Measuring Salad Greens

[Matonski]

How do you measure a cup of greens (spinach, leaf lettuce, romaine, etc)? I can cram quite a lot of spinach into a measuring cup. On the other hand, if I just lightly place the leaves in the cup, I get just a tiny fraction of the amount.

I have a scale, perhaps that's better. How much does a cup of greens weigh?

[Jinmyo]

If you need to measure, why not just put the quantity of greens you would serve to a single person on a plate or bowl and then keep doing that for the number of people to be served?

[chefzadi]

A cup is a conservative grab with one's hand.

Does that make sense to you? Try it.

[M. Lucia]

Most people don't measure salad greens, just guess-timate.

As suggested, plate it out or just go by handfuls.

In fact, measurements for any part of a salad are just guidelines, so use your own judgement. With experience, you won't need to measure.

However, if you are cooking greens, know that they cook down a lot.

[ladyyoung98]

i never measure salad greens...i just tear the lettuce..(no matter which one im using)...place them in the salad spinner to clean them and put them into a big bowl..mix it with other fresh veggies ...toss it...then give bowls to others and let them decide how much salad they prefer..if more is needed...i make more

[Wolfert]

Here are some approximate measurements to help you purchase or pick greens from your garden:

2 handfuls or 2 loosely packed cups trimmed greens equals 1 1/2 to 2 ounces

1 packed quart trimmed greens equals about 6 ounces

1 handful or l cup shredded leafy greens equals about 1 1/2 ounces

6 handfuls or 6 cups untrimmed leafy greens equals 1 pound

Edited February 1, 2005 by Wolfert (log)