Can you freeze lettuce? haha

  • A lady I work with gave me a HUGE head of lettuce from her garden, and there is no way I will be able to eat it all before it goes bad.

    I never really thought about it, and it is probably a stupid question.. but can you freeze lettuce and have it defrost decently? If so what is the best way to go about it?

    Thanks ladies!
  • Not that I know of...maybe you can share with a friend? I know that if I stick the lettuce next to the vent in the fridge, sometimes it does freeze a little. When it thaws it's pretty nasty.
  • Yeah, freezing raw lettuce really doesn't work very well. Is it leaf lettuce? If you stir fry it or steam it, you might be able to freeze it then. I've seen cooked lettuce recipes, but they don't really appeal to me.
  • I've frozen a lot of lettuce in my day - all by accident and with regrettable results Gina's right, it's pretty nasty!
  • Yeah, freezing will cause all the arteries that hold the water to explode and it becomes quite nasty.
  • Green smoothies are the best way to use up a surplus of lettuces.
  • I love to put lettuce on the grill. Usually I use romaine but I guess any would do. Sometimes I use the left over as a cooked veggie, like in a shrimp saute.
  • I have never tried this, but have heard if you put a piece of silverware, like a fork, in the lettuce keeper with the lettuce, it stays fresh longer.
  • If it works, it might have to be real silver, because I think the stay-fresh bags and tupperware are impregnated with silver nitrate.
  • I have frozen lettuce before but when you "thaw" the lettuce it is gross!
  • Well I am glad I asked before I tried it!
    Anyone ever try those green bags?
  • Eat that lettuce...it's good for you! I eat about a head of lettuce every day. How big is it, anyway? One of the last times we went to costco we got a dozen heads of lettuce. Iceberg for DH, Romaine for me. We ate it all before it went bad. There were a couple of outside leaves that I had to toss, but not much.
  • I love those green bags. I wrap the lettuce in a paper towel and bag it and then it stays fresh for 30 days. I periodically put a new towel around it as the old one gets damp.