Sick of limp lettuce? You might be storing it wrong. For lettuce that stays crisp and fresh longer you need to let it do two things. It needs to be able to breathe and have access to moisture. Both of these things are easily accomplished with a salad bag.
I'm not going to complain about the heat. I'm not going to do it. We had the most winter-like spring ever and I vowed not to complain about the heat when it came. Instead I will simply inform you that all of my organs have liquified and now slosh when I walk.
And summer gut sloshing means it's salad season. The trick to a great salad in the summer is to keep the lettuce crisp. Very few things in this world are better when they're limp and lettuce is no exception so I have two tips for you today. One on how to bring sickly lettuce back to life and one on how to keep lettuce fresh longer.
Table of Contents
How to revive limp lettuce.
If your lettuce isn't "rusty" or slimy and is just sort of bending and sad looking, you can usually revive it by letting it soak in ice cold water for 15 minutes or so.
This works with leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce ... allllll the heads of lettuce. Tear (don't cut) the lettuce leaves away from the core and then just let them soak.
You can do it in your sink or in a large bowl with cold water.
How do you keep lettuce fresh for a month?
After your dry the revived lettuce you have 2 good ways to store it:
In a plastic bag
At the risk of dissuading you from making a salad bag you do have another option for storing lettuce but it involves plastic.
Wash the lettuce, shake out the excess water and dry it. Put it into a Ziploc bag and press or suck all of the air out of the bag. This will keep your lettuce fresh for 3-4 weeks. Remember you have to return the unused lettuce to the plastic bag and resuck the air out every time you remove some.
Then dry the lettuce with a salad spinner (this is the salad spinner I use) and store it in a plastic bag with a couple of damp paper towels. The paper towels will absorb extra moisture when there's too much and it will also keep the bag humid enough to keep the lettuce crisp.
In a salad sack
OR you can be one of the cool kids and use a Salad Bag which means you'll never have limp lettuce again and you'll NEVER have to dry salad greens again and you won't be using any plastic. It's the kind of revelation that'll make you question your entire existence. Turn your liquid guts solid again. I'm not kidding.
YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO DRY LETTUCE AGAIN. This is real people, this is happening.
This is where I disclose what most of you don't want to hear. You have to sew 4 straightish lines to make your Salad Bag. On a sewing machine. Sorry 'bout that but it's true. I know there are some of you out there who are opposed to sewing but sometimes you've gotta suck it up and do what needs to be done.
If you already know there is absolutely no way in hell you're going to sew a salad bag, you can buy a Salad Sac on Amazon.
How do you keep lettuce from turning brown?
When you buy one of those premixed salads in a bag or clamshell container, by day 3 or even 2 of using it, the lettuce has gone brown and gross. Why is that?
That's because of ethylene gas. Lettuce gives off a bit of ethylene gas, but vegetables give off a lot. So if you have a mixture of lettuce and chopped vegetables in that bagged salad, the lettuce is going to go brown much faster than if it was just a bag of lettuce.
To keep your lettuce from going brown don't store it in the same container as other cut vegetables.
How to make a salad bag.
Materials
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- 1, Terry cloth hand towel
- 2, lengths of cord, rope or ribbon (approximately 40" each)
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- Lay out your hand towel right side up.
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2. Fold the bottom up to meet the top.
3. Sew sides up leaving 1.5" open at the top.
4. Turn down the top by ¾ of an inch. The top hem of the towel will align with where your side stitching starts.
5. Sew down folded portions with a very small seam allowance to create a channel.
6. You now have a tube to run your ribbon or rope through for closing the bag.
7. Turn your bag right side out and using a safety pin run an approximately 40" length of ribbon through the entire top of the bag. Repeat this step but starting from the other side of the bag.
8. You now have to pull strings on either side of your bag.
9. Soak your bag in water.
10. Wring out as much water as possible. You want the bag to be damp not wet.
11. Fill the bag with wet lettuce!
(if the lettuce is reallyyyyy wet you can put it in a dry bag as opposed to a damp one)
12. Pull the drawstrings closed and keep the bag in the fridge.
Make a Salad Bag
Keeps your lettuce fresh and crisp. It's how all the cool kids store their lettuce.
Materials
- Terry cloth hand towel
- lengths of cord, rope or ribbon (approximately 40″ each)
Instructions
- Lay out your hand towel right side up.
- Fold the bottom up to meet the top
- Sew sides up leaving 1.5″ open at the top.
- Turn down the top by ¾ of an inch. The top hem of the towel will align with where your side stitching starts.
- Sew down folded portions with a very small seam allowance to create a channel.
- You now have a tube to run your ribbon or rope through for closing the bag.
- Turn your bag right side out and using a safety pin run an approximately 40″ length of ribbon through the entire top of the bag. Repeat this step but starting from the other side of the bag.
- You now have to pull strings on either side of your bag.
- Soak your bag in water.
- Wring out as much water as possible. You want the bag to be damp not wet.
- Fill the bag with lettuce.
- Pull the drawstrings closed and keep the bag in the fridge.
- Re-dampen the bag when you notice it starting to dry out.
Notes
If your lettuce is wilted, revive it before putting it in the bag by soaking it in ice cold water for 15 minutes.
If your lettuce is very wet you can put it in a dry bag as opposed to a damp one.
Recommended Products
I'm an Amazon affiliate some I get a few cents when you buy something I've linked to.
The only pain of this system is you really have to make sure your bag stays damp. THAT'S the key to keeping your lettuce crisp and fresh. If you can manage that, your lettuce will stay fresh for an astonishingly long time.If your bag starts to dry out re-dampen it and return it to the fridge. Lettuce, especially heartier lettuces like romaine, will last for well over a week, perfectly fresh, stored like this.
If you're still completely opposed to sewing 4 straight lines and making your own bag for a total cost of about $2, you can buy a Salad Sac on Amazon.
Cheater Tip
You can also forego the sewing by wrapping your lettuce up in a damp terrycloth towel.
Now if you'll excuse me my pancreas is dripping on the floor and I need to wipe it up.
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Linda
I read somewhere that to rejuvenate limp greens - soak in lukewarm water first as the leaves absorb warm water better. Then in cold water to crisp them up. I have been doing this for years and find it very successful.
Linfy
Dear Goddess of the Sublime and the Inane,
What a treat you are for this world worried heart sore woman and hag will also do, I have my moments.
On the subject of food bags I went hunting through your posts and if it is there I obviously did not go back far enough and I now expect you to do my work for me. Quite the little Princess, bwahahahaha. Do I recall correctly that you use a cloth bag of some sort to keep our Cover-19 pounds increasing by keeping our bread in said 'bag' for freshness?
One is always musing upon anything written in a meadow in the middle of the woods when she has not seen another soul for actual social time drinking and conversation at the same table...coffee, tea, wine, beer whatever the fancy of the moment would be. I tend to alcohol but apparently isopropyl is not for human consumption...who knew.
If you ever quit blogging I will hunt you down with massive rocket launchers that we see so casually carried on the streets and in government buildings that our beleaguered American cousins do not even notice when the man carrying one has his young child and they are inside ordering a sub...not submarine but I wouldn't put those carriers past wanting to.
warmest of regards,
Linfy
my oh my, I will always be a wordy bugger I see.
Sue
bread bag did you say? I need that pattern for my new bread making adventure, please!
Linda
Hello Sue,
We shall be on it the moment Karen notices. That woman gets things done! Lucky for us, bwahahahaha.
Linda
Hello Sue!
Karen replied and I had remember incorrectly. Happening quite frequently now which makes such hunts as these a little more fun and I stick by that.
Karen has the link for us to find the linen bread loaf bag I was speaking of and chasing after. The full link is there and yes, very beautiful. Do enjoy if you treat yourself to one!!
Regards, Linfy
Karen
Hmm. I"m not sure, lol. I have linen bread bags from Rough Linen that I have featured? https://www.roughlinen.com/collections/kitchen-table-linen-collection/products/orkney-linen-bread-bag?variant=12247055958117 ~ karen!
Linda
Thank you Karen,
No wonder I could not find the pattern, bwahahaha. I see that her linens are just gorgeous and out of budget range. So very beautiful linen is. I can never figure out why people insist that their linen be pressed within an inch of it's life and kept that way by standing like a robot and never even considering sitting!! I am not suggesting it gets tied into a soaking wet tight ball and left to dry to wear it, but I love seeing linen showing the living going on the days it is worn. Very beautiful material that should be a goal to own a piece of at least once in one's life. Thanks Karen!! Warm regards, Linfy
Martha Blair Murphy
I love this idea, thanks! I have been washing individual leaves of lettuce, laying them out on a dishtowel, rolling up the dishtowel, then sticking the roll into a plastic bag that the newspaper comes in. I have crisp greens for 2 weeks!
Karen
Yup, that works too! ~ karen
Lisa
OMG! LYLAS!
Beth L Bilous
Hey hey i can sew one but would rather have the one from Amazon, but they are all sold out. Any other source you know of to get one of these please? Its too damn cute.
Karen
You can try to search Amazon for just a salad bag and see what comes up. A lot of name brand stuff is sold out now (as you know). It'll either be back in stock after this craziness is over or like I say, you might be able to find one that's another brand. ~ karen!
Clare McK.
Good idea! I wonder if it would be easier to sew the drawstring hems before you do the side seams. Then you can catch the edge of the fold over in the side seam for strength.
Just a thought.
The other way to dry leaves is to put the damp ones in a tea towel, hold all four corners and swing around your head. Best done outdoors!
Irene
I plonk my lettuce, stalk first, in a jar or vase of water. Stays perky for at LEAST a week, and makes a really pretty "flower" arrangement!
Karen
Interesting! I'll give it a try. ~ karen!
Lisa
I will definitely try this but must disagree with your salad spinner choice - the Zyliss spinner with the pull cord is a vastly superior product 🙂. I’m
Annette
Hi Karen,
Nice idea. I am not into plastic bags as a rule (never use the ones in the produce. aisle), but I have bought green plastic bags that I wash and reuse for months/years that keep my lettuce fresh forever!
Lyn
Hey Karen, I just use my old tea towels, wetted & well wrung out, for all my veg -- well, not onions or potatoes of course, but pretty much everything else & keep the bundles in the crisper/vegetable drawers. As long as your crisper closes completely, they will stay damp & fresh. And the bonus is that I get to re-use those beloved old linen or cotton tea towels that still have some beauty but are no longer fit for regular kitchen duty. . . well, yes, now that you mention it, I do have a little issue with hoarding, but it's the creative & functional kind ;-)
Cortney
Is there a reason why you use terry cloth specifically? Or any towel will do?
Karen
Well, most towels are terry cloth, but yes use terry cloth if you can. It holds a good amount of moisture which is what keeps the greens hydrated and crisp. :) ~ karen!
Cortney
That makes sense. Thank you. I cringe reading other posts saying to use papertowels and plastic bags to store. Because most likely those plastic bags wont be reused more than once or a few times at most
Patty Hane
Whenever I use paper towels to dry veggies I lay them over something to dry and they can be reused.
g Sharon Jones
Well I will complain about the heat. 7:30 am here in N. California today & it's 80° with a heat index of 83°!! Which is cool compared to what 5PM will bring 108° to 112° degrees Fahrenheit. Uggggg Top that off with a nice hot flash & my family runs! They know heat+hot flash=bitchy woman. Lol There should be a song. Cute idea. I don't sew so I went to Amazon for the Salad Sack sad to say they are not available at this time. So sad. So I will take my towels across the street & beg my very good neighbor who sews like a dream & has a machine but not until this heat wave passes or I'm afraid I will solar flare crossing that street. Here's to icecubes & bathtubs & cool drinks.
Jacquie Gariano
I have a Vejibag that I got on line. I'm not sure if I got it from Amazon or direct from the company. You try contacting the company for the bags. There were two sizes and I got the smaller one and it works great for lettuce and other vegs.
Karen
Yeah, there's a lot of stuff that isn't available right now, lol. Hope your neighbour was able to help! ~ karen
Anne Marie
We just plant variegated salad leaves every 6 weeks or so. That gives enough leaves to pick while the next lot mature and so on. Just pick what you need each day. I never store them. Just chuck out the few leaves left and pick fresh ones tomorrow.
Kelly
I would worry about mold.
Laura Withers
Does anyone have any tips on keeping broccoli fresh? Thanks in advance
Sally Foulds
Yes! Cut a thin slice from the stem (where it was cut to harvest it) and stand it in a cup of water so the cut end is in the water. Keep it in the fridge - I've kept broccoli fresh for over a week this way.....magic!
billy sharpstick
Great idea. But I never remove the leaves until I'm ready to use them. I think that romaine stays fresher leaving the head intact. Then I rinse the outer leaves and dry with a spinner. The inner leaves aren't dirty, so they just go right into the salad after ripping into pieces.
billy sharpstick
I've also found that buying whole heads of romaine is cheaper than bags of cut up salad, even when they are "buy one get one free"!
Rebecca
Love this! I'm going to make a dozen or so to sell at my thrift shoppe's Garden Event next month. Thank you for the inspiration!
Karen
You're welcome. ~ karen!
Kathleen Dobek
Do what Rebekah says. It works. Roll the lettuce in a tea towel, then put the lettuce, rolled up towel and all, into a plastic bag. No sewing, and the towel doesn't dry out.
P.S. Butter lettuce is crispiest and crunchiest of all.
Sarah Jackson
What is a washer?
Diane Speed
A wash cloth/face cloth.
Alex
This is a great idea! Just make sure to wash the bag before you use it since its been treated with chemicals and you don't know what it's been through.
Angeal
Guess I'm the only one who seldom washes my lettuce! I'll try to do better in the future!
Angela