LETTUCE TIPS FOR A FRESH SALAD EVERYTIMEHow often do you eat green salads at home? Is it a rare occasion? Do you buy lettuce at the store with the intention of making salads, forget about it, and then find a wilted mess in your veggie bin a week later? Do you try to solve the problem by buying the expensive pre-washed, bagged lettuce? Are you disappointed with the quality of that lettuce?
Washing and drying lettuce doesn’t have to be that difficult and if you do it correctly, it can stay fresh and ready to be used for up to two weeks! That means that if you’re willing to give up maybe 20 minutes, once a week or every two weeks, you can have a ready supply of crisp, fresh lettuce that is ready to throw in a bowl at a moment’s notice.
TYPES OF LETTUCERomaines (Cos)Romaine (cos) is a tall lettuce with rigid leaves that are tightly packed together. The leaves are dark green, with the inner leaves having less color. Some consider romaine the most flavorful lettuce variety.
CrispheadsCrisphead lettuce is a very common variety of lettuce to find in your grocery store. Iceberg lettuce is a crisphead lettuce. The leaves are thin, light green, and densely packed together. It is best to grow this lettuce in cooler weather or start with transplants because of problems with bolting.
ButterheadsButterhead lettuce is smaller than other lettuce varieties. The leaves are not as tightly packed in as with crisphead lettuce, and the leaves are more tender than crisphead leaves. This lettuce has a smooth, light, and some would say “buttery” flavor.
Leaf lettuceLeaf lettuces are the most varied of the lettuce varieties. Colors can vary from red to dark green. The leaves can be curly or ruffled. This is a favorite of home gardeners as it matures quickly once planted.
HOW TO BUY PRODUCEBasic principles:
* Buy produce which is "in" season.
* Buy locally grown produce whenever possible, but remember that roadside stands are poorly regulated: buy organic or wash well.
* Don't buy more than you'll eat in a week; shop daily if convenient.
* Buy what "looks good;" try not to go to the produce mart with a list.
* Smell is an important ingredient in taste.
* Look for produce which is average in size and shape; humongous or grotesque produce rarely tastes as good as it looks. That's not to say a fruit must be cosmetically perfect; far from it. Symmetry and beauty do not necessarily equate with great taste.
Hints * The best heads of lettuce are tightly closed, but relatively firm to the squeeze. An immature head of lettuce feels like a puff of air when squeezed... because it mostly is.
* The best broccoli or cauliflower has tightly packed flower heads, firm stems, and no sign of yellow or brown.
* Cabbage heads start to open up when they are left on the plant too long. Same for Brussels sprouts.
* Lettuce grows fast and has fewer pests than spinach, mustard-like plants, or cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc). Hence, it needs fewer pesticides. Romaine is particularly hardy.
* Spinach is among the most pesticide-laden greens. Buy organic.
WHAT LETTUCE TO BUYYou can learn about specific varieties, but remember that the best lettuce is whole-head or cutting lettuces that are harvested and sold as-is with as little processing as possible.
If you're tempted by the "pre-washed" or "triple-washed" claims on bagged lettuce, read this test done in Minnesota, where the lettuce variety with the least bacteria was the plain, unwashed head of lettuce. Bagged lettuce is often rinsed in a chlorine wash and handled by many people before being sealed.
WHEN TO BUY LETTUCELettuce in general is a cool weather crop that bolts and turns bitter when faced with harsh heat. We've become used to eating lettuce year-round because it can be cultivated somewhere all year, but local harvests are seasonal. Look for lettuce all year-round in the most temperate regions, in spring and fall in warmer areas, and in late spring through summer in cooler climates. Tougher, pleasantly bitter chicories are available in the fall and early winter. See your regional season guide for specifics.
WHAT TO LOOK FORYou want lettuce picked as recently as possible. Look for clean, fresh looking cut ends. You don't want anything that looks rusty, dried-out, or wilted. Crisp, bright looking leaves are good too. Remember, though, that some spotting or holes is common, especially in crops raised without sprays. Ask the grower if you have any questions about how the lettuce looks.
HOW TO CORE AND CHOP ICEBERG LETTUCESome people swear by ceramic or plastic knives for cutting lettuce. The idea is that metal knives cause the leaves to turn brown at the edges faster. Actually, it's not the metal that does it. What happens is any cutting will cut cells, which then turn brown. If you want your lettuce to last longer don't cut it. Rip the leaves by hand.
First up, the core. You can cut this out if you really want to. But it's way easier this way:
Set the bottom -- the side you just pulled the core out of -- down and cut it in half.
Then in quarters.
You could stop now and serve what the trendy restaurants are calling a "wedge salad".
THE SECRET WEAPON AGAINST WET LETTUCEA salad spinner is simply a contraption that dries your lettuce for you. But I really don’t think there is a quicker, more effective way to dry lettuce. And if you want to make a salad, there’s nothing worse than wet lettuce, except maybe wilted lettuce.
You will need only two more things to keep your lettuce fresh and extend it’s life longer than you could ever imagine: gallon-size plastic bags (preferably zippered) and paper towels. That’s it!
HOW TO WASH DRY, AND STORE LETTUCE (NOT ICEBERG)1. Fill a sink with cold water, separate all the leaves of lettuce, place them in the water and swirl them around. If the lettuce is a bit limp, let it soak in the water for 30 minutes and it will miraculously come back to life.
2. Drain the water, turn on the faucet, and briefly rinse each piece of lettuce as you remove it from sink and place in the basket of your salad spinner. If you use organic lettuce, just give each piece a quick once-over to check for clinging bugs and dirt. As you put the lettuce in the spinner, you can tear the leaves in half if they are large (such as full-size romaine).
3. When the spinner is full but not tightly packed, spin the lettuce until dry.
4. Spread two paper towels (still connected) on the counter and pile the dry lettuce in the middle. Wrap the paper towels around the lettuce and slide into a gallon-size zippered plastic bag. Squeeze the air out and close the bag.
5. The lettuce can now be stored in the fridge and should stay fresh for at least a couple of weeks. You can take out what you need whenever you want to make a salad or sandwich and then just reseal the bag. The plastic bags can also be reused!
HOW TO MAKE LETTUCE LAST LONGER: REMOVE OUTER PACKAGINGOne of the first things that you should do when you get lettuce home is to remove the plastic outer packaging that encases it. The longer you leave the lettuce in the packaging, the quicker it will start to turn brown and rot. It will be no good to you if you have to waste a whole head of lettuce because of this.
HOW TO MAKE LETTUCE LAST LONGER: TIN FOILAfter you have removed the lettuce from the plastic outer packaging, you should wrap it in tin foil to seal in the freshness and keep it crisp and green for longer. It does not have to be tightly wrapped for the best results. Simply wrap it around the whole head of lettuce so that the whole lettuce is covered and then place it in the crisper section of the fridge away from dairy and meat products.
HOW TO MAKE LETTUCE LAST LONGER: CUTTING LETTUCEThe way you cut lettuce can have an impact on how long it stays fresh. If you are in the habit of slicing off a chunk of lettuce to use for salads and then replacing the rest of it, you will soon have to throw the rest away unless you use it quickly. The remaining lettuce will start to turn brown where you sliced it and it will not be useful. The best way to cut lettuce is to use the point of a knife to just snip at individual lettuce leaves. This method will take longer to get the desired amount of lettuce, but it will help to keep the rest of the lettuce fresh.
