Quality Evaluation of Salad Greens

The most important quality to look for in any type of salad green is freshness. A perfectly fresh salad green is turgid (the opposite of flaccid, or wilted; see illustration and photo). In other words, its cells are full of water. Its leaves stand upright when the bunch is picked up, and each leaf breaks cleanly when pulled apart. The leaf edges show no signs of softening, flattening, or disintegration. A fresh salad green is vividly colored and has no bruising or brown discoloration, called rust, where it was cut at harvest. Lettuce heads should be firm and relatively heavy, indicating sufficient moisture content and proper maturity.