What To Do With Lettuce That Turned Pink

We all need lettuce occasionally, whether for making a delicious salad with all our favorite ingredients or adding some extra filling to delicious burgers or amazing chicken wraps. But unfortunately, lettuce doesn't last forever, and it can be annoying to open your fridge and see your freshly bought produce start to wilt away. Perhaps some pink spots started appearing on your lettuce, making you contemplate whether you should throw it away.

Although this discoloration might indicate that the lettuce is no longer suitable for consumption, that's not entirely the case. Pink lettuce can form from a variety of factors, such as temperature changes, aging, or exposure to ethylene gas by other produce. However, pink lettuce doesn't mean your produce is decaying, even if it does taste slightly more bitter than fresh green lettuce. But just because pink spots on your lettuce don't explicitly imply your lettuce is bad, there are certainly other signs that you should look out for before consumption.

There are other signs to look out for when making sure your lettuce is safe for consumption, such as your lettuce changing to other colors like brown or black, which usually indicates that there is decay at some level. If your lettuce is also slimy, then there's a good chance mold or another bacteria has infected it. While there may be pink spots on a head of lettuce with these other conditions, it doesn't mean the pink is also bad, which is something to consider.

If your lettuce is neither black, brown, nor slimy, it could still mean the lettuce is expired. Another sign that your lettuce has gone bad is that it doesn't easily cut with a knife or is otherwise highly malleable. Of course, bad smells also indicate that your lettuce is no longer usable, and it's time to toss it.

Of course, if you're not comfortable eating pink lettuce, either because of its look or its bitter taste, you can simply discard it by cutting off the pink spots on your lettuce, but it's probably not a good idea to completely dispose of it. Unless there are other symptoms that your lettuce has gone bad, there's no need to throw away anything. However, there are other ways to make sure your lettuce stays fresher for longer and to help prevent those pink spots from growing.

Try putting your lettuce in a container in your refrigerator where it isn't exposed to moisture and has plenty of air circulation. This helps prevent mold from growing on your lettuce and helps it last longer. You can also put your lettuce on some paper towels to help collect the moisture, replacing them every so often. By doing this, you can make your lettuce last longer and save you time and money from having to constantly buy more.