freezing lettuce?

Question

If I make dry burritos and put shredded lettuce on them - can I put them in the freezer?? Or do I have to freeze them without the lettuce and just add the lettuce everytime we eat them.

Answer 1

Freezing causes ice crystals to form inside the cells of the lettuce, which expands and breaks the cell walls, mutilating the crispy structure of the leaves. When they are thawed, the liquid leaks out and the remaining cellular structure goes all limp and soggy because it has essentially been stabbed apart from the inside. It would be worse than pureeing it. So, unless you like your lettuce pureed, I would go with adding the fresh greens after you thaw the burritoes.

Answer 2

Freezing lettuce is a bad idea, it will end up limp. You should just keep a bag of shredded lettuce in a cooler and add it when your ready to eat the burritos.

Answer 3

Freeze them without the lettuce and add fresh lettuce when you defrost the burrito.

Answer 4

i would think you have to put on the lettuce each time cause when you freeze your burritos you have to warm them up again and the lettuce wouldn't be good any more.

Answer 5

It is wrong, just wrong, to ever reheat anything containing lettuce. The crunch is gone. Once the crunch is gone all you have is wet, drippy, stringy crap.
It is just not possible to freeze lettuce.
Just add fresh when you eat them, how hard is that. Nothing like fresh veggies for a burrito.

Answer 6

When lettuce freezes the ice crystals burst all of the cell walls and it turns into a big pile of mush.

Answer 7

Don't freeze anything with lettuce. Add later.

Answer 8

lettuce is nearly all water. when it's frozen it turns to mush. best to freeze the burritos w/o it and add it later