Because I live alone, it's less expensive to buy a whole head of lettuce or leafy green vegetable than in a plastic bag all by itself. When I get the head of lettuce home, I cut the core end off and remove any leaves that are bad. I wring a small terry cloth towel out with cold water and wrap the head of lettuce in it. I then put the head of lettuce with the towel in a plastic shopping bag, press out the excess air, twist the top of the bag and fasten with a clothes pin or twistie. I put this in the refrigerator.
About every second day, I unwrap the lettuce and cut off any brown that may have appeared. I have kept lettuce for up to three weeks that are fresh and good. When you remove leaves, do not cut off with a knife. Just pull off or cut off with kitchen shears.
By Clara Potts from Roswell, GA
This page contains the following solutions.
To keep leafy greens fresh and crisp (grocery or garden) in the fridge, take the leaves off the stalk and place them in a colander and run cold water over them to clean them. You may spin the leaves somewhat dry, but not all the way! Then leave them in your colander with a damp paper towel over them!
When preparing a head of lettuce, never use a metal knife. Always use a plastic blade. This will keep it from rusting (turning brown), so it looks and tastes so good. Works for me every time.
My green and red leaf lettuce keeps for about two weeks. I wrap it in a paper towel, and then put in into a plastic grocery sack. I then store it in the crisper of my refrigerator.
I have found that lettuce will keep up to 2 weeks if I start with a head of lettuce. I pull off the amount of leaves I need from the outside of the head and leave the hard center intact.
I keep lettuce and celery in aluminum foil. That works for me.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How can I keep lettuce form rotting in fridge? The veggie bags with little holes are no longer on the market and I find the lettuce gets too wet in the veggie drawer.
Wrap it loosely in paper towels, they will absorb moisture. Does your veggie crisper have a humidity control? If so, set it on lowest.
I store lettuce in a plain plastic bag and it keeps well. The other suggestion is to store it in a sealed plastic container.
My local health food store has a product labeled
EVERT-FRESH green bags I was having problems storing all veggies that are tender-- lettuce, green peppers, romaine. These bags have been a god-send-- and they really work.
I put lettuce in water - as with a cut flower - making sure the cut on the stalk has not sealed itself (if it has, I just renew the cut). The lettuce stays fresh. I just pull off leaves as I want them. I change or top up the water frequently.
I also put a paper towel in the plastic bag when storing and change it every day or so to keep the moisture from gathering. Seems to help.
I, too, put a paper towel in the bag with my lettuce. You might also try laying a section of folded newspaper in your veggie drawer to absorb excess moisture.
I hope u don't wash your lettuce before putting in the fridge? That is a no-no as it will foster rot. I have had success with keeping my head of lettuce wrapped tightly in tin foil between uses.
The original posting mentioned that they do not make the veggie bags with pin holes in them ... You can make your own by using your sewing machine (without thread of course) and stitch across the bag as many times as you want in a quilted pattern!
Ziploc quit making the vegetable bags quite awhile back!
Put a piece of burnt toast in the plastic bag with the lettuce. I saw this idea on a talk show.
I always remove the lettuce from the plastic, and wrap the lettuce in a moist cotton tea towel.. be sure to remove any excess water from the towel prior to wrapping..
Another tip to prolong the freshness of lettuce is to remove the core (the hard thing at the end) before storing it. It is best not to wash greens until you are ready to use them.
For years I have used the same process and foil trick that Mary Lou described and also do the same with celery. I find it works great since I live alone and don't use either of them very fast. I also never cut lettuce with a knife and just pinch off brown parts as needed.
You can still get Debbie Meyer green bags, bed bath and beyond is one of the stores, or Amazon.
I worked in a small deli for a few years, about 1970. They had a solution, that sliced lettuce that had rust on the cut edges was soaked in and it removed almost all the rust.
Anyone know or heard what this solution could be?Times have changed in the food & restaurant business; what worked then is almost definitely not allowed now.
The rust color forms on lettuce surfaces with exposure and reaction to elthelyne gas-most often from storing it with fruit in the fridge. The problem may be reduced by storing lettuce at the coldest temperatures in the fridge, away from any fruit and wrapping securely in plastic bags.
Ascorbic acid. Dissolve it in water and it also helps cut vegetables remain fresh for longer periods. Check Google: it's a natural substance.
I never use a metal knife on lettuce, I tear it. I'm told a plastic cutter avoids the rust too but have never tried it. Worth a go.
Marg from England.
Generally speaking, I slice off a fine layer of the cut side to use it again. It doesn't waste that much.
Cream of tartar In water and soak. Restaurant trick from the 70's. Cut salad in an IHop. Loved that job from my youth.
IT WAS SOMETHING WHITE BUT I CANNOT REMEMBER THE NAME OF IT
We called it potato white. It was used extensively in salad bar presentations to keep lettuce fresh and crisp. Took the rust right off
How do you keep lettuce from "rusting" in the frig and for how long?
Thanks.
By Pamela M
The rust is caused by an interaction between the knife and the lettuce. I use a plastic knife I found at Macy's but you can find them in lots of kitchen stores.
What works for me is to place the cut lettuce in a storage container that is lined with a paper towel and then place a paper towel on top before putting the lid on. Doing this soaks up the excess moisture that makes the lettuce go bad more quickly. It takes about a week before the edges begin to turn brown and stays crisp for that long too.
Here's some scientific info about cutting vs tearing - Seems it really doesn't make a difference how you do it:
oss.mcgill.ca/
This is a tip I got from a recipe newsletter, maybe this one. I live alone so I take a bag of my cut up lettuce (I use Romaine), And divide it so I have 2 ounces each in quart freezer bags. Then wrap a saltine in paper towel and put in with the lettuce. I have used lettuce that was 2 weeks old and it was fine.
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My tip is a way to save money and food with lettuce. I am a senior who lives alone. I buy the bagged lettuce because it is hard for me to cut up lettuce.
