How to Bring Sad Salad Leaves Back to Life
Sometimes you’ve got a head of lettuce that you want to eat but it lacks a certain youth. In other words, it’s wilted and browning at the edges. The leaves are soggy and you are considering to throw the whole thing out.. but wait a minute! Here’s a SUPER EASY trick to revive those leaves and have something crisp, green, and delicious for your next meal.
Why is your lettuce so sad-looking?
Most vegetables are at least eighty to ninety percent water (lettuce has 96% water content) but once they’re harvested, they have a limited water supply to draw upon. That means that the fresh, crisp lettuce you bought immediately begins losing moisture.
It helps to store it properly beforehand, and that means washing & drying them and then wrapping it in a dishtowel or paper towel before putting it into a plastic bag. But be aware that even if you’re extremely careful, the water inside the lettuce will start to evaporate and the cells that held the moisture will shrink, which leads to those sad, droopy leaves.
To revive your lettuce, the answer is simple — it needs to be rehydrated. Once water within those cells is replenished in the process known as osmosis, your lettuce will be as good as new (or nearly so).
Bath your lettuce in cold water
Plunging leafy greens into water will revive them and give them some semblance of their former crispness. The trick is to cut off any browned parts and leave them submerged for at least twenty minutes (up to an hour if you’ve got the time). This technique works well for lettuces and other greens like arugula and baby spinach.
Place veggies upright in a jar of water
Another tip is to trim off the ends of the lettuce and let them stand upright in a container of water in the fridge, so you’ll always have that ready-to-eat crunchiness. This is especially effective for tougher lettuces, such as chards or kale.
Enjoy your crispy veggies longer!
