Preparing Romaine Lettuce

I love the hearts of romaine packages available at the warehouses and at some grocery stores.  They add so much flavor to any green salad.  They are a great value.  Admittedly,  six heads of lettuce is a lot to deal with.

However the good intentions, how vivid the dreams of serving the family salads for lunch and dinner, those six heads can remain in the crisper,turning the lettuce into a nightmare.
 
The ruined abundance of bad lettuce drives people to purchase expensive specialty salads at the grocery store.  Incidentally, many of those prepared salads that come ready to serve four people, cost as much as the 6-head beauty pictured above!

An even worse scenario,  salad could be crossed off the menu!

Don't procrastinate.  Resolve to prepare the  lettuce as soon as you are home from shopping.

Remove the core with a knife, making two V-shaped cuts.

Holding the leaves together, wash the outer leaves thoroughly, then rinse the area where the core was removed.

Using a clean, empty dishwasher, spear each head upright in the upper rack to drain the lettuce.  There is plenty of room for all six heads.  Let it drain at least an hour, I have successfully left it for two.  You can continue putting groceries away while your lettuce is draining.

This method eliminates the need to use a salad spinner.  If you prefer a salad spinner, go right ahead.  (pardon the pun)

Lay two or three heads of the drained romaine parallel on your cutting board.  Slice lengthwise down the center of each one.

Holding the heads steady with your left arm, slice the lettuce across the other way.  You can put the lettuce, clean, dry and prepped, into gallon sized ziploc bags along with a paper towel.  These will stay quite well for about a week.  And it is easy to include salad often in your meals if you have the lettuce ready to eat.  In case you want to store the lettuce longer, here are directions for sealing them in canning jars:

You will need 4 half gallon size canning jars.  Place a half a paper towel in each jar.  They are easier to put in place if you push the squares into the jars using a long-handled spoon or small ladle.  

To fill the jars, use a canning funnel.

I like to put one whole head of romaine in one of the jars, just to have leaves on hand for hamburgers, sandwiches, or to finely slice for tacos, etc.  The other three jars will hold all five of the other heads.  Now for the sealing: 

Removing the oxygen keeps the lettuce fresh for a longer period of time.

Did you know a food saver sealer usually comes with an attachment that seals canning jars.?  Place the lid on top of the jar.  Do not use the ring while you are pumping air out of the jar.  Mine did not come with a sealer, but had an attachment built in.  We ordered the missing parts on Amazon.com,  The sealer comes in wide-mouth or regular size for canning jars.

It is worth finding space in your fridge for the luxury of lettuce ready-to-go.

Newsflash from the folks at FoodSaver:   
How to open a mason jar so that the lid can be reused
When opening a mason jar, wedge a spoon between the jar lid and the highest part of the threaded rim.  Twist gently to release the vacuum.  When opened this way, the mason jar lid can be reused many times.