The Secret to Fresh and Crisp Lettuce (2024)

One of the keys to making a good salad is ensuring that your lettuce is fresh and crisp. Nothing makes for a disappointing salad like a plateful of limp, wilted greens.

The Keys to Crisp Lettuce

There are two things salad greens need to stay crisp: moisture and air. Many people think that the best way to keep lettuce crisp is to seal it up in a bag with all the air squeezed out, even to the point of inserting a straw into the bag to suck out every last molecule of air before sealing it shut. But removing the air is exactly the opposite of what lettuce needs.

Lettuce actually needs a good amount of airflow, in addition to a bit of moisture (but not too much!), in order to stay crisp. That's why restaurants store their lettuce in special perforated bins that allow for air circulation while it's held in the fridge.

Removing the air does help prevent oxidation, which is what causes lettuce to turn brown but has nothing to do with lettuce staying crisp. In any case, oxidation isn't something you should have to worry about as long as you buy fresh lettuce and use it within a few days.

Keep It Moist (But Not Wet)

One important note is that fresh greens do stay fresher if they have a little bit of moisture clinging to the leaves. Very dry greens will quickly wilt or even turn leathery. That said, too much water is a good recipe for spoilage. So how do you strike the right balance?

After washing the greens, dry them in a salad spinner or by very gently rolling them up in a clean towel. But don't obsess over drying them completely. A few water droplets here and there will keep the leaves firm and sprightly, almost like a liquid moisturizer.

What If Your Greens Are Already Limp?

Maybe, despite your best intentions, you let some lettuce sit a little too long and it's starting to look and feel wilted. Unless it's really far gone (very shriveled or starting to turn slimy), you can place the lettuce leaves in a large bowl or salad spinner filled with ice water for 20 to 30 minutes. The ice water will help rehydrate and crisp the leaves.

After soaking, dry the lettuce as you normally would and make sure to use it as soon as possible.

Tips for the Freshest Lettuce

• Note that this technique is the exact opposite of the way mixed greens are sold. Mixed salad greens come either in a bag or in one of those plastic clamshell containers. Neither one of these storage methods allows for any airflow, which is why those types of greens turn limp so quickly after you buy them.
• It's also worth considering that bagged greens have been found to be the culprit in a number of outbreaks of food poisoning, so it's a good idea to wash them yourself anyway.

How to Keep Your Lettuce Crisp, Step By Step

1. Trim off the end of the stem and separate the leaves.

   

2. Fill up the sink (or a very large bowl) with cold water and submerge the leaves. Gently swish them around in the water. Any grit will sink to the bottom. Remove the clean lettuce, or empty the bowl and repeat this step for especially dirty lettuce.

   

3. Now you're going to want to dry the lettuce. The best way to do this is in a salad spinner. But don't cram the leaves into it. Cut them in half (or smaller) so that you don't bruise them trying to squeeze them in.

   

4. Salad-spin until all the water has drained away. The leaves will still be slightly damp—that's what you want.

   

5. Take the basket out of the salad spinner and transfer the leaves to a container where they can get some airflow but will not be directly exposed to the drying air of the refrigerator.

   If you don't have a container with a perforated bottom for drainage as shown in the image below, you can place a paper towel in the bottom of any container to collect excess moisture.

   No matter what container you use, just make sure it's large enough that the lettuce isn't packed in.

   

6. Once the greens have chilled for about 30 minutes, they'll be crisp and ready to use. But you can store your lettuce in the fridge this way for three to five days.

   

Use It For Loose Greens, Too

The good news is you can use the method described above for your bagged loose greens, too. Yes, usually those mixed greens have already been washed, but remember, it's the residual moisture from washing and then draining the greens, along with adequate airflow, that helps keep them crisp and fresh.