what do they put on greens at the store to keep them crispy?

[sheeshshe]

I know anything like lettuce or kale from my garden, if I don't use it within an hour or 2, it is all soggy and weird. What do they put on the ones at the store? is it something horrible? or am I just not doing something right. I"m about to give up on growing greens altogether for this reason, only because it just doesn't keep at all. How do you deal with yours? or do you just always eat it right away and never try and keep leftovers?

[soil]

Pick why you need when you need it, greens store best on the plant. At least in the cooler green growing season. In summer I eat summer greens.

[gumbo2176]

I know anything like lettuce or kale from my garden, if I don't use it within an hour or 2, it is all soggy and weird. What do they put on the ones at the store? is it something horrible? or am I just not doing something right. I"m about to give up on growing greens altogether for this reason, only because it just doesn't keep at all. How do you deal with yours? or do you just always eat it right away and never try and keep leftovers?

When I pick my salad greens I do so with a 5 gallon bucket with some cold water in it. I'll sometimes pick a bucket full of various greens for a salad and to give some away to family and friends. After I pick them, I'll half fill another 5 gallon bucket and wash each leaf in the clean water to rid it of dirt and bugs that may be on the leaves.

Then I bring it upstairs and fill one side of me double sink with cold water and do this all over again. I'll then remove the leaves and shake off most of the excess water and put them on a towel to drain a bit more. Then I put it in plastic grocery bags and place it in my vegetable bin of the fridge. I've had lettuces, kale, chard and other salad greens stay crisp for up to a week like this.

[albucsfan]

Stores may be different but all the restaraunts I have worked in use very cold water to keep lettuce crisp.... Maybe a rinse in cold water before it goes in the fridge???

[Lexi]

I'm not sure if this helps, but where I work we refrigerate the kale until we take it out, then we let it sit in cold water until we use it. But I think kale is just naturally "crisp"..

[RogueRose]

When I put my greens in the fridge I rinse them in cold water, spin them. And then I always put them in a fridge with some wet (rung out) paper towels.

[rainbowgardener]

Even without as much rinsing and spinning (something I have never done), I have found that greens keep amazingly well stored in the frig, in a baggie with a damp paper towel.

[sheeshshe]

ahh I'm thinking the papertowls is the ticket! I'll try that next, thanks!