How To Store Lettuce Leaves

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Bright and juicy lettuce leaves are actively used by hostesses to prepare a wide variety of culinary masterpieces. But, unfortunately, they are not stored for long. And this is not surprising: lettuce is incredibly capricious - it does not tolerate transportation very well, and if it is stored incorrectly, the attractive leaves will generally deteriorate in a matter of hours. Moreover, every day of storage of lettuce leaves after they are harvested deprives them of almost 25% of the nutrients they contain. So is it possible to somehow extend their shelf life? It turns out quite

How to collect and store salad?

Owners of their own plots are advised to pick lettuce leaves exclusively in dry weather in the morning. The fact is that dew or rain provokes their rapid deterioration. The greens must be dug out together with the roots, placing them in small boxes with the roots down.

If you simply fold the lettuce leaves previously wrapped in a damp towel on the shelf in the refrigerator, then they will remain fresh for only two days. To extend their shelf life by several days, lettuce leaves are wrapped in a paper napkin, after which any silver object is placed inside the package. And then the salad is sent to storage in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. This little trick will help you keep a wonderful leafy vegetable throughout the week.

If you want to keep the harvested crop fresh for up to two weeks, then lettuce leaves are placed in plastic or glass containers with lids. So that there are no foreign odors in the containers, it is necessary to allocate separate containers for the greens. The bottoms of the container are lined with paper towels, then a layer of greens is laid, then the greens are covered with another paper towel on top, tightly closed with a lid and placed on a shelf in the refrigerator. In the event that tall containers are used to store salad leaves, each layer of greenery must be covered with a paper napkin.

How do I prepare lettuce leaves for storage?

Collected or purchased lettuce leaves are placed in a large bowl and rinsed thoroughly under cold running water. Then, in order to drain excess liquid from the leaves, they are transferred to a colander for a while.

The table or other work surface is covered with paper napkins or a cotton towel, after which lettuce leaves are spread on them to allow them to dry completely. You need to keep the leaves completely dry, since even the smallest droplet of water remaining after drying can hopelessly spoil the taste of this healthy product.

Leaving lettuce leaves for a long time in the light is categorically not recommended - you need to cover them with a clean towel. And if the salad leaves are planned to be chopped, it is better to do without a knife - contact with metal has a detrimental effect on their taste. To grind lettuce leaves, they are simply torn by hand.

Storing lettuce leaves in the freezer

The freezer is an excellent solution for storing lettuce leaves, because they can be stored in it even throughout the winter!

Before freezing, prepared lettuce leaves must be blanched - this will preserve not only the bright color and wonderful aroma of the greens, but also the maximum of the nutritional components it contains. The salad is literally dipped in boiling water for a couple of minutes, after which the leaves are removed and poured over them with ice water. Then lettuce leaves are laid out on a flat surface so that they dry well, and when they are completely dry, they are laid out in bags. The bags, in turn, are tied tightly and put into the freezer.

If you fear that after defrosting a healthy leafy vegetable will turn into an extremely unappetizing mass, you can store it in the form of mashed potatoes. To do this, the leaves are passed through a meat grinder, laid out in bags and frozen. It is not forbidden to freeze them in plastic containers equipped with lids. In this case, it is best to freeze in one container or bag the amount of salad that you plan to use at a time, since it can no longer be re-frozen.

You can freeze lettuce leaves in another way - the crushed leaves are laid out in ice molds, poured with boiled water and placed in the freezer. And as soon as the water hardens, the cubes with herbs are transferred to bags and put back in the freezer. In this form, the salad can be stored for up to two years, and even its wonderful aroma is preserved after thawing the cubes!