Storing Vegetables

I use the Debbie green bags. The lettuce has to be dry when putting it in and I usually add a paper towel as well. I store the onions and sweet potatoes in the basement. It is uninsulated and put it onr a container near the wall. Lettuce is hard to store. I do buy the organic and that is in sealed packages and that helps, but I use Romaine, but I did have problems with leaf lettuce. I am thinking of starting a container garden and just pull out what I need.

I'm 100% raw since August this year (over ten years vegan before that). I only buy the certified organic vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes & grains from a local grower. They keep much better & longer than conventional fresh produce. I haven't had much success with growing my own - everything else seems to eat it before I get a chance to! One day I'll set up a closed - system hydroponic thing. I hope things are working out better for you these days.

Hi lilaclady, i read somewhere that the cleaned iceberg lettuce should be packed in the plastic cover with holes punched in it, don't know whether it works or not but just give a try.

I don't think you will ever succeed at keeping cut lettuce for much longer than a few days. Perhaps you should consider planting some salad of your own, so you can cut it fresh as required? Even if you don't have a garden or very green fingers a windowbox or some pots would not take up much room and is really easy. You could also grow herbs.

It is important to wash it before storing and using PVC free storage bags is supposed to help alot in keeping it longer. Here is the info on washing and how to store I found best. Hope it works for you. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Cooking-Tips/Ask-the-Test-Kitchen/Storing-Lettuce

Hi Lilaclady, I usually store all my leafy veggies wrapped up in a newspaper and then put it in the fridge. This way they remain green and fresh for a longer time. Try storing your iceberg lettuce in this manner too. Although when you want to use the lettuce, it may not be as crisp as required, for this, just remove it from the fridge when you want to use it and place the bunch of lettuce in a bowl of icewater for half an hour at least, root side down. This will make it crisp again. Another way you could try it is to place the lettuce, root side down, in a bowl of water and then place it in the frige. Believe me it remains fresh and crisp.

I don't know how anyone can say their lettuce only lasts a day or 3. Mine stays fine for weeks! I basically do nothing. If it looks clean, I put it in a plastic bag and get the air out then spin the top of the bag and keep it closed with a peg. I take the lettuce as I need it. Sometimes there is a bit that's bruised, so I pinch it off and use the remaining bit of leaf. I used to use the Tuppperware lettuce keeper but it takes up too much room in the fridge, especially when the head gets smaller. I would remove the end, rinse the lettuce, shake off the excess water, put it on the draining spike in the container and on with the lid which was "burped" then into the fridge. It's so much simpler to use a plastic bag - the secret is getting all the air out.

Leafy vegetables are the most perishable vegetables and their lifespan is no more than 3 days in the fridge. I use to go to farmer's market once a week and I have this habit of buying in quantity to last me a week. I will wrap my vegetables in absorbent papers before I put them in the fridge. Usually, if I buy lettuce I make sure that I eat it on the day of purchase otherwise they will turn bad the next day.

I do two lettuces at once as I have a bigger family and I find that my lettuce will last a week this way - to use on sandwiches for lunches for example. I cut the base off the lettuce and wash in a sink with some ice cubes and a pinch of salt. I use paper towel to pat the leaves dry and then roll the leaves up in some dry paper towel. I place the roll into a ziplocked bag and make sure to squeeze all of the air of out the bag. Otherwise if I dont have time I am forced to buy expensive bags of prewashed lettuce that I think contain sub-quality lettuce. I do try to avoid this. All of my other vegetables are stored in the fridge in the crisper. I remove all their packaging first and put a good lining of paper towel on the bottom of the crisper and between the different types of vegetables. I find that this makes them last longer and taste fresher longer.

I've never tried it, but you could attempt to put your lettuce in a ziplock bag to see if that helps it last longer. I know exposing it to air is what makes it wilt faster, so bagging it and removing the air may help. As far as other veggies go, I tend to buy bags of frozen vegetables.. they last as long as I want them to.

If you want to store vegetables long term, then dehydrating them or fermenting them is the answer for a lot of vegetables. They can last for months this way. Unfortunately leafy greens cannot be stored to last too long. I generally do not buy Iceberg Lettuce, we tend to buy Cos Lettuce mainly and we just keep it in a freezer bag or another plastic bag which can be sealed. It lasts longer in the fridge when it is sealed. The lower in the fridge the better too especially if you have a freezer at the top of your fridge. Greens get freezer burn if they get too cold. We buy mostly organic greens and a lot of them from the farmers markets every Sunday and they last us until the end of the week before they start going bad usually. Sometimes they start going bad earlier, it depends on how fresh they are and the quality of them I think. Most times the greens are picked by the farmer and taken straight to the market. I think the best option really is to grow your own though. I love growing my own food and just picking what I need for each meal straight from my own organic garden. It does not get any fresher or healthier than that and you will not have any greens go bad in the fridge that way.

hi lilaclady, i think there is no way of storing lettuce more then 3-4 dayz so it is better to visit market twice a week and get fresh veggies.as it is good for health and i would even suggest you to do some farming and try to plow some veggis at some spare place in your backyard.and u dont need rush to market for healthy veggis... wish you happy and healthy life......

wrapped it with clean old news paper before put inside veggies cabinet in the refrigerator.

wrapped it with clean old new paper before put inside veggies cabinet in the refrigerator.

Hm. Well, after reading through this discussion, I don't know what I'm doing right, but I hardly ever have a problem keeping iceberg lettuce for a week or more. I don't wash it until I'm ready to use it. If I pull off leaves to use, I wash those at that time and if I cut off a chunk for salad, I wash it then. The rest of the head goes back in the refrigerator wrapped tightly in its original bag or in a produce bag. Maybe part of it has to do with how fresh (or not fresh) it is when you buy it? I always look for the freshest, crispest head I can find.

I have a storage container especially for my iceberg lettuce. I wash the lettuce then I place it in this container which has in the bottom a type of strainer with a spike on it to place your lettuce on.. The wather drains into the bottom away from the lettuce, therefore it doesn't get all soagy and go brown.. It's like a crispper or something... Also I tried placing a cut up piece of a sham wow and place it in the crispper and it absorbes extra moister keeping the vegetable fresher longer too...