[kokopuffs]

Should I spin the lettuce well in advance of mixing it with the salad dressing, or just before I mix it?

 

[mudbug]

I would think the fact that you're spinning your lettuce at all is good. If you have time, it certainly won't hurt to do it ahead of time and then spread them on a towel to air dry even further...

 

[momoreg]

Koko, you spin the lettuce to dry it after cleaning it. Toss it in dressing afterwards.

 

[kokopuffs]

Momoreg, I was only wondering if the elapsed time between spinning and mixing made a difference.

 

[momoreg]

Oh, sorry koko...

You can spin it way ahead, but make sure you keep it cool and dry.

 

[mezzaluna]

Kokopuffs, I usually spin just before dressing. It seems like the coolness of the water keeps the greens crisper. Don't know if it helps the dressing cling better or not, though.

 

[svadhisthana]

Koko,
I agree with Mezzaluna, I spin just before and the greens stay nice and crisp.

 

[bouland]

I think when you spin the lettuce depends upon the condition of the lettuce when you obtain it. When I purchase lettuce at my local farmer's market, the greens are dry and store well under refrigeration. Because they are dry they store fine. But if I buy the lettuce at a local market where they spray the lettuce with water to keep it looking fresh, I need to spin it within a few hours of purchase. Otherwise, the wet lettuce starts to rot in the refrigerator.

 

[momoreg]

In catering, we never had a problem spinning the lettuce on Friday for a Saturday party. You'd never know the difference.

 

[mudbug]

kokopuffs,

Ideally you would spin the lettuce and lay the lettuce out to try on a towel about an hour before adding dressing. This way the dressing will coat your greens pleasantly.

 

[suzanne]

We often have the same problem of sopping wet lettuces. So as soon as we get them home, we wrap them in a lot of paper towels and put them loosely into plastic bags in the crisper. Every time we take them out to use some, we rewrap. Once the towels have dried, we can re-use them, so it's not as wasteful as it seems. And the lettuces keep ever so much better.

(All right, what's with this "we" stuff? It's really mostly my husband, because he's a real rabbit and eats -- and therefore makes -- the salad most. But he taught me that truc, and it really works!)

 

[kimmie]

Oh Suzanne,

That's exactly what I do, and it works every time!

 

[isa]

Ditto.

 

[marzoli]

What a relief to hear this! I thought I'd lost my mind. Our produce market hired a new person who apparently thinks the greens should be SOAKED! I tried the paper towel trick, but that just dried out the greens totally. I've been just picking up greens as I'm ready to use them instead of buying in advance a day or so. I really thought something had gone wrong with my fridge! It's new, so that seemed unlikely. Looks like I'll be spinning greens when I bring them home.

 

[ruth]

I ONCE WORKED AT THIS PLACE ON THE BEACH. WE SERVED SO MANY CUSTOMERS AT ONE TIME THAT THE OWNER BOUGHT A HUGE FLOOR MODEL OF A SALAD SPINNER. THAT THING SPUN SO HARD AND FAST IF YOU AND ANOTHER PERSON DID NOT SIT ON IT IT WOULD ROCK ITSELF TO DEATH AND THROW A FIT.AFTER WE SPUN THE GREENS WE WOULD PUT THEM IN A CHILLED HOPPER THAT KEPT THEM COOL AND AT THE BOTTOM WAS A A SLOT BIG ENOUGH FOR YOUR HAND TO GET WHAT YOU NEEDED. GOOD IDEA I THOUGH BUT WHEN I SAW HOW MUCH GREENS WERE WNDING UP ON THE FLOOR I SAID COULD BE IMPROVED. HEY I WAS JUST LINE SLIME THEN.MY IDEAS AND EVEN VERBING THEM WAS NOT EVEN A CONSIDERATION. OH WELL TALES OF THE KITCHEN