Salad is a healthy food and is the perfect base for multiple and delicious varieties of fruit and vegetables. For a healthy diet, it is important to know how to keep vegetables fresh when you prepare them in advance. Keep the vegetables in the refrigerator wrapped in kitchen paper and combine them only when it's time to eat the salad. If you want to use fruit, sprinkle it with lemon juice or soak it in water to keep it fresh. In general, vegetables have a rather short shelf life, but if you store them properly your salad will keep fresh for a week.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Keep a Mixed Salad Fresh
Step 1. Wash and cut the lettuce or your favorite salad
Remove the root and possibly the central core. Fill a bowl with cold water and leave the leaves to soak for about ten minutes. If the water becomes cloudy, drain the salad and soak it in clean water. Repeat until the water remains transparent; then rinse the leaves and spread them out on a clean kitchen towel.
Step 2. Dry the leaves with the salad spinner
Put them in the basket and stop the centrifuge. Run it for 15-20 seconds to remove excess water.
Step 3. Use a clean kitchen towel if you don't have a centrifuge
Spread the leaves on the cloth after spreading it on the kitchen counter. Roll it around the leaves, press it very gently and then unroll it to extract the leaves.
Step 4. Cut and wash the other ingredients
Many vegetables, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, can be washed under running water and dried with a clean cloth. Others, such as carrots, should be scraped with a vegetable brush or peeled with a vegetable peeler to remove dirt that has entered the crevices.
Step 5. Assemble the ingredients in a bowl
Arrange the heavier vegetables, such as carrots and cucumbers, on the bottom, then add the lettuce and other leafy greens. Stir briefly, but don't season the salad or the leaves will wilt.
Step 6. Do not add the dressing until you are ready to eat the salad
You can prepare it in advance and store it in the refrigerator in a separate container. If you add it too soon the leaves will wilt and turn dark and mushy.
Step 7. Cover the salad with a dry sheet of kitchen paper
Make it adhere directly to the vegetables, folding it if necessary. The paper will absorb the water and condensation, preventing the salad leaves from becoming soggy.
Step 8. Layer the paper if the mixed salad consists of water-rich vegetables
Take extra precautions if it contains tomatoes, cucumbers, or other vegetables with a high percentage of water, to prevent leafy greens from wilting prematurely. Place part of the vegetables in the bowl and cover them with a paper towel. Add more and cover them with another sheet of kitchen paper. You can make 2 to 4 layers, depending on the amount of vegetables. Remember to cover the last layer with paper as well.
Water-rich vegetables include celery, radishes, courgettes, peppers, and squash
Step 9. Seal the container using a lid, cling film or both
Spread plastic wrap over the bowl to protect the vegetables from the air and prevent them from rotting prematurely. If you used a container with a lid, place it over the foil to give the salad double protection.
Step 10. Store the mixed salad in the refrigerator and eat it within a week
Check it every 2-3 days, stir the leaves briefly and replace the paper towels if it is very wet.
Method 2 of 3: Keep a Fruit Salad Fresh
Step 1. Wash and cut the fruit
Rinse all fruits except bananas and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Place the washed, dried, and chopped fruit in a large bowl.
- If you are using watermelon or cantaloupe, rinse them externally and trim them at the ends. Then divide them in half and cut the pulp into cubes with the knife. For a more elegant presentation you can make small balls with a melon digger.
- Wash the apples and dry them with a cloth or kitchen paper, then remove the core and cut the pulp into slices or cubes.
- Rinse the berries thoroughly and let them dry naturally on a paper towel.
- If you use bananas, peel them, place them horizontally on the cutting board and slice them into thin slices.
Step 2. Prevent fruit oxidation by using citrus juice
Squeeze a lemon, lime, grapefruit, or orange and pour the juice into a cup. Mix one tablespoon of juice with 250ml of water, pour the liquid over the fruit and then mix.
Citrus juice should be used for fruit varieties that tend to oxidize in contact with the air. If the fruit salad is composed only of fruits that do not fear the oxidation process, such as melons, citrus fruits and berries, to keep it fresh it is sufficient to store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container
Step 3. Store the fruits immersed in cold water if you don't have any citrus fruits at home
Transfer the fruit to a plastic container, preferably with a lid, and fill it to the brim with cold water so that the fruit is completely submerged.
Step 4. Cap the container airtight
Fruit spoils faster than leafy vegetables due to the high water content, so the fruit salad should be stored in an emetically sealed container. If possible, use one with a lid, otherwise cover it with cling film.
Step 5. Store the fruit salad in the refrigerator and eat it within 3-5 days
Keep it in the refrigerator to keep the fruit fresh, even if it is varieties that do not oxidize in contact with the air. Do not wait more than 5 days to eat it because after that point the fruit will have lost most of its properties.
Step 6. Drain the fruit salad before serving
Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and pour the fruit into a colander if it is soaking in water or alternatively drain it using a slotted spoon.
Step 7. Season the fruit salad when ready to serve
Store the dressing in the refrigerator in a separate container and pour it over the fruit salad just before serving.
Method 3 of 3: Keep Fresh a Salad That Contains Meat, Eggs or Pasta
Step 1. Put the salad in an airtight container
Generally the ingredients that are added to the salad (such as chicken, tuna or pasta) are already cooked and it is important to protect them from the air. If the only covering you have available for the salad bowl is cling film, store it in the refrigerator and eat it within 2-3 days at the most.
Step 2. Put the salad in the refrigerator as soon as possible
If it contains pre-cooked ingredients, it is important to store it in the refrigerator to prevent them from spoiling and to prevent the proliferation of bacteria.
Throw away the salad if it has been at room temperature for more than a couple of hours or if it has taken on an unpleasant smell, particularly if it contains eggs or mayonnaise
Step 3. Eat the salad within 5 days
Many pre-cooked foods and condiments, especially mayonnaise-based ones, tend to spoil quickly when stored in the refrigerator. Consider which ingredient tends to spoil the fastest and eat the salad by that same expiration date.
