Purchasing fresh produce isn’t inexpensive, particularly when you’re repeatedly discarding rotting lettuce that’s been forgotten in the recesses of your refrigerator. You might purchase heads of lettuce with every intention of consuming some daily, but as the week progresses, you simply keep pushing that lettuce deeper into your fridge until it becomes brown and soggy.
If you never appear to finish an entire head of lettuce before it spoils, sustainability expert Wendy Graham shared on her Blog Moral Fibres her “tried and tested” plastic-free methods for storing lettuce so it “stays fresh for longer for as much as up to three weeks”. She noted there are “three main ways” to store lettuce to maintain its freshness for extended periods. Nevertheless, only one of these techniques will preserve this vegetable’s crispness for three weeks.
1. Tea towel technique
For the initial approach, begin by removing any slimy leaves before giving the remaining leaves a thorough rinse. Washing the leaves isn’t essential, but it will prove more convenient to do so. Subsequently, dry the leaves as thoroughly as possible, either using a salad spinner or a tea towel.
Now, take another clean, dry tea towel and lay your lettuce greens across it. Then carefully roll up the towel, “like you would roll a Swiss roll”, and place the lettuce (towel and all) in the bottom drawer of your fridge.
Wendy explained: “The tea towel method works because the towel absorbs any excess moisture, keeping the lettuce fresher for longer.”
She discovered that the lettuce “stays fresh for around a week” using this particular method.
2. Jar method
For the second technique, locate a large, clean and dry lidded jar, or a glass food storage container. Remove any damaged leaves from your lettuce.
Then, rinse the remaining lettuce and dry it using a salad spinner or a tea towel to eliminate as much water as possible.
Slice or tear the lettuce leaves into whatever size you desire. Finally, place the dried leaves in the jar. Secure the lid, and store it in your fridge.
Rinsing eliminates any bacteria and decay catalysts, whilst drying prevents wilted leaves. Kept in a sealed glass jar, the leaves remain crisp due to consistent humidity and protection from damage.
Wendy maintained: “Your lettuce should stay fresh for about a week in the jar.”
3. Cup of water method
Basically, for this technique, you preserve a whole head of lettuce in a cup or bowl of water to maintain your lettuce fresher for longer.
Simply trim a small amount off the base of the lettuce, and then place the lettuce into a cup of water (base side down) until you are ready to use the lettuce. Wendy said: “Not only will your lettuce stay fresh, but it may also continue to grow.”
Keep it in the fridge or on your worktop – wherever you have the most room. Don’t forget to replace the water when it becomes cloudy, or refill the water when required.
So, what’s the science behind this?
Keeping a lettuce head in water maintains its hydration as the lettuce absorbs moisture through the stem. This results in “leaves stay crisp and fresh, and help to prevent wilting and browning”.
Wendy explained: “A lettuce head can last about one to three weeks stored in this way, depending on the variety and how fresh it was to begin with.
“I’ve found that romaine lettuce tends to do particularly well this way, staying crisp for the longest. Softer lettuces, like butterhead, tend to have a slightly shorter run.”