Lettuce Knives and Salad Spinners

Tonight while I was cutting up lettuce for tacos with my plastic lettuce knife I thought about this blog. It occurred to me that there may be a lot of people out there who have never heard of a lettuce knife or may never even have thought to use one.

So what is a lettuce knife and why should you use one?

"A lettuce knife is a knife which is designed to cut lettuce without causing the lettuce to brown, yellow, or wilt. These special knives have serrated blades and they are typically made from plastic, which will not react with the lettuce to stimulate browning. Since browned lettuce is deemed aesthetically unpleasing, a lettuce knife can help keep a salad looking crisp and fresh without forcing cooks to tear lettuce by hand. The use of a knife also reduces the need to handle lettuce directly, reducing the risk of food borne illness." (Source: Wisegeek.com)

Before using a lettuce knife to cut lettuce you should wash your lettuce first. The best way to wash lettuce is to use a salad spinner.  A salad spinner consists of three parts an outer bowl, an inner removable basket, and a lid with a crank handle.  The purpose is to spin the salad after washing to remove moisture.

Check out this video to learn how to use a salad spinner and a lettuce knife.