Woman Reveals Her Grandma's Secret ‘Paper Towel Hack’ That Keeps Your Salad Fresh for Long

Unlike chips or candy, which supply nothing but empty calories, vegetables are the power-packed heroes, especially the leafy greens. But these green veggies can turn into poisonous villains when the leaves become spoiled, especially when they’re sold as pre-packed salads. No amount of washing, blanching, boiling, or stir-frying can defeat these germy villains that hide secretively behind the closed doors of water-retaining pores called “stomates,” the University of Delaware explains. But it seems there’s a way out to get the better of these villains before they spoil the nutritional value of leafy greens like spinach, lettuce, or kale. Ashlee Fisher (@hairbyashleef), a hairstylist for Eleven Australia, shared an ingenious trick to keep these greens fresh for longer.

Fisher explained that this is “A life hack [she] learned that has stuck with [her] - no more wasted lettuce,” as she described in the video caption. “So, something that my grandma taught me years ago, that I thought everyone knew, so I never shared it, is how to keep your salad fresh,” Fisher said in the video while standing in front of a salad box placed on a granite counter. “Literally, paper towels,” she exclaimed and flashed a white paper towel on the screen. She folded the paper towel and dragged the salad container to the front of the camera.

She opened the clamshell packaging of the transparent plastic box and placed the towel on top of the leafy greens, pressing it and shutting the lid. She flipped the box and stored it upside down. “It keeps it dry. It keeps them from getting all moldy and brown, and this literally will double the amount of time you can keep your salad in the fridge. It’s amazing,” the hairstylist explained. Hundreds of people resonated with Fisher’s simple salad-saving tip. Many of them, who had already applied this hack, expressed how game-changing it is for keeping the veggies fresh. 

@marianne shared that they place the paper towels on both the top and bottom sides of the container to keep the salad fresh. @lexiilou21 said they use this “paper towel hack” with strawberries, and it works just as well for them.  Others shared variations, some unrelated, of this hack they use for long-lasting foods. “I do this with any type of berries too! In a glass Tupperware,” said @panoole. @briannam.47 shared, “If you have a tub of cookies getting hard, put half a slice of bread or lettuce in with them. They’ll last so much longer.” However, some people, like @knlisko, pointed out, “I used to buy those pre-washed containers until one day I got to the bottom of my salad during lunch and there was a fricking grasshopper in my bowl.”

Even if someone doesn’t find a grasshopper crawling at the bottom of a prewashed salad box or a spring mix, the veggies inside it are quite vulnerable to mold and spoilage. The leaves of lettuce, for instance, may become wet, soggy, or slimy as the bacteria accumulate and accelerate the decay. It is difficult to restore these pinkish-brown leaves even with a salad spinner. Crushing and bruising will only speed up the decomposition. In such a scenario, Fisher’s life-changing hack is all that one may need. 

You can follow Ashlee Fisher (@hairbyashleef) on TikTok for hairstyling content and lifestyle hacks.