Even at high heat So the iceberg salad remains crisp and fresh

In the current summer temperatures, leafy lettuce quickly wets. The leaves turn brown and the crackling freshness subsides. With a few tricks, the freshness can be retained longer.

Healthy, light and popular - almost 60 percent of Germans eat salad three to five times a week. The green leaves, however, quickly become limp and end up in the garbage if mistreated. How to properly store and preserve leafy lettuce and vegetables - raw and with dressing - is shown by the initiative Too Good for the Ton! the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

This keeps iceberg lettuce fresh even in summer. Picture: rdnzl - fotolia

Keep your eyes peeled when shopping: salads should not be left in the store next to vegetables and fruits that produce a lot of ripening gas. These include apple, pear, apricot, banana, mango, avocado and tomato. Salads react to the maturing gas ethylene with yellowing, brown rust spots and withered leaves.
At home, almost all vegetables and lettuce are unwashed and unpeeled in the vegetable compartment in the fridge. The salad should first remove withered leaves, then it lasts longer. Tomatoes are best kept at room temperature.

The harder the leaves, the longer crisp
In the case of vegetables, the shelf life varies greatly, with salad a rule of thumb helps: the harder the leaves, the longer they stay crisp in the fridge. To protect leaf salads from drying out, you can beat the crisp leaves in a damp cloth, drizzled with vinegar or lemon. Alternatives are closable plastic boxes or perforated foil bags. Leftover, washed lettuce leaves, dripping wet or slightly flung, can be stored in a plastic box for a few days in the refrigerator. Vegetable remains can be frozen for several months - unlike salad. He gets muddy when thawing.

Beware of tightly sealed plastic bags
Firmly closed plastic bags can literally stifle the salad, because the moisture can not escape: it creates a good climate for developing microorganisms that can spoil the salad in a short time. For this reason, also welded ready salads are particularly sensitive and should always be washed before eating. Cooling without interruption is the top priority here, since germs multiply rapidly when exposed to heat. After expiration of the printed consumption date you should not consume ready-made salads.

How salad with sauce stays crisp?
With dressing, the delicate lettuce leaves quickly become slack. Therefore, you should always admit the sauce just before eating. If the dish has to be cooked longer, iceberg or vegetable salads are suitable. For this purpose, a dressing of vinegar and oil is recommended. Vinegar reduces the growth of germs and the salad stays appetizing even with dressing. (Sb)