There is a reason why, if we prepare a salad in advance, it is not advisable to dress it until serving time and that is that, in this way, lettuce and leaves spoil quickly. However, there is an ingredient that can help us avoid it…
The truth is that no one likes a pocha salad with a limp mix of leaves or mushy lettuce, with a rubbery texture and a sad color. The strong point of raw salads is precisely their freshness, that they radiate life and bright colors, with a crunchy and luscious texture.
However, from the moment we cut and mix the ingredients, they already start to spoil. So, if we also add the vinaigrette sauce or dressing the process speeds up. Although it is not for the reason that is usually thought.
You may have heard that lettuce and other leafy vegetables they wither due to the acidic ingredients in the vinaigrette (particularly from the vinegar that supposedly “cooks” the raw ingredients). But the enemy is another ingredient.
The problem, as pointed out by the expert Arthur Le Caisne, is in the oil and whatever type it is. As much as we have shaken the vinaigrette, oil and vinegar do not get along at all and, when dressing, it will be the fat that impregnate sheets, while the vinegar will inevitably separate and fall to the bottom of the container. The oil remains adhered and is the one that spoils the lettuce.
The result, unless we eat the salad quickly, will be an unsightly mishmash of wilted leaves on a vinegary watery bottom. To avoid it, we only have to resort to a very common ingredient: the mustard.
The trick is as simple as adding a part of mustard to the basic dressing, or we can follow the instructions of a recipe like the honey mustard vinaigrette. First, we will get a more stable emulsion and, in addition, we will delay the lettuce from rotting.
The key is in the chemistry. By obtaining a denser, more homogeneous and compact emulsion, no separation of fat and vinegar, the oil is trapped in the mixture and does not stick to the lettuce leaves. In this way, the salad will remain fresh and tasty for longer.
Rectangular airtight container with bamboo lid El Corte Inglés
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Cover photo | Nielsen Ramon
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