Keeping lettuce fresh

[ratmom]

I'm having a hard problem with keeping my lettuce good for the bunnies. I usually buy a bag of mixed greens like the organic kind or the micro's plus I usually buy kale, chard, parsley. My kale, parsley & chard usually last over week or so in my green bags, but the mixed greens/lettuces are nasty after a few days. Anyone have this problem?

 

[Maureen Las]

They do go bad fast..I have a lot of problems keeping cilantro fresh
You could try this and see if it works but I cannot guarantee anything;I don't buy that mix for my buns but i know what it is.
Open the bag , empty the contents and plave the mixed greens in a large ziploc bag with a bunch of paper towel at the bottom. then refrigerate ; this may help not sure. ( I think these greens are already washed right??)
I found that with cilantro that it keeps best ifI dry it off whenI get home and wrap it up with paper towels or a cloth and then place it back in an closed bag.
Excess Moisture increases the deterioration of these veggies

 

[ratmom]

These mixes are already washed & dry so that isn't my problem and I use the green bags which keep veggies longer. I usually buy the clamshell mixes or the bagged ones just depends. It's just weird that they go bad quicker when the chard, kale etc is usually moist in the bags & they stay good for almost 2 weeks. I have a hard time finding just romaine on it's own and the one the stores carry doesn't keep well either. I'm going to keep trying though I'm bound to find something that lasts lol.

 

[~*sAbRiNa*~]

I usually find that a head of lettuce keeps longer than the cut up mixes. Hope this helps.

 

[Baby Juliet]

Trouble with the mixed greens/lettuces is the soft lettuces in the mix rots fast. It usually the red lettuce that gets slimy. Cutted Romaine don't rot as fast. I feed Romaine whole. I only cut celery because the strings can get caught in their teeth.

 

[Myia09]

I feed only whole, non bagged veggies,
and then I wash them throughly then put them into like a tuberware container..it helps ALOT!
Its really funny you mentioned green bags. I was a biotechnition major and my friend did a lab on "green bags" label, the "brown bags" label, and regular sandwhich bags and brown bags were worse than regular sandwhich bags, and green bags only kept produce fresher longer for about 2-3 days.

 

[kirbyultra]

The mixes are usually softer, less structurally crisp greens to begin with. They do rot faster because they've been prewashed. Any green that's been prewashed out it's natural shell(whole head) will rot faster.

I know you said you can't get romaine whole... What abot romaine hearts?I get 6packs from costco... Chop and wash them myself, then they take a spin in the salad spinner to dry. I lay a paper towel at the bottom of the Tupperware and throw them in there as single serve containers. My fridge is filled with lettuce Tupperware
I don't feel cilantro but I feed plenty of parsley. Keeps a couple of weeks kept dry like this, or wrapped in a paper towel and bagged (doesnt even need to be an airtight bag).

 

[elrohwen]

I have good luck buying whole heads of lettuce (any type - romaine, green leaf, red leaf, escarole, chicory, etc) and just popping them in the fridge. I don't wash until right before I give them, because I find washing makes them rot faster. My lettuce lasta for about a week and a half.

Anything that's pre-cut (and pre-washed) will rot pretty quickly - not sure there's much you can do about it.

I have seen a lettuce keeper in Bed Bath & Beyond. It's basically a green tupperware thingy that keeps veggies fresher (I think it allows you to control the amount of oxygen). I haven't tried it, but you might want to check it out. I'm sure it's only a few dollars.

 

[ratmom]

Thanks for all your tips. In the past I found this one romaine, but was the soft kind and it didn't last at all. I'm thinking about growing some compact romaines in pots so I don't have to worry about this lol.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

As others have mentioned, keeping the veggies dry is the key.

Also, how cold is your fridge? I find if the fridge is too warm OR too cold, then lettuce (and other veggies) tend tospoil more quickly. I do tend to keep my fridge a bit cooler than most people (and the hydro company recommends ), but itkeeps the food insidefresher(especially dairy!)much longer.

Hope that helps.

Rue

 

[BethM]

I buy all my veggies, one week's worth at a time. I rinse everything, and store it in large tupperware-like containers. (They're made by Lock&Lock.) My containers have a raised grate-sort of thing, so water can drain a bit and the veggies won't sit in the water. I can keep head lettuce, parsley, cilantro, kale, and dandelion greens fresh in these containers for over a week.

As Rue mentioned, your refrigerator temp can make a huge difference. My old fridge had some issues with maintaining a constant temp. I got a new fridge about a month ago, and it's fabulous! My produce and other foods stay fresh MUCH longer now. (I found some parsley in the drawer from 2 weeks ago, and it still looked fine. I tossed it into the compost, but it was still firm and bright green.) If you don't have one, a refrigerator/freezer thermometer is fairly inepensive, and I think it's worth it to check the actual temperatures in your fridge.

 

[bengal77]

No need to buy expensive vegetable bags. Regular old zip lock bags will work, you just need to poke a few small holes in it for airflow. Already cut and pre-washed lettuces always rot faster than a head of lettuce. It's better to buy a whole head of lettuce and peel off one or two leaves at a time as you need them. Putting a paper towel in the baggie can help wick away moisture, which is what accelerates rot. If you're going to prepare a bunch at a time I recommend ripping it instead of cutting it up. It has been my experience that cut lettuce rots faster and the edges shrivel faster than when it's ripped. It's really not more time consuming, either.

 

[Sox]

Vegetables wrapped in newspaper or butchers lasts longer than any plastic bags including those green bags that keeps vegies longer.The green bags are good for fruits and vegies like carrots, capsicums, tomatoes but not green leaved vegies. They somehow sweat in the bags. Put it in the bottom drawer wrapped up. Fridges that are too cold will also make the vegies go limp. Agree with Bengal77 cut vegies don't last as long as the ones you rip as the metal (knife) burns the veggies. Yes, and never wash the veggies if you are going to keep it for a few days.



HTHs.

 

[Pipp]

I've also had the best luck with wrapping them in a paper towel and putting them in airless plastic bags, then sticking it in the fridge veggie drawer (if there's room).

I get boxes of veggies destined for compost from the organic grocer a couple blocks away so I have a ton of them to keep stored. (I wrap so many I recycle my paper towels).

If I had the room I'd try the tupperware containers with the grate. Trick is to have them dry and exposed to not much oxygen (or something), so that works too.

The delicate clamshell veggies as noted break down too fast, I hate picking through those things. :yuck

sas

 

[ratmom]

The green bags I buy are actually cheaper than the zip lock bags, but they work great for everything except the salad mixes. My kale, chard & parsley are 2 weeks old now and still fresh I bought some romaine the other day so I'm hoping them keep longer this time.

 

[hln917]

I used to have the same problem. Now after I wash and soak the lettuce, I use a salad spinner to get the excess water out. The lettuce last much longer. One of my bun, Baci will only eat the box baby lettuce/romaine, so I reuse the boxto store the other lettuce.Ionly cut the lettuce whenI'm ready to useit, otherwise I'll leave it whole. Also if they won't eat the lettuce right away and it gets a little wilted from being out, I'll soak them in cold water for a couple of minute and it comes back to life again.

I saw the salad keeper from Bed Bath & Beyond last week and thought about getting one also.

 

[ratmom]

That's the one thing I need to get is a salad spinner since were vegetarians we share the veggies with the bunnies

 

[Kohana]

I have one of these and it is fantastic. It works well for any produce I put in it. I can have my strawberries up to a week instead of only a few days. I got mine from Superstore (Canada) but you should be able to find them at some big store.
http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_Id=RP091261&CatName=FoodStorage