posted
Somehow, the lettuce in my family's refrigerator at home always stays crisp. When I buy lettuce and put it in my dorm refrigerator, it's limp and unappetizing within a day or two.
I don't have a special vegetable compartment. Is this my problem, or am I doing something else wrong?
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
If it's still in a bag, and it should be, add some water to the bag. Say, about 2 or 3 tablespoons. Shake it around so the lettuce leaves get wet. Drain off the excess. It'll stay crisper longer. It will perk up in an hour or so.
You can also do this with mint, cilantro, parsley, basil, and everything else that's leafy.
posted
The problem could be that your dorm is in a place where it's still over 100 degrees in the daytime. I'm guessing your parents don't have that problem.
Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
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The fridge is pretty cold inside. But it's certainly a lot drier here. That may be the problem, and keeping the lettuce wet might help. Thanks for the tip, quid.
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I've been worried about our lettuce's moral integrity. It's slouched over by the peppers all the time. I think our lettuce is far too willing.
Posts: 516 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Hmmmm. I have found the opposite to be true. If, when I get home, I wash greens, spin them dry in my salad spinner, and then seal them shut in a plastic bag or tupperware container with a papertowl in with them, they stay crisp for well over a week, sometimes two. Theaca, since you're in a climate more like mine, that might work better for you. Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Oh wait, Shigosei, I didn't mean to imply that you should keep your lettuce wet. You add water, shake it around, and then drain off whatever's left over. If you leave them wet, they'll go slimy. I didn't see that comment before.
What Eljay's describing is pretty much the same thing, only I shake, whereas she spins.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
You can also re-invigorate limp lettuce by soaking it briefly in very cold water. If your cold tap water isn't that cold, just soak the leaves you intend to eat in a bowl of water with a few ice-cubes. If the lettuce wasn't too far gone in the first place, it should perk back up.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
If quids and I are talking about the same thing, then, I must reiterate that I think keeping a paper towel in the container with the lettuce is the key to storage. I learned this from my natural food co-op, and I haven't had to throw out slimy greens since. Well, except for when I forget about them and leave them for a couple of months. Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Yep, the paper towel is key. Also, you can get special bags that supposedly keep lettuce (and other vegetables) fresh for a longer period of time. Supposedly they have pores that allow the vegetables to "breathe".
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Those are great. Sadly, they don't seem to make them anymore (rather, the major manufacturer who did doesn't seem to anymore, and now they're an expensive specialty item), and my supply from when they did has run out. My mom still has a box or two . . .
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Yesterday I went to throw out the leftover leaf lettuce that's been in my fridge for a month. It's still in the wimpy bag from the grocery store, never been washed, no paper towel, but it's in the veggie compartment.
It's still crisp. No green slime at all. o_O
I love my new refrigerator. Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Even with the best storage efforts that are possible here, no leafy vegetables last longer than 3-4 days, perhaps a week if you're lucky, so I cook my veggies in a fairly specific order after grocery shopping. Part of it is that, at the grocery store, they're not kept cool or moist, and another part is, I suspect, the lack of chemicals (pesticides, weedicides, and whatever else they spray on stuff).
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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(Please tell me I'm not the only one who hears the Wicked Witch of the West in their head every time they see the thread title.)
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:You can also do this with mint, cilantro, parsley, basil, and everything else that's leafy.
Basil's the exception -- DON'T do this for basil. For whatever reason (high oil content of the leaves?) if basil is moist while in a fridge, then within a few days it gets black spots and starts to go slimy.
(Other veggies that shouldn't be stored moist = cauliflower and green beans -- they start getting mold spots...)
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Celery leaves also go black. The stems are fine, but if you're going to do them, you should cut off the leaves first.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I keep my lettuce in a bowl with a wet dish towel over it and then the lid...it keeps fresh and crisp for 2 weeks and then may start going a little limp but is still good for another 2 weeks.
Posts: 224 | Registered: Jan 2001
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