves, wrapping them with food film.
- Place the leaves on a disposable foam polystyrene( food grade foam) or thick cardboard board.
- Lay the salad loosely so that there is air between the sheets.
- Cover the top with cling film.
- Put the packaging on the lowest shelf in the fridge.
This method of storage will provide freshness throughout the week. When you need the leaves, they must be torn off by hand without using a knife or scissors. According to the canons of French cuisine, leaf salad is generally forbidden to cut with a knife. It is believed that from contact with metal objects his taste becomes worse.
In a bowl with water,
Often greens are stored in water - like flowers. To do this, use a small bowl.
- Cut the lower part of the leaves( from the cuttings side) by 2–3 mm to increase the absorption of moisture.
- Pour some water into the bowl and place the leaves in it with cuttings down.
- Cover the upper part loosely with a bag or film.
If the room is cool, you can keep the leaf salad fresh without even putting it in the fridge. But it is much better and longer to save the leaves in the refrigerator at a temperature of + 4 ° C.
Short-term storage
You can buy greens in small quantities to take it to work every day. In this case, do not keep the leaves for a long time. In the morning they are washed, cut into pieces of medium size, or simply separated one by one. Then put the greens in the container, covered with a napkin on top. Five to six hours of security provided!
In the same way, prepare a picnic sandwiches with butter and salad. Butter is in perfect harmony with the specific taste of the leaves.
Frost
Lettuce leaves in general do not freeze. They contain a large amount of water in the cells and, after thawing, turn into an incomprehensible mess. However, you can do something else to store the product for the whole winter.
Salad is watered with boiling water( blanched), cooled in cold water. Then frayed on a blender or manually mashed. The finished mash is laid out in packages, molds, containers and freeze. In winter, it is used for making sauces, added to soups.
Marinating
Try to pickle the lettuce and store it in the refrigerator for a long time.
- Place 3-4 cloves of garlic and cut the celery stalk at the bottom of the saucepan.
- Place the pre-washed leaves one by one.
- From above cover them with celery and dill.
- Prepare the marinade from 1 liter of water, 2 large spoons of sugar, 1 of the same spoon of salt and a small spoon of citric acid.
- Fill the leaves with hot marinade and place a bend on top.
When the water has cooled, pickled lettuce is sent to the fridge. If there is not enough space on the shelves of the refrigerator, you can store the workpiece in the cellar.
Salad from the bed
Salad can be grown yourself on the windowsill or on the garden. Seeds germinate within 5 days, and after 25 days you can harvest. The main thing - to ensure good watering, lighting and feeding.
If you pick individual leaves, the plant will start new ones. You can pull out a whole outlet with the root and store it in a vertical position for 1-2 days. Self-made lettuce lasts the longest. It is rich in vitamins, iron, magnesium and is perfect for people on a diet, for pregnant women, and for patients with anemia.
How to store
Do not store washed leaf lettuce in a tightly closed plastic bag, as moisture will accumulate inside, accelerating the deterioration. Leaving the leaves open is also not recommended, because strong evaporation occurs in the refrigerator, and the leaves will quickly wither.
Many housewives put greens in glass jars, closing them with lids. If you decide to do this with a salad, then put a thin paper napkin inside the can. Salad, unlike parsley or dill, quickly deteriorates and turns yellow. The napkin will take away excess water, extending its safety. Change it every day.
