Romaine lettuce

bigguygettingskinny · September 2017

If I cut up one whole romaine heart but only use half will the other half keep until the next day. Or will it start getting well yucky right away.

Thanks

bigguygettingskinny · September 2017

But cut up too?

katsheare · September 2017

Should be absolutely fine, but it depends on so many things (the type of container you're keeping it in, state of freshness before you started, how picky you are about leaves) that it's hard to say.

If you are doing this, don't wash the heart beforehand. Bruising is what causes the leaves to wilt, so handle it as little as possible.

That said, we often have a head of red or green leaf lettuce in the fridge, it will last at least 4 days, we just pick the leaves from the outside. No need to cut it in half. The same holds true for endive or chicory.

_pi3_ · September 2017

bigguygettingskinny wrote: »

But cut up too?

Yes

It'll be a week before it starts wilting

ritzvin · September 2017

Leafy greens (chopped, washed, stored in fridge in the salad spinner) usually last me at least half a week. Usually not a whole week though.

DX2JX2 · September 2017

Make sure it can breathe. Do not seal it tight in a plastic bag or it will go bad much faster. Lettuce does quite well in the fridge as long as it can stay dry. I've had heads stay pretty nice for almost a week and they were still OK after that, just slightly wilted.

Oddly enough, once the leaves do start to wilt a bit, you can wrap them in a bit of damp paper towel and put them back into the fridge. It actually brings them back a little bit.

aeloine · September 2017

I literally just meal prepped a whole week's of salads with romaine hearts. Just make sure it's tightly sealed and dry (no dressing, etc).

ETA: just realized that this is literally the opposite of the advice above mine. Funny how that works.

Basically, yes, it will keep for a bit.

lorrpb · September 2017

aeloine wrote: »

I literally just meal prepped a whole week's of salads with romaine hearts. Just make sure it's tightly sealed and dry (no dressing, etc).

ETA: just realized that this is literally the opposite of the advice above mine. Funny how that works.

Basically, yes, it will keep for a bit.

Yes, Tightly sealed when DRY. If it's soggy, yuck.

OP, you could just try it and see how it works. If possible, don't chop it up, cut/tear in half, chop up the half you want, and save the other half intact for later in the week. At worse you might need to peel off an outside leaf.

kristen8000 · September 2017

I've had Romaine last cut up for up to 5 days. I actually prep salads in Tupperware and it stays crispy.

Iamnotasenior · September 2017

I wash it, dry it and then wrap it in a couple of paper towels (to absorb any moisture) and then loosely wrap it back up in the plastic bag it came in. It should last at least three or four days.

JennJ323 · September 2017

Quite often I chop up several hearts of romaine on Sunday, put it in a zip lock bag (but don't seal it closed all the way) and throw it in the crisper draw. I have no problem keeping it good all week!