How to Keep Lettuce Crisp

Lettuce is a nutritious staple to keep on hand, but it can easily become limp, tasteless or rotten. Use these methods to keep a head of lettuce fresh or a tossed salad (without dressing) fresh.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Keeping a Lettuce Head Crisp

Unless it states that it is sealed for freshness and designed to protect the lettuce from spoiling, it will need to be crisped before storage.
Place them in the cold water bath for 5 minutes. If your lettuce was already limp, this should make it crisp again.
Shake them to remove water along the ridge.
You can buy a salad spinner online or at box stores, like Target and Walmart. Ensure you don’t pack the leaves in too close together; you may need to do several batches to ensure this.
It will force the extra water off of the leaves and into the basin at the bottom.^{[1]XResearch source}
7
Place the leaves on a dry kitchen towel. Stack them in one to two rows. Pour the water out of the basin at the bottom of the salad spinner.
- Repeat the process until all of your lettuce is dry.
- You can also use paper towels if you don’t have a kitchen towel you can spare.
Insert the wrapped lettuce leaves into a gallon-sized freezer bag. Seal it.
9
Place it in the crisper drawer in your refrigerator. Remove the leaves as needed.
- Leave the rest to store for one to two weeks.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Keeping a Salad Crisp

Toss different types of lettuce, such as green, red and cabbage for an even healthier side salad.
The paper towel will absorb excess moisture, keeping the salad from wilting.
Put it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
5
Remove the bowl from the fridge. Pour some salad into another bowl. Toss it separately.
- Make sure you don’t season it while it’s in the storage bowl. Salt will make the salad wilt faster, because it will draw moisture out of the lettuce leaves.
^{[2]XResearch source}
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Question
If I have no fridge, how do I keep lettuce crisp and fresh in a moist place, and how many days will it last?
Community Answer
Soak a kitchen towel with vinegar and cover the lettuce with with it. When you want to use it, just rinse it with cold water. It will keep four days. You can probably stretch that to a week if you use apple cider vinegar.
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Question
Would washing, drying and wrapping the head with tin foil keep it crisp?
Community Answer
No. The aluminum will react with the water in the lettuce, causing it to turn brown faster.
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Question
What can I do to preserve a lettuce wrap for a school lunch?
Community Answer
Try putting an ice pack in your freezer and simply wrapping the wrap in plastic and leaving it on the ice pack.
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Tips

If you want to keep pre-washed lettuce in its original packaging, line the inside of the container with paper towels. Place a few paper towels in the center or on the sides if it’s a large container. Seal the package as tightly as you can. ^{[3]XResearch source}
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These methods will work for almost all types of lettuce, although tightly packed butter lettuce and iceberg lettuce may be better when stored whole with their cores intact. Some stores sell butter lettuce with the roots attached to preserve freshness over several weeks.
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