How Long Can Lettuce Sit Out And Does It Go Bad?

Lettuce is a handsome vegetable. The term ‘Handsome’ describes its appearance in various salads.

Despite its uses in salads and various dishes, we want to discuss its life outside the refrigerator in this article.

How Long Can Lettuce Sit Out?

Leafy vegetables like Lettuce have a short shelf life. A refrigerator is the best place to keep your Lettuce. It remains fresh and crispy in a cold environment provided by the refrigerator.

Your Lettuce will remain fresh for two hours outside the refrigerator. Make sure you don’t put out your raw Lettuce or salad longer than two hours. If your Lettuce sits out longer than two hours, its freshness will diminish.

To keep your Lettuce fresh for a long, you can check out these best refrigerators.

What Happens if Lettuce Is Out Too Long?

It is probably not a good idea to keep your Lettuce out of the refrigerator for long. When Lettuce is left out for a long time, it is exposed to a hot surrounding. Your room temperature is fatal for your Lettuce’s freshness.

Lettuce becomes dry if it is left out for too long. Apart from that, it starts degrading, and if it is left out long enough, it may get spoiled. We advise not to use spoiled Lettuce directly or in any salad.

Want you chop your Lettuce like a pro? You might want to check out these cool Kitchen Knives.

What Should You Do If Lettuce Is Left Out Too Long?

If your Lettuce is left out for too long, it might be late already as it might be spoiled by now. You should inspect your Lettuce to see if it has been spoiled or not. But how can you tell if your Lettuce has gone bad?

Detecting spoiled Lettuce is easy. All it requires is your basic senses. Check the texture and smell of your Lettuce. If your Lettuce has brown or black spots on it and smells rotten, then it has been spoiled.

If the Lettuce has rotten, it is best to toss it out. You can also check out this article to know further about how can your Lettuce go bad?

How Long Can Lettuce Be In The Car For?

Your car is not the best place for your Lettuce. Cars are usually hot and humid, which diminishes the freshness of fruits and vegetables. Make sure you don’t keep your Lettuce and other vegetables inside your car for long.

It is approximated that your Lettuce can remain inside your car for two hours. However, if the internal temperature of your car is more than 90⁰F, then it might go bad sooner. Make sure you put your Lettuce inside a bowl and wash it properly after bringing it home.

Does Lettuce Go Bad If Not Refrigerated?

The refrigerator provides an ideal place for your Lettuce to sit in. The cold breeze provided by your refrigerator is a blessing for your Lettuce and keeps it fresh for long. But is it compulsory to refrigerate your Lettuce?

The answer is no. If you plan on using your Lettuce shortly, there is no need to refrigerate it & it will be good to go. However, if you want to stock your Lettuce for later use, then refrigerate it, or else it will spoil. 

Does Lettuce Go Bad If You Lose Power?

Your refrigerator will keep your Lettuce fresh. However, no power means no refrigerator to keep your Lettuce fresh. Does that mean your Lettuce will go bad?

Well, the answer is ‘Not Instantly.’ It is because if the power is out for a short period, your Lettuce will still be fresh. However, if the power is out for more than two hours, then your Lettuce will start degrading.

What Temperature Is Safe For Lettuce?

A cold environment with a low temperature is good for your Lettuce. Your Lettuce will remain fresh for a long at low temperatures. However, at high temperatures, it is bound to get spoiled.

Temperatures below 400F are safe for your Lettuce. If the temperature reaches or exceeds 900F, your Lettuce will spoil. Store your Lettuce at low temperatures to keep it fresh for a long.

High temperature is bad for your Lettuce since they suck all the moisture out of it. It makes your Lettuce dry, dull and lifeless. Bacterial action also causes black and brown spots on your Lettuce.

How to Store Lettuce

We can store canned food for much longer but cannot store vegetables for that much time, as they will start losing their freshness soon, and the watery content will start getting spoiled into a black and mushy material.

Which makes it more difficult to eat, and this mushy material also spoils other leaves that come in contact with the spoiled ones.

Wrap them in the sheet

If you want to store them for a little longer, you might need to check if they are not washed with the water. This way, you can put them in the wrapping sheet to absorb the leaves’ excessive extra water and prevent it from turning into mushy and dead leaves.

Refrigerate them

Lettuce leaves can be put into the crisper drawer as well. Just make sure that the leaves are dry and not wet. Wet leaves degrade much faster.

Dry lettuce

The lettuce leaves are stored for longer if they are not washed with water. Removes the leaves from the stem. Wrap them in the paper towel, and keep checking it. After 2-3 days, change the paper towel, switching to the fresh ones.

Wrapping in the polythene bags

You can always put fresh green leaves in the polythene bags. It prevents the loss of air from the leaves and prevents them from getting in touch with the outside environment.

Airtight Jar

Lettuce can also be put into the container, which prevents bacteria’s growth, and the leaves do not bruise. Furthermore, you can also put the jar in the refrigerator.

Keep lettuce away from ethylene fruits

You must always keep the lettuce away from the fruits containing ethylene as a component. Because as these fruits are stored, they release gas as they get ripened. This factor causes other fruits that come in contact with the lettuce to go pre-maturely.

Can You Freeze Lettuce?

You cannot freeze lettuce if you want to make a salad out of it. But if you want to cook them, then yes, you can store lettuce in the refrigerator as well. If you freeze lettuce leaves, this process forms water crystals in the leaves, rupturing the lettuce leaves’ cell wall.

Lettuce has a high watery texture; it gets very slimy when it is frozen. Put the leaves in the polythene bag, which traps the air inside it and sucks out the leaves’ extra air.

How Long Does Lettuce Last

The shelf life of lettuce depends on the type of lettuce. The head lasts longer than the loose-leaf lettuce. If the lettuce is unwashed and it is stored in the fridge, it lasts longer.

Head lettuce shelf life is almost 1-3 weeks, whereas the loose-leaf lettuce lasts for almost 7-10 days. Other green ones in which Arugula spends almost 2-5 days freshly in the storage.

How to Tell If Lettuce is bad

These leaves are crispy and very delicious and are refreshing, which adds flavor to our meals. It is rich in iron, and it is used as a salad in almost every house. It is just a crunchy salad that everyone craves for.

To buy a bunch of lettuce, one should know about its features and its state in which it looks healthy and fresh. You might need to know certain things about the lettuce that helps you in buying it.

• Mushy leaves: These leaves must be in green color with a refreshing texture. If they have a brown mushy texture, which is a very slimy and decaying type, throw these leaves right away.
• Lettuce wilts: as the leaves start going bad, they will become increasingly limp and shriveled.
• Gross odor: if the leaves develop a gross odor, which is the best indicator that they are going bad now.
• Black spots: if there are black spots on the leaves, sometimes these spots could be brown, which means that the leaves are starting to spoil.
• Fuzzy white patches: if there are fuzzy white patches as molds start appearing on the leaves, the lettuce has gone bad.

Sources

• Cheapism
• Smart Home Maker
• Still Tasty