If you have some wilted lettuce in your fridge, don’t throw it away. There is a way to…bring them back to life, to enjoy them.
You go to your neighborhood grocery store and fill the bags with salads, fruits and vegetables. You return home with your fresh purchases and carefully place them in the refrigerator . But the days go by and at some point you open the fridge and you see wilted lettuce and some damaged beans, carrots and celery.
Even the most organized will find themselves in this position at times. There is no reason to be ashamed. Let there be a way to save your vegetables – at least some of them – so that neither your money nor the resources spent on their production go to waste until they reach you. The following guide will help you.
Revive wilted lettuces in 4 steps
1. Cut the parts you don’t need. Cut off anything that is too wilted or you don’t need and put it in the compost bin. It can, e.g. the leaves are to be thrown away, but the stems are to be saved.
2. Fill a basin with ice water. You can submerge most vegetables in a large container of ice water. Then put the container of vegetables in the refrigerator. Leave them there for 15 to 30 minutes. Foods such as root vegetables (eg beets , carrots, radishes) may take longer. Foods with stems , such as asparagus, broccoli and herbs, can be treated like flowers. In other words, put their ends in a jar of water and let them soak, after first cutting off the ends a little.
3. Dry the swabs. You may need to rinse the vegetables to remove any remaining dirt or grime. Then wrap them in absorbent towels to remove excess water and dry them. Also, keep in mind that you need to dry the leaves one by one.
4. Use them as you would normally. Most of the food you save this way can be used just like whole fresh food. However, some of the pieces you put in the basin may absorb more water than normal, but don’t worry. It happens.
Careful in storage
If you want to store the products you saved from certain death, you should dry them very well, because if moisture remains, bacteria will grow and they will rot. Try to consume these foods within a few days. Don’t forget them in your fridge again!
Which vegetables can you apply the technique to?
First of all, in vegetables such as carrots, in leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, chard, cabbage, in herbs, even in asparagus and broccoli .
On the other hand, this technique does not help if you have vegetables that rot rather than wilt, such as zucchini and tomatoes. If in doubt, you can just try and see if the condition of your vegetable improves or worsens.
Finally, if the vegetables have started to rot or have other signs of rotting (mold, slimy texture, black spots), then say goodbye to them, because at this stage there is nothing you can do.
