What does longer lasting lettuce mean? Do we sprinkle fairy dust on our lettuce to make it last months in your fridge? No. Although that would be festive. Do we create lettuce in a lab that never turns slimy or brown? Also no. The truth is, we take great care of our plants without ever touching them. To learn more about the process, check out Reducing Food Waste Pt 1, written by one of our growers, Ben Sword. To summarize: we grow our leafy greens in their ideal environment for 22 to 26 days, then harvest and package in a chilled space without human hands touching the greens. Easy peasy. Maybe not easy, but our team has it down to a science. Their work results in crunchy, delicious, and truly longer lasting lettuce.
Now, what do we mean by “longer lasting”? Most of us have found wilted, slimy greens in the fridge. The worst is opening a brand-new container and finding wet and slimy leaves, or tough and chewy ones. It is frustrating, and you deserve better. Fortunately, the Greenswell Growers lettuce assortment is a better option. Below you will see real examples of how our lettuce looks long after the Crunch By date, after it has been opened and forgotten, and a mix of both.
This Vibrant Greens Blend was purchased on July 10. There were 6 days left on the Crunch By date.
Instead of using it right away, I stored it in my fridge for almost 2 weeks.
On July 21, which was 5 days after the Crunch By date, I opened the tray and the greens looked like this.
Perfect. No slime, no browning, no tough or chewy pieces. Just fresh, crisp lettuce.
I used half and put the other half back in the tray, sealed it, and waited 4 more days. On July 25, I opened the tray and the greens looked like this.
Not much had changed. The lettuce was 9 days past the date on the package, had been opened, photographed, put back in the tray, and stored for 4 more days. It was still crisp with no discoloration or blemishes.
Now let’s tie this together. Having lettuce that is delicious and versatile and that lasts in your fridge is convenient. More importantly, we work to achieve these results to help reduce food waste. Billions of pounds and dollars’ worth of food get thrown out each year. Here are two ways you can help reduce waste:
- You can confidently buy Greenswell Growers lettuce even if it is the day of or the day before the Crunch By date. This helps keep stores from throwing out good lettuce.
- Even if you are forgetful, use lettuce infrequently, or want to stock up for two weeks, you are less likely to throw our lettuce away because it has gone bad.
It is that simple. Choose the right lettuce, enjoy salads, wraps, sandwiches, and tacos, and reduce food waste.
For more tips on how to enhance your salads while reducing food waste, stay tuned for Reducing Food Waste Pt 3: Beyond the Greens.
