How to Wash Kale The Right Way, According to a Food Safety Expert

Kale is one of the most popular leafy greens around. You can serve it raw in salads and slaws, bake it to make crispy, nutritious chips to snack on, sauté it for a quick side dish, or stir a few handfuls into soups and stews. Since kale is such a healthy and versatile vegetable, knowing how to wash it is important. Like any other produce item, kale can become contaminated with foodborne pathogens, so proper handling, cleaning, and storage are crucial. Ahead, we spoke with a food scientist to learn how to wash and safely store kale and to find out why it’s important to properly wash and handle this leafy greens.

Why It's Important to Wash Kale

Leafy greens like kale are historically one of the more common sources of foodborne illnesses, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat them. Mary Anne Amalaradjou, DVM, MVSc, MS, PhD, associate professor of food microbiology at the University of Connecticut, says that as with any green leafy vegetables, kale can be contaminated with foodborne pathogens including norovirus, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), campylobacter, and non-typhoidal salmonella. However, proper handling, cleaning, and storage can help reduce your risk. Even if you’re cooking kale, which can help lower the risk even further, according to Amalaradjou, it’s still important to handle it with care to prevent foodborne infection or food poisoning. 

“It’s important to remember that food safety is everyone’s business. This means that best practices are applied from farm to fork,” she says. In other words, when we purchase kale at the grocery store or farmers market, we need to handle the greens properly. This includes handling, washing, storing, and avoiding cross-contamination.

Types of Kale

There seem to be new varieties of kale in stores all the time—no complaints here! These types of kale vary in texture. Some leaves, like those on common green curly and Red Russian varieties, are ruffled, with many nooks and crannies for dirt and sand to hide. Other types, such as lacinato (also known as dinosaur or Tuscan kale) and Chinese kale (sometimes called Chinese broccoli or Gai Lan), have much more flat and tender leaves that are easier to clean. The type of kale you use depends entirely on personal taste, availability, and the recipe you’re making, but how you clean kale won’t change. You might, however, need to rinse and repeat a few more times with the more textured varieties.

How to Wash Kale

Before washing kale (or any produce), it’s a good idea to check the product label, if there is one. Sealed bags labeled “ready to use,” “washed,” or “triple rinsed” do not need additional washing unless specifically directed on the label. If the product doesn’t have any of those labels, washing is a necessity. There are two ways to properly wash kale: you’ll always use water, but sometimes adding vinegar is a good option, too, says Amalaradjou. 

1. Before you wash any produce, clean and sanitize the sink, faucet, and counter space. 
2. Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after handling produce. 
3. Strip the kale leaves from the stalks and place them in a colander.
4. Rinse the kale under cool running water, turning the leaves as you go to ensure every inch is rinsed. 
5. Once rinsed, dry the produce with a clean cloth or paper towel or send it through a salad spinner to remove excess moisture. 

Adding Vinegar

The acidity in vinegar can sometimes be helpful when kale is extra dirty—it can help break down the grit so it can be rinsed away more easily. Amalaradjou notes that while vinegar doesn’t pose any safety risk, it can affect the flavors of the produce. So, for the sake of the flavor, quality, and safety of the kale, it is not recommended to let kale soak in the vinegar-spiked water.

Simply rinse the kale in a water and vinegar solution (½ cup distilled white vinegar per 1 cup of water) and follow it up with a clean water rinse. After that, dry and store as usual.

When to Wash Kale

Unless the leaves are visibly dirty when you bring them home, it’s best to wait to wash kale until you’re ready to prepare or eat it. (This is a good tip for all kinds of fruits and vegetables.)

More Tips for Washing Kale

• An alternative technique is to submerge the kale leaves in water inside a salad spinner. Agitate the leaves with your hands to release any grime from the kale, then immediately drain and spin. You want to avoid letting the produce soak in water. 
• When washing multiple batches of kale, make sure to wash your hands and change out the water in the container to avoid cross-contamination.