Kitchen

[Sooner]

Lots of greens, especially the organic ones, don't stay fresh long.  My method is buy what we will use that week and don't try to keep them longer.

I will wash what I buy within a day or two, rinse under running water, then swish in a bowl of water with vinegar in it.  The key is to spin dry and spin dry and spin dry. 

I store either in a covered bowl or zip loc bag with paper towels under the lettuce to absorb moisture.  Then it is cold and crisp and good for several days. 

[Texas Gray Wolf]

I've had that same problem with the 'rusty" spots on lettuce.

I had tried everything from removing the core & wrapping in paper towels....still kept getting those ugly spots.

So one day, I decided to place large torn pieces of lettuce in a lock-n-lock bowl.....no more brown spots and the lettuce stays fresh & crispy for weeks!! 

[loriqvc]

In case anyone is interested, several well-respected food-related entities (and quite a few home cooks, it seems) have done studies over the past few years and confirmed there is actually no difference in cutting lettuce with a metal knife versus a plastic or nylon knife—it is just the action of cutting itself that leads to oxidation and browning of the edges. It seemed there was a matter of just a few hours' difference in the amount of browning in most instances, and that could even be attributed to the lettuce and the environment as much as the cutting. (You can search the web for further details; many results have been posted.)

[SilleeMee]

If you give the 'heart' a good whack or two, it should loosen it enough to be able to work it out from the head w/o doing any damage to the rest of it. That's what one of my cook friends does at his restaurant.

[Group 5 minus 1]

@loriqvc Thanks. I always wondered about that.

[Caffeina]

I highly recommend the Prep Solutions lettuce keeper to keep iceberg lettuce fresher longer. But don't follow the instructions for lettuce that come with it. I think they're for other lettuces, and not for iceberg lettuce. When I followed them the iceberg lettuce wilted quickly, so I tried the opposite of what was recommended.

For iceberg lettuce, remove the core and rinse the lettuce. Put it into the container, close the lid, and keep the vent holes on the front closed. Do not keep the lower green section filled with water.

I bought mine in Walmart.

[Imaoldhippie]

@Caffeina ..........I have one very similar to this.  I bought it on Amazon.  I have had it for several years and it keeps fresh produce for quite a while.  

I dont know about iceberg lettuce as I dont buy it.  It has no nutritional value at all.

[Harpa]

I don't agree about the nutritional value. However, it is not kale or spinach.

But every now & then I want iceburg.

The best way I keep it is to buy organic, peel off the very outer leaf, keep the core intact, run the head under cold water & pat dry, cut off what I want for a salad, and store the rest in the same wrapper it came in. It is always fresh for a least 6 or so days, and by that time I will have eaten the whole head. It never turns color or wilts.