This is how it stays fresh the longest

Interesting facts about lamb's lettuce

Valerianella is the official name of our common lamb's lettuce. He is known to many by the fairytale name Rapunzel. Its nutty taste has earned it the name nut lettuce in Switzerland; in other regions, for example, it has names such as mouse ears or bird lettuce. This variety of names testifies to the widespread use and popularity of lamb's lettuce.
Lamb's lettuce is the ideal winter salad: it only thrives at temperatures below 20 ° C, tolerates frost down to -15 ° C and is therefore in season all winter. You can find local lamb's lettuce in supermarkets between October and March. The lamb's lettuce from your own garden, which you sow for the winter harvest in September, is of course even fresher. The bed must be watered abundantly and kept free of weeds, but otherwise the lamb's lettuce is extremely undemanding.

Store lamb's lettuce in the refrigerator

Ideally, you should eat your lamb's lettuce right after you buy it or harvest it. This is how its fresh and nutty taste comes into its own. However, if this is not possible, you can store it in the refrigerator for a few days as follows:

1. Remove flabby and rotten leaves from the lettuce plants. However, leave the roots untouched as these will help the lettuce retain its freshness.
2. Moisten a kitchen towel or paper towel and thoroughly squeeze out any excess water. The cloth should be damp, but not wet.
3. Place the lamb's lettuce on the prepared kitchen towel and wrap it in it. The lettuce should be completely wrapped in the cloth.
4. Put the resulting package in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator. There should be plenty of space so that the lettuce is not squeezed by other vegetables.
5. Consume the lamb's lettuce after four days at the latest. The sooner you eat it, the crunchier and more aromatic the salad will taste.

Lamb's lettuce should not remain in plastic sales packaging and generally not be stored airtight, as this tends to rot.