Usually, lettuce has a pretty short shelf life and needs to be eaten almost immediately. But iceberg lettuce is the exception to the rule! With a little prep, you can keep it fresh and crunchy for quite a while. Here’s the lowdown on how to make your iceberg last.
Prepping Your Iceberg Lettuce for Storage
Whether you just harvested a head from your backyard or picked one up at the grocery store, you’ll want to give it a quick once-over. Even if store-bought lettuce looks clean, it usually isn’t. However—and this is the golden rule—don’t wash your lettuce until you’re actually ready to eat it.
If you wash it before storing it, the moisture will cause it to spoil way faster. Instead, just brush off any loose dirt with a soft brush. If you’re harvesting from the garden, make sure to remove any nibbled leaves or uninvited guests like slugs or bugs.
Where to Store Your Iceberg Lettuce
The best spots for your lettuce are the fridge or a cool cellar. One thing to avoid? The freezer. Lettuce has a high water content, so if you freeze it, the leaves will just turn into a mushy mess once they thaw. Definitely not appetizing!
Storing Iceberg Lettuce in the Fridge
Once you’ve cleared off the dirt and critters, wrap the head of lettuce in a layer of plastic wrap or even some newspaper. This helps it stay nice and crisp. Pop it into the crisper drawer of your fridge, and you can extend its life by one to two weeks.
Storing Iceberg Lettuce in the Cellar
If you’re lucky enough to have a cool, dark, and dry basement or cellar, you can store your lettuce there too. Just like with the fridge method, clean it (don’t wash it!) and wrap it in plastic or newspaper. Place the heads in a wooden crate, and they can stay fresh for a few weeks. Just keep in mind: if you want that peak “crunch factor,” don’t wait *too* long to enjoy it.
A Few More Pro-Tips
If you’ve got a green thumb and your harvest times are all hitting at once, storing your lettuce is a must. But remember, the longer lettuce sits, the more nutrients, vitamins, and minerals it loses. For the healthiest salad, try to eat it as soon after harvesting as possible.
Also, keep in mind that store-bought lettuce isn’t as fresh as what you pull from the garden. Since you don’t know how long it’s been sitting on the shelf or in a truck, its “fridge life” is naturally shorter. I wouldn’t recommend keeping a store-bought head in the fridge for more than a week if you want to play it safe.