How to preserve lettuce and keep it crispy
Learn how to keep lettuce crisp and fresh with an easy homemade trick
Edited and resized image by Dimitri Houtteman, is available on Unsplash
Knowing how to preserve lettuce is one of the tricks to ensuring a fresh, crispy salad.
There are two things that lettuce needs to stay fresh: moisture and air. While many people think the best way to preserve lettuce is to seal it in a plastic bag with all the compressed air, removing the air is just the opposite of what it needs.
In fact, lettuce needs a fair amount of airflow, plus a little moisture, to make it crispy. That's why restaurants store their lettuce in special perforated boxes that allow air to circulate.
The best way to preserve lettuce and keep it crunchy
- Trim root and stem and separate leaves;
- Fill a large bowl with cold water and dip the leaves that are good for consumption (if possible, discard the root and other parts you will not consume in a compost bin);
- Gently tap the leaves in the water so that the impurities sink. Remove the clean lettuce or empty the bowl and repeat this step for the remaining lettuce with impurities;
- Empty the bowl, fill with water and add alcohol vinegar in the proportion of 1/4 vinegar to the volume of water you used;
- Leave the leaves to soak for 15 minutes;
- Rinse with water without vinegar and arrange the whole lettuce leaves upright in a colander and leave for five minutes;
- Wrap them in a damp cotton towel (preferably organic);
- Leave it in the refrigerator's vegetable drawer and moisten the towel whenever it starts to dry.
A moistened cotton towel is the best trick for keeping lettuce fresh and crunchy, as it holds moisture while allowing air to be exchanged inside the refrigerator. You can find organic cotton bags made specifically for vegetables in some online stores like the eCycle portal , but you can also improvise at home with a new washcloth specifically designed for this use. Furthermore, according to a study, the ideal temperature for cooling lettuce is 5 °C.
You can use this technique for other leafy vegetables like cress, arugula and basil. But avoid putting them together with other vegetables that release ethylene, such as lemons and tomatoes, as the released ethylene speeds up the ripening and causes your salad to wilt sooner. And remember: if possible, give preference to organic varieties from local producers, in addition to being healthier for your health and the environment, they last longer.
