Perfect when you only need a bite or two
One of the hottest trends in the produce world is fresh, local and alive!
Living lettuce — a bouquet of one or more salad varieties with roots attached — is flourishing in supermarkets large and small, wrapped like flowers in a clear plastic sleeve or encased in a clamshell.
The concept isn’t new, but advances in technology have enticed more Ontario greenhouses to grow salad greens yearround under pristine conditions.
Packaging lettuce with the roots on allow the greens to live on the counter for days or even weeks with regular watering while you pluck off a leaf or two for a sandwich or toss a salad for one.
“People call to say they’ve had our Naked Leaf living butter lettuce on the counter for10 days and it’s still good,” says Emily Murracas, marketing director at Mucci Farms in Kingsville, best known for its greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers.
Instead of using the traditional greenhouse hydroponic system in raised troughs, Mucci seeds its Naked Leaf lettuce in individual plastic cups filled with peat moss then floats the young plants snug in their pots in a high-tech pond that stretches for acres. As their roots trail in the nutrient-rich water, the greens are also nourished by natural light on sunny days supplemented by purple LED light.
Within a few weeks, the pots of baby leaves grow into gorgeous full heads of butter (a.k.a. Boston) lettuce or a mix of leafy greens.
Another major greenhouse grower, Leamington-based Pure Hothouse Foods Inc., is adding baby romaine to its Living Lettuce lineup this spring under the Pure Flavour label.
Marketing director Sarah Pau says each head of lettuce grows in a cube of compostable coconut husks, which only need rehydrating with water every five days.
“Living lettuce is perfect for a single person who can’t get through a head of lettuce in a week and hates to waste food,” Pau says.
In addition to its potted plants, flower grower Sunrise Greenhouses in Niagara is now growing hydroponic Boston and green oak leaf lettuce in cubes of spongelike oasis.
“People go crazy for it,” says salesperson Niki Kowalski. “To keep it fresh up to two weeks just put it in a glass of water.”
Greenbelt Microgreens, meanwhile, is growing a handsome, organically certified trio of lettuces in real soil in its newly refitted Woodhill greenhouse near Hamilton.
“With 80 per cent of Canada’s greens being imported, retailers are desperate for something local and organic yearround,” says vice president Michael Curry.
Curry says Greenbelt’s microgreens and living lettuce are popular among young families shopping for organic, “and a lot of millennials like to have something living in their kitchen that’s fun to harvest.” Buy & Store
á Whether you prefer sturdy, crunchy green romaine, beloved in Caesar salad, delicate red or green leaf lettuce with their scalloped edges, spiky, bitter frisée or beautiful Boston or butter lettuce with their deep cupped leaves, salad greens are available year-round.
á Living lettuce needs water to keep it alive. Keep it on the counter or in the fridge in its original sleeve or container, which acts like a mini greenhouse to keep the leaves fresh and moist.
á Avoid any lettuce with leaves turning brown.
á Buying a whole head of lettuce is cheaper than prepackaged leaves and can be just as convenient with a little work. Trim, wash and dry the whole head, tear into bite-sized pieces and store in a zipped bag with a half paper towel to wick away moisture.
á Use cut lettuce within a few days. Prep:
á Never chop lettuce leaves with a knife or you’ll bruise them!
á Instead, tear leaves into bite-size pieces with your hands.