Most vegetables bought in season can be kept in the freezer section of the refrigerator and consumed later. Many vegetables, such as carrots, broccoli, beans and peas, can be frozen this way for future consumption. However, there is an exception when it comes to vegetable freezing. This exceptional vegetable can of course be frozen, but once frozen and thawed it becomes impossible to consume.
This vegetable, which is not recommended to be frozen when purchased fresh and is not sold in frozen or canned form, is none other than lettuce.
Unlike other vegetables, freezing lettuce causes its internal structure to completely deteriorate. The reason for this is that lettuce consists of 95 percent water. You cannot freeze lettuce and consume it again due to the high amount of water it contains. When the waters inside the lettuce turn into ice crystals, they damage the cell walls and as a result, the lettuce will have a mushy consistency when thawed.
It is for the same reason that lettuce cannot be sold in canned form. Lettuce’s need for moisture makes it an almost impossible vegetable to freeze or can. Since lettuce cannot be canned in fresh leaf form, it is sometimes canned in cooked and boiled form. However, there are some natural methods to keep lettuce fresh.
The best way to store fresh lettuce leaves is to separate the lettuce leaf by leaf without washing it and place it in a ziplock bag. Washed lettuce will spoil in a short time as it will have absorbed moisture. To prevent this, it would be best to store the lettuce unwashed and wash it at the time of use.
Ziplock bags help lettuce stay fresh for a long time by maintaining moisture balance.
