A fresh salad with lettuce is a quick and very healthy dish, especially in summer. Home-grown lettuce is particularly healthy. The salad tastes wonderful with a flavoursome dressing. Home-grown lettuce is always fresh on the table if it is harvested and stored correctly.


The lettuce should be picked early in the morning when the leaves are still crisp and cool due to the morning dew. As soon as the heads are large enough, they can be harvested immediately. Do not allow lettuce plants to grow too long, as the leaves will become bitter and tougher. You can first cut off the outer leaves of the plant so that the inside of the lettuce heads can continue to grow. Alternatively, you can cut off the whole plant with a knife about 3cm above the ground and let it grow back.
Lettuce plants taste best when the heads are well formed and firm. Ideally, lettuce should be used immediately to preserve the best flavour and crisp freshness. Unused heads can also be wrapped in plastic and placed in the vegetable drawer of the fridge. Depending on the type of plant, the head of lettuce can remain edible for up to two weeks.

The firmer the head of lettuce is when you pick it, the longer it will keep fresh. Iceberg lettuce usually keeps for a fortnight in the fridge, romaine lettuce for around 10 days and ordinary lettuce for four days.

Tip: Do not store lettuce together with other green vegetables, bananas or apples. These give off ethylene during the ripening process, which is absorbed by the lettuce leaves and can cause brownish spots. The staining causes the lettuce to wilt more quickly.