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Any shortcut that saves times or simplifies daunting tasks like cleaning a cast iron skillet is something we want to know about, so we tracked down a few tricks for one of our most-loathed kitchen tasks: drying lettuce. Sure, salad spinners are amazing and all, but many people don't have the space in their kitchen, or would rather put their money toward kitchen equipment that's used more frequently.
These easy techniques help you dry lettuce quickly so you can throw together a salad on the fly, but first, make sure your greens are clean—grocery store produce is seriously dirty. Once you've washed the lettuce, try out our three favorite how-tos:
The roll-up
- Shake water off of lettuce leaves and lay in a single layer on a clean dishtowel.
- Roll the towel, starting with the edge closest to you, and lightly apply pressure all over the towel. (Don't push too hard or you'll bruise the greens).
- Unroll towel and use greens.
The shakedown
- Drain lettuce in a colander.
- Cover the top of the colander with a clean dishtowel, wrapping it around the edge.
- Shake the covered colander over the sink, moving it in all directions.
- Remove towel and use greens.
The swinger
- Place wet lettuce leaves in the center of a clean dishtowel. (You could also use a clean pillowcase!)
- Bring all four corners together and twist the towel so it holds all the leaves inside.
- With the ends gathered in one hand, swing the towel around like a lasso several times. (You might want to do this outside or in the bathroom to avoid water splatter).
- Unwrap towel and use greens.
Store the dried greens in airtight containers to keep them fresh, and you'll be assembling summer salads in a flash!
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