Cleaning Collard Greens: How to Wash and Cut Collards!

Wash Collard Greens

1. Use a sharp knife to cut the leaves from the middle stem of each collard leaf.
2. Fill your kitchen sink with cool water, then add in a capful of the vinegar and the produce wash. Use clean hands to agitate the leaves in the water for a couple of minutes, shaking loose some of the dirt and sand. Drain the sink and rinse the sink and greens.
3. Refill the sink with cool water with the greens in it. Add in the rest of the vinegar and swish around to mix the vinegar into the water. Let the greens soak for about 30 minutes to get the dirt to let go of those leaves.
4. After the 30 minutes is up, drain the sink and rinse both the sink and the leaves well with cool running water. Once clear, refill the sink with clean water and the soaked greens.
5. This is the last rinse to feel for any residual dirt. Swish your hand in the water with the greens, feeling the leaves for grittiness. If there's no grittiness on the leaves, your collards are clean! If there's still dirt, soak in more vinegar-water for another 10 minutes and repeat Steps 4 and 5.
6. Drain the sink, rinse the leaves well with running water, and pat them dry with paper towels. They are now ready to cut.

Cut Collard Greens

1. Option One: Use clean hands to tear apart the leaves into many smaller pieces. The leaves will naturally tear away from the tougher veins, resulting in more tender and less bitter greens.
2. Option Two: Roll the leaves up, then use a sharp knife to cut the rolled leaves into slivers. This is the faster and easier option.