-Help!!!- Romaine lettuce and spinach prob.

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Alyshe
Alyshe Posts: 509 Member
in Recipes
My romaine lettuce and spinach always seem to go bad. I have my produce in a fridge all by its self at a lower temp. Its just at the cool temp and my dark leafy greens always seem to go bad with in 1 - 2 days. And so much get tossed. :sad: My Iceburg lettuce (i hardly buy now) will stay good for a week or longer. How do you all keep your leafy greens fresh? Thanks.

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  • deannarey13
    deannarey13 Posts: 452
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    I had this problem too. Now I buy the Wild Harvest Organic lettuce blends. They are great and are packaged well. They last for a week or so, you just have to watch the expiration date when you buy them. I am sure to buy them with at least 5 days to go to expiration. They taste so good too!
  • Holton
    Holton Posts: 1,018
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    I live alone and mine never goes bad because I eat it every day. But I do wash it, drain it well, wrap it tight in a paper towel and seal in a plastic bags.
  • FireRox21
    FireRox21 Posts: 424 Member
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    Do you have a salad spinner? You can get them at Wal-Mart for $3.00 to 20.00. Soak your lettuce in cool/warm salt water for a few minutes then rinse. Spin them in the salad spinner until you don't get anymore water in the drainage bowl. Then put them in airtight Zip-Locs. I raise all types of lettuce and spinach in my garden and when I follow this method after harvesting, my lettuce and spinach will last almost a month in the crisper drawer of my fridge! The spinner will eliminate excess water from the lettuce which can cause premature wilt and overall smelly gooiness!!!
  • stringcheeze
    stringcheeze Posts: 286
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    Thumbs up for what Holton said. That's probably the best way of keeping your greens fresh. Also, make sure there isn't a lot of excess water in the bag if you purchase something pre-mixed.
  • Laceylala
    Laceylala Posts: 3,094 Member
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    In Oregon at least, everyone I know has a hard time keeping the prepackaged salads, organic or not, more than a few days..and they come in from California within 24hrs of picking too. WEird.

    I usually make sure the lettuce is washed really good and drained as good as I can get it and then stick it in a ziplock gallon bag with a papertowel or two to suck up the moisture. If I see that there is a lot of condensation in the bag, I switch out the towel for a new one.

    Spinach, that is a hard one. I do the same thing but it definitely can go back faster. I shake up the bag every day when i put it in my smoothie and pull out leaves that start to go bad so the rest stays good longer.
  • ksv123
    ksv123 Posts: 82 Member
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    Ditto with what Holton said - I only purchase the organic romain hearts that come 3 to a bag. I take one out and wash well, use what I need, and then wrap the rest in a paper towel and put back in the same bag with the remaining two.
  • Alyshe
    Alyshe Posts: 509 Member
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    Thanks all. :flowerforyou: I can't wait to have my greens last longer. :bigsmile:
  • JensLogin
    JensLogin Posts: 74
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    I use the green produce bags and green tupperware type containers specifically for produce. They do seem to keep them fresh for a much longer time. Something about how the gases are not allowed to stay inside and make the produce brown. Don't know all the science, I just know my produce lasts a littler longer this way!
  • lizzybug22
    lizzybug22 Posts: 3 Member
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    I have this problem too. I buy the spring mix in the bag and it never fails to get yucky before the expiration date. I will try the salad spinner idea though. or I'll just try to eat it all up faster! :)

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