We are a part of an organic food coop.  This allows us to get fresh fruit and veggies every other week.  Usually we receive a couple of heads of lettuce in our bin. 

I've learned that keeping lettuce dry is the trick to making it last.  When I first started preparing my lettuce, I would wash it and then use a salad spinner to dry it.  This did the trick but was a little labor intensive as all of the lettuce would not fit in the spinner.  By accident, I figured out another way.

I washed my lettuce after cutting/tearing it by soaking it in a large bowl of cold water.  I then placed the lettuce on a kitchen towel on my countertop.  I got distracted and hours later came back to a bunch of DRY lettuce...no effort on my part.  This has become my way of drying lettuce for salad. 

Put in a plastic container or Ziploc bag with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture, lettuce will last a LONG time.   The only thing to do is to  check the paper towel every now and then to make sure it's dry.  If not, replace it!  I've had lettuce last up to 3-4 weeks!

Be sure to check out Rocks in My Dryer for more Works-for-Me Wednesday tips.

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Posted by shawtime

Thanks! I usually buy bagged lettuce for one reason only... it rots too soon. I needed to hear this!

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Posted by Jazzymom

Nothing drives me crazier (well maybe something else does, but nothing I can think of right now!) than buying lettuce only to open the fridge 5 days later to a black, wet mess!

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