Why You Should Be Using Paper Towels for Your Greens

If you’ve ever reached into a storage container of leafy greens only to grab a slimy bit of produce, you know storing fresh veggies can get tricky. That doesn’t mean you can’t prolong the life of your spinach and kale, though.

Paper towels are the trick to leafy green storage, and they’ll help you keep them fresh longer.

For those who haven’t heard of this trick before, the idea is for the paper towels to absorb any excess moisture. By doing so, your greens won’t sit in water and becomes soggy and slimy ultimately prolonging their life. But you can’t just wrap your produce in paper towels and hope for the best. There’s a specific method for storage.

First, you’ll wash and dry them as usual (though we do recommend this method involving a salad spinner). Next, add a layer of paper towels to the bottom of an airtight storage container. Then, seal it, and place it in the crisper.

While the paper towels help absorb any moisture, the container helps keep out air, and because you won’t have to pack greens into a small bag, they won’t be bunch together. The container also helps to prevent bruising and damage thanks to its hard, protective edges. After 10 days, this method should have your greens still fresh (though, we wouldn’t recommend going past the 10-day mark no matter how they look).

If you feel like you can’t seem to keep your leafy greens fresh, you might just need to grab a paper towel.