Does Escarole Go Bad?

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Escarole is a leafy green bitter taste vegetable. We quite confuse escarole with lettuce. Escarole relates to the chicory family. It is flat-leafed.

It tastes a little bitter because of the intybin compound of its plant. We can say that escarole is a pack of various nutrients. It includes vitamins, copper, and folate.

If you are an Italian or love eating Italian foods, you might be familiar with the term escarole. It is a traditional ingredient in Italian dishes. We can also serve escarole in stews, pasta, and salads.

You might be conscious of knowing how and when it does go bad. Happy to see you are at the right place.

Hopefully, this article would answer all your queries related to storage, shelf life, freezing regarding escarole. Yes, this heart-green vegetable does go bad.

Table of Contents

How to store escarole?

After buying escarole from the grocery store, you must be concern about its proper storage. Of course, we can’t see our foods turn bad. Watching our leafy greens go bad is a terrible experience.

For enhancing the shelf life of your greens, implement the tips demonstrated in this article below.

Cool temperature

Cool temperature is necessary for our greens. Similarly, like other veggies, escarole requires a cool environment. Otherwise, it retains its quality for a couple of days’ maximum in your pantry.

Although the pantry isn’t too hot a place but doesn’t mean your escarole should be kept there for long. Your fridge works well in preserving escarole for five days.

Unwashed greens

Leafy greens aren’t actually to be necessarily washed right after you bring them home. It is still safe if you avoid practicing this part.

Water promotes the process of deterioration. Unwashed greens like escarole stay good for a long period as compared to washed ones.

We recommend you do not wash escarole unless you are all geared to prepare it.

Refrigerate it

As we know, escarole demands for cool temperature. You can fulfill this requirement if you keep it in the refrigerator. A refrigerator is the best option to store escarole for maximum time.

Take your escarole, don’t wash it, and put it in your fridge without any hesitation. It will boost the shelf life of escarole. Keep escarole in the crisper drawer of your fridge.

A crisper drawer tends to optimize freshness in your fruits and veggies. Store escarole in a plastic bag and keep it damped.

This way, you can store not only escarole for a week. Keep them unwashed and always damp. Paper towels can help to keep them damp.

Changing paper towels after some days will help in keeping them fresh. By applying described procedure for storing escarole, you can enhance its shelf life up to a couple of weeks.

Can we freeze escarole?

Yes, we can freeze escarole if we want it to sit well for months. However, freezing isn’t recommended when it comes to escarole.

We do not suggest freezing escarole for quality purposes. You should apply proper freezing techniques before you freeze leafy greens like escarole.

Blanching is important before you head towards freezing your greens. We can freeze small leaves of leafy greens like escarole. Remove the large leaves of escarole.

Blanch it first and put them in freezer bags or your freezer containers. After shifting the escarole in the freezer bag, you can go for freezing it. By freezing, you can keep escarole preserved for six months.

How long does escarole last?

The shelf life of all the veggies depends on storage conditions. Escarole stored nicely would last for a long period. Escarole has a shelf life of three to five days.

This period isn’t fixed. You can enjoy your escarole even after a week if it is store under precise terms and conditions. Unwashed leafy greens live a longer life.

The steps are written in this article help you in keeping your escarole safe for maximum time. Keep your escarole all-time in the refrigerator for better health results.

Freezing is also an option if you want to store it for months. Frozen escarole is healthy to be consumed within six months.

Refrigerating your escarole is mostly recommended by kitchen experts. Provide a cool environment and a little moist to escarole to stay fresh.

The fridge’s crisper drawer proves to have all those magical powers required to keep your leafy greens alive for a long time.

How to tell if escarole is bad?

It is significant for us to always quality check our fruits and vegetables before consuming them. A healthy person needs a healthy intake.

To check whether your escarole is still healthy enough to be consumed, look for the signs mentioned below.

Bad smell or appearance of escarole. If your escarole smells off, it means it is no healthier to consume.
Observe the color of the escarole. When escarole turns bad, it may change its color too. The color change is also a sign of bad escarole.
Mushy or slimy escarole means it has been deteriorated and is no longer safe to be eaten.