anyone knows what to do to keep lettuce from changing c0lour once you cut it and put it in the fridge?

Question

mine changes colour after a day or two once i cut it up and put it in the fridge.

Answer 1

To obtain the maximum goodness from vegetables, they should be eaten as quickly as possible after harvesting. It is best to buy fresh vegetables daily and to prepare and cook them on the same day, but this is not always practical.

Before you storing vegetables, check them over and discard any that have been eaten by insects, bruised or damaged. There is no need to wash earth of garden vegetables before storing them as the soil will help retain nutrients,
Vegetables deteriorate quickly after harvesting. Deterioration is caused by the chemical reactions of enzymes (proteins that break down food) naturally present within vegetables that remain active long after harvesting. These chemical reactions can be slowed down for as long as one week by storing vegetables carefully. Leafy greens and salads store well under cool, dark and slightly humid conditions. The bottom drawer in a refrigerator is a good place for these vegetables to be stored in polythene bags or containers. Less fragile vegetables such as potatoes, marrows, turnips, carrots and swedes should be kept in cool, dark, airy place such as a larder, a well-ventilated cupboard or a cellar.

Good luck! _;-)

Answer 2

Best thing to do is to either use one of the lettuce cutters (made from plastic) which you can get from Lakeland (mail order catalogue) or Sainsburys among other places. However, I think it is rather a waste of money, unless you are cutting many lettuces, day in day out.

The other alternative is to pull off the leaves from the base and then tear them up. Apparently the lettuce reacts to the metal in the knife, which is why this keeps happening.

Also, wrap it up well when you put the rest back in your fridge. Again, Lakeland does a gadget for this, which would be worth looking in to.

(Hope Lakeland give me a discount!!!)

Answer 3

2 things to stop this......the first is easy as 1-2-3
Remove lettuce from cellophane wrapping....with the core end down......give the head of lettuce 2 or 3 good hits on your counter right on the core....you can then remove the core very easily with your fingers.....put whole head of lettuce in gal storage bag and keep in crisper in fridge....
Another very important thing.....always pull lettuce off and tear into small pieces with your hand....the metal, whether stainless or aluminum...or any other metal will cause the edges to turn brown in a day or so......You can hand tear and whole head of lettuce....keep it in a storage bag in the fridge and use what you need daily for at least a week....
Another pointer....QVC sells green bags....they are wonderful to keep your produce in....it keeps fruits and veggies fresh and extends their fridge life for 3-4 times longer than regular storage bags.....they aren't expensive.....but with the cost of produce going up all the time....they are a great investment...and resuseable......over and over and over again......Good luck

Answer 4

It is actually best not to cut lettuce. This cut edges are those that turn brown. Instead tear the lettuce in small pieces.

Answer 5

Don't cut it with a metal knife, the lettuce reacts with the metal and turns brown. Use a plastic knife or tear it with your fingers, or keep it whole. Keep it in a plastic bag with some air holes so it doesn't get mucky, it needs some air circulation.

Answer 6

when you put it in the fridge make sure you put your lettuce in sealed container. Its still going to change colour but at least it'll reduce the colouring time. or maybe you can use vaccum pack.

Answer 7

Don't cut until ready to serve. (Or you could buy lettuce in the bag)

Answer 8

some good answers there, my best results are from wrapping the lettuce in newspaper.

Answer 9

Let it soak in ice water

Answer 10

mine doesn't, 'till about a week or more. maybe recut it again before serving?