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Keeping lettuce fresh

31 replies

Namechanger1002 · 14/08/2022 12:43

I am so fed up of buying an iceberg lettuce and it going off after a couple of days. Such a waste. I don’t have a salad drawer in my fridge so what can I do to preferably keeping it fresh for 4-5 days or is it impossible?

OP posts:
Kimonolady · 14/08/2022 12:56

What are you doing at the moment?
When I buy lettuce, I wash it immediately, dry it as thoroughly as I can (salad spinner! Essential) and then put it in a large box - I use an old ice cream tub - that I’ve lined with 2 sheets of kitchen roll. It definitely lasts longer, stays pretty crisp, and having it all ready to go like that means I’m far more likely to eat it.
Might also be worth checking your fridge temp, though.

TwoMonthsOff · 14/08/2022 12:59

I do what Kimonolady does and use romaine hearts they last a lot longer than iceberg
I use a long rectangular storage container and keep the leaves whole and layer with kitchen roll
Lasts well over a week

Georgeskitchen · 14/08/2022 13:01

@Kimonolady you've saved me posting 😀 this was recommended to me a few years back and one of the best food saving methods ever !!

Interested in this thread?

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Namechanger1002 · 14/08/2022 13:02

I don’t have a salad spinner and currently just bung it in the heaving fridge after tearing off what I need 🙈

OP posts:
Namechanger1002 · 14/08/2022 13:03

Just ordered a salad spinner. 😀

OP posts:
Kimonolady · 14/08/2022 13:07

Ooh enjoy! Should make it a lot easier. I’ve only really started doing this method this summer and I’m so annoyed I didn’t do it before. I used to buy lettuce and end up chucking most of it in the bin because it got a bit sad. Now I force myself to prep it as soon as I get home, and then it always gets eaten because it’s so easy to just grab a handful, rather than picking off the manky bits, selecting some nice looking leaves, half-heartedly washing it, trying to dry it… I’ve started salads almost everyday, I have no idea who I’ve become but I quite like it 😂

Kimonolady · 14/08/2022 13:08

*started eating salads almost every day! Sorry

ZeroFuchsGiven · 14/08/2022 13:10

If your lettuce is looking slightly wilted, cut it as you normally would and pop it in a bowl of cold water for an hour or so before you need to use it. It crisps it back up. My nanna taught me this years ago!

Namechanger1002 · 14/08/2022 13:12

Kimonolady · 14/08/2022 13:07

Ooh enjoy! Should make it a lot easier. I’ve only really started doing this method this summer and I’m so annoyed I didn’t do it before. I used to buy lettuce and end up chucking most of it in the bin because it got a bit sad. Now I force myself to prep it as soon as I get home, and then it always gets eaten because it’s so easy to just grab a handful, rather than picking off the manky bits, selecting some nice looking leaves, half-heartedly washing it, trying to dry it… I’ve started salads almost everyday, I have no idea who I’ve become but I quite like it 😂

That’s exactly me! I buy salad but after a couple of days it looks less than appetising! So I end up buying the expensive salad bowls from the shop each day!
Stupid question alert - do you store other salad in with the spun lettuce?

OP posts:
Kimonolady · 14/08/2022 14:59

Namechanger1002 · 14/08/2022 13:12

That’s exactly me! I buy salad but after a couple of days it looks less than appetising! So I end up buying the expensive salad bowls from the shop each day!
Stupid question alert - do you store other salad in with the spun lettuce?

I don’t, but I feel like you could as long as it wasn’t too ‘wet’? But I also like the variety of having something different each day, I’d get bored of the same thing, so like to build the salad differently each day.

Each night before work I put a few big handfuls of lettuce from the ice cream tub in my salad lunch box thing, along with something crunchy/crispy (radishes or carrots), a few chopped up cherry tomatoes, and then almost always raw sweetcorn that I just cut off the cob, YUM. Then I add a protein - leftover chicken from dinner the night before, or hard boiled eggs, or a tin of tuna. Tomorrow will be leftover Indian chicken kebabs I made on Saturday night. Generous salt and pepper over everything. My lunchbox has a little dressing pot that I just put some olive oil and sometimes lemon juice in (or if I’m having egg in my salad, some truffle oil - it is INCREDIBLE and makes it feel so fancy.) Just grab from the fridge in the morning and away you go.

I’ve learned that the secrets of a good salad you actually want to eat and will keep you full are:
Chopping everything up small so that you can actually get different things on your fork at once - a mouthful of just lettuce is sad
Vegetables you’re actually excited about and want to eat (roast veg, corn, radishes, etc - no cucumber for me as I hate it. Don’t forget the possibility of fruit, too! Blueberries are really good in a salad, as is cubed mango)
A protein that you like and is tasty (leftover roast meat, feta, goat’s cheese, salmon, tuna, hard boiled eggs with a slightly jammy yolk)
Plenty of seasoning (a salad without salt is a crime)
Some fats (plain olive oil is usually enough for me, and it brings it all together, but flavoured oils are a really easy way to ring the changes and make it taste like a restaurant salad)
Carbs (I don’t find I need it, and am trying to lose some weight at the moment so avoid, but if you’re worried your salad isn’t filling enough, you could add some cous cous, quinoa, or some other grain to bulk it out)
Textures (wet and limp salad is grim. The key is crunch. Chopped nuts can be good!)

Sorry the essay, I’ve just been totally converted to salad life for the last month!

TwoMonthsOff · 14/08/2022 17:38

@Kimonolady
i like roasted walnuts, chopped apples and grapes in with mine as well
as I’m veggie they all go with cheese ! Chopped different coloured peppers as well.
yum - salads are filling if you use the right things

greenacrylicpaint · 14/08/2022 17:42

pick and grow back salad on the window sill.

Namechanger1002 · 14/08/2022 18:47

Love all these ideas - thank you so much!
couple more questions - how do I grow salad on my windowsill?
Also, any more recipes please? I genuinely love salad but I have a crap imagination and because it is only me who eats salad I want to keep waste to a minimum.
Its rye storing of them in the fridge that has been a struggle - the lettuce I bought today I have cut up, washed but have no appropriate container to store it in (and little room) so have put in a bag with a couple of bits of kitchen towel.
Love the idea of walnuts and cheese and grapes.
I am a big fish lover.
The dressings bother me as I need to lose weight about 5 stones so healthy salad dressings is what I need otherwise I will coat everything in mayo 😳
i have 2 boiled eggs for breakfast so don’t want more eggs for lunch! Not fussed about bread for lunch as gives me a mid afternoon dip. Just want to be able to buy salad at the beginning of the week and it last me about 4 days!
Thank you all for your responses!

OP posts:
Namechanger1002 · 14/08/2022 18:48

*more not rye

OP posts:
greenacrylicpaint · 14/08/2022 19:02

you just need a flower box or window sill container. a little compost.

cut&come again seeds from the supermarket's seed package stand.
plus rocket & mustard seeds of you like it peppery.

favourite dressing is mustard/honey/balsamico/olive oil. sweet and tangy.

toffeechai · 14/08/2022 19:05

Some great ideas here but why would you put salt on salad?!

SushiGo · 14/08/2022 19:06

I always store lettuce in a tub with a damp piece of kitchen roll. Works perfectly to keep it fresh.

ElbowsandArses · 14/08/2022 19:07

Top tip from recipe book I have: as soon as you get it home, wash, spin in salad spinner then put the whole thing in the fridge with the top on and a thin layer of water in bottom (not touching lettuce in basket). Lasts for ages. Works for all greens including spinach.

Kimonolady · 14/08/2022 23:19

toffeechai · 14/08/2022 19:05

Some great ideas here but why would you put salt on salad?!

You mean… you don’t?!
I suppose if you have a dressing that is properly seasoned you don’t need to salt the salad, but I usually just drizzle a bit of olive oil on, don’t bother with a proper dressing. So yes, salt is definitely needed.

toffeechai · 15/08/2022 07:33

Kimonolady · 14/08/2022 23:19

You mean… you don’t?!
I suppose if you have a dressing that is properly seasoned you don’t need to salt the salad, but I usually just drizzle a bit of olive oil on, don’t bother with a proper dressing. So yes, salt is definitely needed.

No - why would I want salad to taste salty?

PeloAddict · 15/08/2022 07:52

Because it's seasoning it, it doesn't taste salty if you use the right amount

Kimonolady · 15/08/2022 07:56

That’s similar to saying that you don’t add salt to pasta water because you don’t want the pasta to taste salty…
Salt is a flavour enhancer. If you add a very small amount, it won’t make your food taste salty, it just makes it taste ‘right’ and brings all of the flavours together.

Thestoppedfan · 15/08/2022 07:59

The trick with a lettuce is to peel the leaves off each time you take some- don’t cut into it. If you cut a slither off it’ll be ready for the bin in a day of two but if you peel them off it’ll last for ages.

TwoMonthsOff · 17/08/2022 22:33

@Kimonolady
I agree, Tiny bit of salt especially on tomatoes / egg/ potatoes makes all the difference

PeloAddict · 17/08/2022 22:46

TwoMonthsOff · 17/08/2022 22:33

@Kimonolady
I agree, Tiny bit of salt especially on tomatoes / egg/ potatoes makes all the difference

Yes! I always said I didn't like tomatoes
Tried them with salt. And then with tajin seasoning and.. yeah wow