Have just acquired a few lettuce from a shop, but we won't be able to eat
them all for a few days yet.

Would it make much difference to their *longevity* whether they are kept in
the fridge or not?

Also they come wrapped in plastic bags. Should we take them out of the bags,
both the ones we put in the fridge and those we dont? Thanks.

"T Blake" > wrote in message
...
> Have just acquired a few lettuce from a shop, but we won't be able to eat
> them all for a few days yet.
>
> Would it make much difference to their *longevity* whether they are kept
> in the fridge or not?
>
> Also they come wrapped in plastic bags. Should we take them out of the
> bags, both the ones we put in the fridge and those we dont? Thanks.

You really should store greens in the fridge. They spoil quickly if left at
room temp. I would leave them in the bags unless you have special bags
meant for storing greens.

On 2014-05-30, T Blake > wrote:

> Also they come wrapped in plastic bags. Should we take them out of the bags,
> both the ones we put in the fridge and those we dont? Thanks.

A lot depends on yer refrigerator. Climate controled veggie drawers,
etc. I always take the lettuce out of the shipping wrap, but keep 'em
in the produce bags from the sprmkt, preferably the green ones. If
you plan on long term storage, put a sheet of paper towel (kitchen
paper) in the bag under the lettuce. Also, don't cut too much of the
stalk. I usta knock it out, but learned leaving it intact increase
the fridge (shelf?) life of the lettuce head. Jes cut enough off the
remove any oxydation browning from the harvesting. Also remove any
rotting leaves.

nb

On 5/30/2014 7:28 AM, notbob wrote:
> On 2014-05-30, T Blake > wrote:
>
>> Also they come wrapped in plastic bags. Should we take them out of the bags,
>> both the ones we put in the fridge and those we dont? Thanks.
>
> A lot depends on yer refrigerator. Climate controled veggie drawers,
> etc. I always take the lettuce out of the shipping wrap, but keep 'em
> in the produce bags from the sprmkt, preferably the green ones. If
> you plan on long term storage, put a sheet of paper towel (kitchen
> paper) in the bag under the lettuce. Also, don't cut too much of the
> stalk. I usta knock it out, but learned leaving it intact increase
> the fridge (shelf?) life of the lettuce head. Jes cut enough off the
> remove any oxydation browning from the harvesting. Also remove any
> rotting leaves.
>
> nb
>
If you can buy lettuce in a plastic container and with the roots in a
central water well, it will keep for a week or more in the fridge.

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

On 2014-05-30, James Silverton > wrote:

> If you can buy lettuce in a plastic container and with the roots in a
> central water well, it will keep for a week or more in the fridge.

I once hadda Tupperware lettuce keeper that worked well, but not well
enough to do better than a plastic bag with paper towel. Plus, it
took up a lotta room outside the veggie drawer, which it was too big
for. I've had the p/t in plaz-bag trick keep iceburg lettuce for a
long as 2 wks. My current fridge has a better veggie drawer, so
keeping lettuce for a week with no p/t is common.

The real trick is keeping cilantro from turning to pus after a few
days.

nb

"notbob" wrote in message ...

On 2014-05-30, James Silverton > wrote:

> If you can buy lettuce in a plastic container and with the roots in a
> central water well, it will keep for a week or more in the fridge.

I once hadda Tupperware lettuce keeper that worked well, but not well
enough to do better than a plastic bag with paper towel. Plus, it
took up a lotta room outside the veggie drawer, which it was too big
for. I've had the p/t in plaz-bag trick keep iceburg lettuce for a
long as 2 wks. My current fridge has a better veggie drawer, so
keeping lettuce for a week with no p/t is common.

The real trick is keeping cilantro from turning to pus after a few
days.



I have this herb keeper thing. It looks like a tall plastic glass and it has
a lid and a removable bottom that stores water. It really prolongs the life
of cilantro in the fridge

On 5/30/2014 10:20 AM, Phyllis Stone wrote:
>
>
> "notbob" wrote in message ...
>
> On 2014-05-30, James Silverton > wrote:
>
>> If you can buy lettuce in a plastic container and with the roots in a
>> central water well, it will keep for a week or more in the fridge.
>
> I once hadda Tupperware lettuce keeper that worked well, but not well
> enough to do better than a plastic bag with paper towel. Plus, it
> took up a lotta room outside the veggie drawer, which it was too big
> for. I've had the p/t in plaz-bag trick keep iceburg lettuce for a
> long as 2 wks. My current fridge has a better veggie drawer, so
> keeping lettuce for a week with no p/t is common.
>
> The real trick is keeping cilantro from turning to pus after a few
> days.
>
>
>
> I have this herb keeper thing. It looks like a tall plastic glass and it
> has a lid and a removable bottom that stores water. It really prolongs
> the life of cilantro in the fridge

I'll bet it work even better if you could buy cilantro with roots. I've
sometimes seen that in Vietnamese grocery stores and the roots have a
number of uses in the cooking of Southeast Asia. For some reason most
supermarkets remove the roots.

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

On Fri, 30 May 2014 11:50:36 +0100, "T Blake" >
wrote:

>Have just acquired a few lettuce from a shop, but we won't be able to eat
>them all for a few days yet.
>
>Would it make much difference to their *longevity* whether they are kept in
>the fridge or not?
>
>Also they come wrapped in plastic bags. Should we take them out of the bags,
>both the ones we put in the fridge and those we dont? Thanks.
>

In a paper, then a plastic bag, and in the fridge. The paper insulates
the leaves from the imperviousness of the plastic, and the plastic
then prevents drying of the refrigerator. The refrigerator slows all
breakdown of the green leafies.

John Kuthe...

On 30 May 2014 13:27:26 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>
> The real trick is keeping cilantro from turning to pus after a few
> days.

The paper towel trick works for cilantro too.


--

Good Food.
Good Friends.
Good Memories.

Julie Bove wrote:
>T Blake wrote:
>
>> Have just acquired a few lettuce from a shop, but we won't be able to eat
>> them all for a few days yet.
>>
>> Would it make much difference to their *longevity* whether they are kept
>> in the fridge or not?
>>
>> Also they come wrapped in plastic bags. Should we take them out of the
>> bags, both the ones we put in the fridge and those we dont? Thanks.
>
>You really should store greens in the fridge. They spoil quickly if left at
>room temp. I would leave them in the bags unless you have special bags
>meant for storing greens.

Under cold running water with a sharp clean knife slice off the brown
root/stem ends... same as florists do. It also prolongs storage time
by double if misted with vinegar.

On 2014-05-30, James Silverton > wrote:
> On 5/30/2014 10:20 AM, Phyllis Stone wrote:

>> I have this herb keeper thing. It looks like a tall plastic glass and it
>> has a lid and a removable bottom that stores water. It really prolongs
>> the life of cilantro in the fridge

Thnx, Phyllis. I'll see if I can find something like that online.

> I'll bet it work even better if you could buy cilantro with roots. I've
> sometimes seen that in Vietnamese grocery stores and the roots have a
> number of uses in the cooking of Southeast Asia. For some reason most
> supermarkets remove the roots.

Been there, wore out that t-shirt!

I couldn't find cilantro w/ roots, even in the SFBA. Looked fer yrs,
as Thai green curries always call for cilantro root. I figure the
only way I'll ever get my own is to grow it myself, which would also
solve my refrigeration problem.

nb

T Blake wrote:
>
> Have just acquired a few lettuce from a shop, but we won't be able to eat
> them all for a few days yet.
>
> Would it make much difference to their *longevity* whether they are kept in
> the fridge or not?
>
> Also they come wrapped in plastic bags. Should we take them out of the bags,
> both the ones we put in the fridge and those we dont? Thanks.

Just from my personal experience. Leave them in the plastic unopened
but put them in the fridge in the "vegetable drawer." That drawer
keeps them at a constant temp and seems to help.

G.

John Kuthe wrote:
> In a paper, then a plastic bag, and in the fridge. The paper insulates
> the leaves from the imperviousness of the plastic, and the plastic
> then prevents drying of the refrigerator. The refrigerator slows all
> breakdown of the green leafies.
>

You forgot to add, "seek help, Bryan" ;-)

G.

On Fri, 30 May 2014 18:11:16 -0400, Gary > wrote:

>John Kuthe wrote:
>> In a paper, then a plastic bag, and in the fridge. The paper insulates
>> the leaves from the imperviousness of the plastic, and the plastic
>> then prevents drying of the refrigerator. The refrigerator slows all
>> breakdown of the green leafies.
>>
>
>You forgot to add, "seek help, Bryan" ;-)
>
>G.

This was not about or to Bryan.

I have other valuable food related information to post here. Like I
just did.

John Kuthe...