Why You Might Want To Start Storing Your Salad Greens In Aluminum Foil

Whether you work from home and eat lunch in your own kitchen, or you take your midday meal into an office, salads make for a cheap and easy dish. But, if you're the sort of person that regularly stores salad greens in your fridge for continual meal prep, you're well aware of how quickly the leaves can go bad with precious few things more disgusting than salad greens that are past their prime. If you've ever bitten into a Caesar salad and got a slimy wad of what was once romaine, you know how difficult it is to finish the meal after that.

So, how do you keep salad greens crisp — and your lunch un-slimed — for as long as possible? Luckily, there's an easy technique that you may not be familiar with but that makes use of materials you likely already have in your home. Simply wrap the salad in tin foil. Not only is this great for the greens themselves but it's also better for the environment than using something like plastic wrap.

To try this trick, all you need to do is take a large rectangle of aluminum foil, place the salad greens on top of it, and fold the foil over, crimping at the edges. As long as you make sure to tamp down the foil, it will have the effect of retaining the natural moisture in the greens without allowing too much oxygen in that will spoil them. Oxygen is the main issue with food spoilage; too much exposure can lead not only to bacterial growth, but can also speed up the food's natural chemical reactions, causing browning and (in this case) sliminess.

On the other hand, limiting the amount of oxygen flow to the greens delays this process. While nothing short of freezing can arrest this evolution entirely, salad leaves can sometimes stay good for up to a month with a tight enclosure like a tin foil wrap. It's the same kind of humidifying effect that you'd find with a crisper drawer (which you can use in conjunction with foil for even greater results).

If you really hate tin foil or don't have any on hand, there are a few other ways you can try to preserve the freshness of your salad greens. It may not be as potentially environmentally-friendly, but plastic bags can work here, especially if you put a paper towel or two inside the bag to wick away the excess moisture. Preserving greens' moisture is important, but you don't want them to get too wet, and a paper towel strikes this balance automatically.

Then there's a very easy option, which can be used in conjunction with the paper towel, plastic bag, and aluminum foil methods. Just use the crisper drawer; it's the simplest way to keep your salad greens fresh, as they're specifically designed to preserve fruits and vegetables for longer amounts of time. Just make sure the drawer is a high-humidity model (or that it's set for high humidity); low-humidity drawers are designed for fruits rather than leafy greens.

Whichever method you use, storing your salad greens is important for the tastiest salads and healthy eating.