Salad Veggie

Posted by raincatcher (737 days ago)

How long can an unopened pack of salad veggie (mesclun in a bowl) keep in the crisper compartment in the fridge? I opened my salad veggie this morning. Despite that the expiry date is tomorrow, I found a lot of withered veggies and lots of condensation so the whole pack of veggie is a little watery. I have to buy a few packs at a time on the weekends because they are always sold out in the evening.

(I am based in Other)

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Posted by hkkm (737 days ago)

I have real trouble getting decent prepacked salad greens. They always seem to go limp and slimy very quickly - sometimes they are even starting to go limp when I look at them at the supermarket, with several days before the expiry date. Now I never buy them unless I am going to use them within a couple of days, and I look at them VERY carefully to make sure they look really fresh.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Meiguoren (737 days ago)

Gosh, find a different store!? They should be dry and sealed to keep them fresh (so won't dry out, but won't rot.) That water on your fresh greens could also encourage decay and growth of germs? I know it's not as completely convenient, but consider picking up some at your local wet grocer as you walk home and wash it yourself, or get a really fresh one over the weekend, wash and dry it yourself?

(I am based in Guangzhou)

Posted by raincatcher (737 days ago)

I am buying pre-packed salad green imported from New Zealand....*sigh*

I think I should just starve myself as everything seems to have problems!

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by Meiguoren (737 days ago)

I'm a bit leery of the salad greens, given the risk of hepatitis and maybe e-coli where I live, but what I do is wash one time in regular water with soap. Then I rinse one time in regular water to get the soap off. Then I rinse a second time with filtered water, and finally I rinse a third time with bottled water. I peel tomatoes, but I just use the same wash-rinse method with cucumbers. Knock on wood, nobody in my family has ever gotten sick yet.

(I am based in Guangzhou)

Posted by raincatcher (737 days ago)

Doctors suggest to use salt to rub the leaves and stalks, soak for about 1/2 hour (cabbage type veggie for 1 hour) and then rinse with water. So maybe salt is better than soap?

I'm just too lazy to do all these so I've stopped buying Chinese greens.

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by raincatcher (737 days ago)

Doctors suggest to use salt to rub the leaves and stalks, soak for about 1/2 hour (cabbage type veggie for 1 hour) and then rinse with water. So maybe salt is better than soap?

I'm just too lazy to do all these so I've stopped buying Chinese greens.

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by hkkm (736 days ago)

Just a clarification - I'm not talking about Chinese greens (choy sum etc). I'm talking about the prepacked lettuce mix or mesclun mix that's imported from NZ or the US, that you use for a salad along with lettuce, tomato etc.

I've never seen salad mix in any wet market, just plain lettuces which are pretty boring (not to mention the germ issue).

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by the goddess kali (736 days ago)

if you have a good italian friend ask them to bring over a salad spinner (they're inexpensive and one of the most convenient things to have in the kitchen) They are called 'centrifuga' in italian.
You can buy various salads - soak them (inside the spinner) in mild soap or salad cleaning liquids and water and then rinse two or three times and then spin the water out.

Works great when preparing chinese vegetables to be stir fried too.

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by hkchoichoi (736 days ago)

salad spinners also keep the lettuce fresher longer. you rinse, wash, dry, drop out all the extra water, and then store in there. Much better than the plastic bags that the stores sell their lettuce in

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by annebin (736 days ago)

I normally wash them just in plain tap water, drain in a colander and pat dry with a paper towel.

I definitely have leftovers most of the time. What I do is, after rinsing and patting dry, I layer them with paper towel in a tupperware and store covered in the ref. Start and end with paper towel. They stay dry, fresh and crisp and last for almost a week, well enough time til our next salad meal anyway

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by raincatcher (736 days ago)

So paper towel is the key!

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by hkkm (735 days ago)

I have a salad spinner, but I don't wash the salad greens until just before I'm going to use them. The ones I buy don't come in a plastic bag, but in a sealed plastic container, so I don't open the container until I'm about to use them. They just tend to go slimy inside the container before I even open it!

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by the goddess kali (735 days ago)

I think if you take them out of the plastic container - rinse, spin them free of water and store them with paper towels as annebin suggests they wills stay fresh longer. The paper absorbs the moisture that transpires out of the leaves.

I used to store coriander like this - when living in Italy - as it's not easily available.

Salad leaves in plastic boxes are not aerated enough despite having holes in them. all the gases and moistture tends to get trapped inside - making the poor leaves go slimy.

I have the bad habit of sticking the salad spinner in the fridge with the leftovers - but usually the salad gets eaten by my husband at the next meal time. He's an insatiable salad monster.

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by mayomee (452 days ago)

Hi! I hope someone sees my query here, even if this post is a little...err, old. :)

I don't know how to cook (ok, just fry). And I used to buy these pre-packed salad greens from Park N Shop, but now they've disappeared. And I can't find them elsewhere.

I really have no idea which vegetables to buy in order to make my own salad. But frankly, I'd prefer the pre-packed ones (I wash them thoroughly in running water) since I get home late at night and not enough time to prepare my food for the next day.

Hope someone replies! Many thanks!

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by souffleQueen (452 days ago)

The Mesclun I get from Olivers would normally remain crispy even after a day or two from expiry date as long as they remained sealed and no sign of wilting on the day of purchase. Otherwise, I just take the "bad" ones and wrap them in a tea towel.

Some greens in mesclun wilts faster than others -- so for stock up purposes, I would get a pack of romaine hearts (they always come in 3's) small packs of baby spinach, rockets, etc and just mix them when needed.

(I am based in Hong Kong)