Kale Orange Cranberry Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long can you keep kale salad in the fridge? ›

How to Store Kale Salad. You can store this salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Use your hands to toss the greens, massaging/rubbing the vinaigrette into the kale a bit as you toss. Taste and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Even better—if time allows, cover the salad, and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

Massaging Kale – massaging kale with a little oil and/or lemon juice for just a few minutes makes it more tender and easier to chew. Plus, it adds an extra boost of flavor.

Kale will benefit from some gentle kneading to soften its texture. A bit of oil can help to break down the fibrous membranes as well. Here's how: Wash the kale and remove the leaves from the stems. Tear the leaves into smaller pieces and rub them in your hands with olive oil and salt.

Adding salt and squeezing lemon make a big difference by removing bitterness. Adding some spicy or sweet flavors may help tame the strong flavor of bitter kale.

Add the chopped kale leaves to a bowl and add olive oil and salt. Then, using your hands, gently massage the kale to distribute the oil evenly on the leaves. Adding a fat like olive oil and salt will help to soften the fibrous structures within the kale leaves, which will make them easier to chew and digest.

Cutting the stems crossways shortens the fibres, much as with a tough steak, making them perfectly edible and preventing waste. Cut this way, the stems can be cooked in the same way as the rest of the leaf: sauteed, boiled or steamed.

Like all produce, kale's shelf-life depends on how you store it. Raw kale will last up to a week in the refrigerator and about six months in the freezer. Cooked kale, meanwhile, will only keep for three to five days in the fridge.

Kale can be frozen without blanching but should be used within 4 weeks. Blanching greens before freezing stops the naturally-occurring ripening enzymes in the leaves. This will ensure that the leaves taste fresh and will not develop a bitter taste.

Kale holds its texture well when cooked, and it can be steamed, stir-fried, roasted or eaten raw. You can blend it into smoothies, roast it to make kale chips, wilt it into soup, mash it with potatoes or turn it into pesto.

Is it OK to eat a kale salad everyday? ›

RELATED: Believe It Or Not, Kale Actually Lives Up To All Of Its Hype—Here's Why. Manganiello says you can eat kale every day, just don't overdo it. She recommends one to two servings maximum of kale per day, leaving room for other healthy foods that provide an assortment of nutrients.

The point of massaging is to infuse the kale with the lemon juice and oil, and also to break down some of the tough, fibrous characteristics of kale. This makes it easier to chew and digest, and makes for a more tender salad. Season with salt, massage/toss once more, then set aside.

Curly Kale

This type of kale has oblong or obovate-shaped leaves with white veins; the fleshy,waxy leaves are attached to long, sturdy, and fibrous stems. Curly kale offers a rich, hearty, and woody flavor that adds an earthy tone when consumed raw in salads and smoothies.

Kale is great as a side dish or in a smoothie, and you can't go wrong with steaming it. Steamed kale retains important nutrients, such as calcium, that are important for you to have. Luckily, steaming kale can be as easy as chopping it and putting it in a steamer or microwave.

Raw kale is fibrous, bitter and can be tough to chew. Blanching it helps soften its fibers and bitterness while making it easier to chew.

Cover with a lid and allow the water to come back to a boil. Then reduce the heat slightly and allow the kale to boil for five minutes. After five minutes, use a fork to retrieve a piece of kale and test it for tenderness. The kale should be soft and smooth.