How do you store fresh spinach?

zoribrida

zoribrida

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Bulgaria
Hi everyone!

I love fresh spinach and I try to keep it in my fridge for up to a week. I usually shop only on weekends, so I buy the amount I think I will need and toss it in a bag in my fridge. However, at the end of the week, a great amount of the spinach leaves have gone bad and I have to throw them away. I also hate washing spinach leaves every time I decide to make a salad...

What do you think will be the best way to store fresh spinach after I wash it? How do you store yours?
 
Do you really need to wash it? Some bags of greens say they are pre-washed. Just kind of thinking out loud here! Luckily I grow spinach nearly year round so mostly just pick as I use it. But even if I do store some for later, I do not wash it until I use it. It seems like washing it may be your problem. The leaves are tender and get bruised easily. I will be interested to see what others are doing!
 
Momma9 said:
Do you really need to wash it? Some bags of greens say they are pre-washed. Just kind of thinking out loud here! Luckily I grow spinach nearly year round so mostly just pick as I use it. But even if I do store some for later, I do not wash it until I use it. It seems like washing it may be your problem. The leaves are tender and get bruised easily. I will be interested to see what others are doing!
Click to expand...
In the country I currently live in, they don't sell the spinach in bags. I buy it from farmers' markets and other similar places.
It definitely keeps fresh longer if I don't wash it beforehand, but I'm really hoping for some miraculous way to store it after washing...
 
I find the same problem with the bags of spinach I get here. They don't really keep more than 4 or 5 days max. in the fridge. I get round this by cooking the spinach, if I haven't used it in that time! Most recipes call for spinach which is briefly cooked - so I cook in the microwave or steam the spinach then squeeze out as much water as possible then store it in the fridge. You can also freeze it. Then I simply add the spinach to the recipe - or re-heat & serve it on its own. Obviously, if you are eating spinach as a salad leaf this wouldn't work!
 
I usually just buy the Spinach in the bag, but I find when it has a posted use by date, it is really important to use it by that date, or you will have a bunch of wilted rotted leaves in your bag. I tend to use more of the frozen spinach for this reason. It tends to last forever. Fresh spinach is so good for you it is a shame it doesn't last longer. I would eat more of it.
 
Come to think of it, I have not bought spinach in a while, but when I do buy it, I buy just the amount that I would need to use for about up to 3 days. Also, I find that storing it on the topmost shelf in the fridge tends to prolong its shelf life. Storing it in the vegetable compartment at the bottom of the fridge is not a good idea if it is going to be kept for longer than a few days. Some vegetables survive longer than others in this part of the fridge - like carrots, for instance.
 
I mainly use the bags of pousse epinard, baby spinach, but was surprised how many well known chefs do use frozen for certain recipes
 
don't know if anyone has suggested but what about a salad spinner to dry the spinach off.

I have one like this. as you can see they come in other sizes too. when ever I wash greens they get a good spin in this thing. then lay them out on a paper towel to dry more. but at this point put them in the fridge. Temperature fluctuation is your spinaches enemy. I keep mine in the crisper bin, in a container like this and can keep most of it for almost 2 weeks.
this is what I have. it works GREAT worth every penny.

http://www.amazon.com/Prepworks-Pro...8&sr=1-8&keywords=collapsible+salad+container
 
Momma9 said:
Do you really need to wash it? Some bags of greens say they are pre-washed. Just kind of thinking out loud here! Luckily I grow spinach nearly year round so mostly just pick as I use it. But even if I do store some for later, I do not wash it until I use it. It seems like washing it may be your problem. The leaves are tender and get bruised easily. I will be interested to see what others are doing!
Click to expand...

do you grow your spinach outside year round? I would like to grow some in my sunroom I grow all my herbs in there. lots of light. do you think this could be done in pots? and do you mix a lot of sand into your mix for the spinach?
 
I have always simply bought spinach fresh and locally. Being local, it isn't bagged and requires you to wash it no matter what. like @Chef00 suggested, I use a salad spinner and wrap them in paper towels then put in a ziploc back. This usually makes them last a few days at the most. Spinach is such a delicate thing too, bruise it and it goes bad even quicker!
 
Any leafy vegetable does not last longer than a week even in the fridge. What we do with vegetables, not necessarily the leafy greens, is to wrap them in wet newspaper. The moist of the wet newspaper extends the life of the vegetable. We usually do that with beans and lettuce and cabbage. But the extended life is just about 2 days more. We also do that to fruits especially with mangoes and cantaloupe that are easy to rot when not attended to.
 
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