Lettuce is essential to keep in the fridge during summer, whether you’re making refreshing salads for a barbecue or adding a little crunch to picnic sandwiches. However, buying it can sometimes be a waste of money as lettuce often spoils within just a few days if you are not storing it properly.
Nicole Modic, a cookbook author and founder of Kale Junkie, explained that lettuce will stay fresh for two weeks or even longer if you take it out of its plastic packaging and wrap it up. She said: “For this hack, all you need to do is start by cutting the stem off of your head of lettuce, then wrap the lettuce in a towel or paper towel.”
Lettuce is made up of mostly water which is why it is such a crisp, but this also means it can dehydrate very quickly and begin to wilt when exposed to the dry air in a fridge.
It tends to leak out a lot of moisture, and the stagnant water will cause the lettuce to rot and become slimy
Plastic packaging seals the lettuce which protects it but also traps a lot of moisture, which causes condensation so the lettuce ends up soggy.
However, a tea towel or paper towel will absorb any excess moisture from a lettuce while also create a barrier to protect it so it stays fresh for much longer.
How to properly store lettuce to keep it fresh
To begin, separate the leaves of a lettuce and run under the tap to remove any dirt. Any bacteria on the lettuce will cause it to spoil quickly and could cause mould.
Then, dry the lettuce thoroughly. Use a salad spinner or lay the leaves on a clean tea towel and gently pay until it has dried completely.
Once the lettuce is dry, loosely wrap it in a dry tea towel or some paper towels. Then store the lettuce in a lidded food container or place in a sandwich bag.
Make sure the container or sandwich make it loosely sealed, so open slightly, to allow the moisture to escape.
Put the lettuce in the crisper drawer of the fridge and it will stay fresh for 14 days or longer so you can enjoy tasty leafy greens without having to worry about throwing them away.