How to Keep Bagged Salad Fresh Longer With One Simple Fridge Habit

When purchasing a bag of spring mix, people tend to make the best intentions; it will be put in the shopping cart for a healthier week to follow, but then end up being left in the crisper section for days until it turns soft and gooey. In many households, bagged salad is among those items that contribute most to food wastage. However, just one practice may prolong the freshness of such greens: adding a paper towel to the bag itself or even placing the greens into a box with paper towels.

The concept is quite simple: excessive moisture is what makes fresh produce go bad quickly. Paper towels would absorb the condensation accumulating inside bags of salad.

Food professionals explain that the effect is not supernatural.

Why moisture matters

Bagged greens are considered extremely perishable products since their leaves are quite fragile and often cut up before packing. As per the information provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, both temperature and moisture levels are considered important factors that influence the freshness and safety of bagged leafy greens. The researchers working for the USDA claim that fresh greens must be kept at a temperature of no more than 41 degrees Fahrenheit.

Excessive moisture within the pack can result in spoiling, promoting slime, and rotting once the product has already been opened. Here is where using paper towels comes into action. Indeed, thanks to this trick, you can make the spoilage process go more slowly.

For instance, many people recommend putting a single dry paper towel into the pack after it has been opened; the pack needs to be closed again, and the process must be repeated if the paper towel gets moist. Alternatively, greens can be moved into another air-tight container lined with paper towels. The trick became widely popular because of its easy-to-use nature and affordable cost.

The habit that may help greens last longer

In case you are curious to do so, some recommendations come from experts. First, you should check the quality of greens prior to storage. In case the salad is wet inside the bag, then it might have been close to being spoiled from the start. Many food safety specialists see a moist condition inside the bag as an indication of possible spoilage.

Secondly, place a dry paper towel inside the bag or the storage container to absorb moisture. Thirdly, keep salad in the coolest area of your fridge, which is not the door, where temperature changes frequently.

Moreover, do not rinse triple-washed or ready-to-eat salad before storage, as excessive moisture can become an additional risk factor. One more little trick is to discard wilting leaves right away. In case one leaf starts rotting, it will accelerate decay processes for other nearby leaves.

It can help reduce food waste

The typical U.S. household wastes quite a lot of food every year, and fruits and vegetables are one of the biggest culprits.
Storage techniques can make all the difference. While a paper towel won’t transform a week-old lettuce into a four-week-long staple stored in your pantry, even extending the life of that lettuce by a few days could save you from throwing away one more unnecessary purchase.

When you’re still worrying about how much you pay at the store, cutting down on waste seems just as valuable as any coupon.

Freshness still starts at the store

It starts before you even arrive at home. Pick bags that appear crisp instead of those that have condensation, and pick vegetables from the back part of the chilled display case, where there might be cooler temperatures.

And then keep them cool after reaching home. As per experts, controlling temperature is key here. The paper towel technique can be used, but it should be done along with refrigerating the salad. It's amazing what some simple tips in the kitchen can do. They can save money for you and ensure less waste.

A sheet of paper towel in a bagged salad could be an example of such a tip.