Use Warm Water to Revive Wilted Lettuce With This Simple Kitchen Hack

Shopping in the produce section is the first step to adding more vegetables to your diet. After bringing them home from the supermarket, you have to make time to eat them before they spoil in your fridge. Delicate leafy greens like lettuce are often the first veggies to go bad. If your lettuce is somewhere between crisp and rotten, don’t toss it out just yet. A quick and simple hack can revive wilted greens in less time than it takes to go grocery shopping, Simplemost reports. 

Conventional wisdom states that chilling foods keeps them fresh, but sometimes a hot water bath is what your limp lettuce really needs. As author Tracie McMillan wrote in The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table, this trick originated in supermarkets. While working in Walmart’s produce section, she learned that the store steeps its lettuce in warm water before stocking it. Using the same method at home makes lackluster leaves crisp and vibrant. 

To rescue old lettuce, submerge it in a bowl or pot filled with hot water. The water should be warm, but not hot enough to poach the produce. After soaking it for 30 minutes or so, dry the leaves and move the greens to the fridge to chill. This hack is best done the day you plan to serve the lettuce. 

Wasted food is a major issue, with more than half the food in our refrigerators ending up in the trash or compost bin. In addition to perking up your wilted greens, here are more tips for reducing food waste at home.