Buzz
I’ve always believed that perfecting a green salad is a skill worth mastering. While it might seem like just greens with vinaigrette, a perfect salad requires attention to detail. Before adding dressing or any extras, the first step is getting the greens right.
Taking care of your greens is the most important step in building a great salad—and also the one many skip. In high-end restaurants, everything begins with ice water. The greens are soaked in an ice bath, drained, and dried, usually on towels. This process has two purposes: the ice water revives the greens, making them crisp and juicy, while drying them ensures the dressing sticks, not diluted. It’s a process, but it’s essential to a perfect salad.
The good news is that you don’t need a restaurant’s full setup to create a stellar salad at home. All you need is a little ice and your trusty salad spinner. Let’s get started.
Create a salad that rivals your favorite restaurant's with just your salad spinner.
Start by removing the basket insert from your salad spinner and adding ice to the bowl—aim for a few cubes or up to a full tray. Next, toss in your greens, larger fresh herbs, and sliced veggies like onions, radishes, carrots, celery, and snap peas. Place the basket back into the bowl, covering it with cold water. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes, then lift the basket, pour out the ice water, and give everything a good spin dry. Voilà! You now have a crisp, bone-dry salad ready to be dressed.
Not only does this method result in a better salad, it also makes the whole process quicker and easier. Plus, it’s a smart way to get more use out of a kitchen tool you might think of as a one-trick pony. Once I discovered the ice bath method, I started using my salad spinner again after years of neglect. You’ll soon realize that a small change in how you prep your salad is all it takes to enjoy more salads—something we could all benefit from.
