I am often amazed with the way a cut lettuce keeps in the fridge for
so long. As long as you cut off the manky outer leaves, then dunk the
remaining lettuce in cold water for 45 minutes it comes back up
tasting as fresh as when it was bought. Is this because the root
'stub' still provides enough nutrients for the leaves?

I've just prepared one that was bought a week ago and it was fine. It
was probably a few days old already by the time it ended up in
Somerfields. I noticed a similar effect with a fresh cauliflower
recently. I ate half the florets by cutting them off and cooking them,
then I put the remainder still on the root stub back in the fridge. It
was still edible six days later.

MM

In article , MM
writes
I am often amazed with the way a cut lettuce keeps in the fridge for
so long. As long as you cut off the manky outer leaves, then dunk the
remaining lettuce in cold water for 45 minutes it comes back up
tasting as fresh as when it was bought. Is this because the root
'stub' still provides enough nutrients for the leaves?

No, not nutrients. Just water. It's the water content which keeps it
fresh and crisp, and lack of water which makes it go limp and floppy.
Just like cut flowers.

I've just prepared one that was bought a week ago and it was fine. It
was probably a few days old already by the time it ended up in
Somerfields. I noticed a similar effect with a fresh cauliflower
recently. I ate half the florets by cutting them off and cooking them,
then I put the remainder still on the root stub back in the fridge. It
was still edible six days later.

You can revive shrivelled carrots by putting them in water. That is, if
they've shrivelled. Supermarket ones nowadays seem to go black and slimy
instead.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , MM
writes
I am often amazed with the way a cut lettuce keeps in the fridge for
so long. As long as you cut off the manky outer leaves, then dunk the
remaining lettuce in cold water for 45 minutes it comes back up
tasting as fresh as when it was bought. Is this because the root
'stub' still provides enough nutrients for the leaves?

No, not nutrients. Just water. It's the water content which keeps it
fresh and crisp, and lack of water which makes it go limp and floppy.
Just like cut flowers.

I've just prepared one that was bought a week ago and it was fine. It
was probably a few days old already by the time it ended up in
Somerfields. I noticed a similar effect with a fresh cauliflower
recently. I ate half the florets by cutting them off and cooking them,
then I put the remainder still on the root stub back in the fridge. It
was still edible six days later.

You can revive shrivelled carrots by putting them in water. That is, if
they've shrivelled. Supermarket ones nowadays seem to go black and slimy
instead.

I saw some french beans curling up and turning black at the ends yesterday
on a shelf in tesco. I checked the label, and they had been grown in
Zimbabwe. By this morning they were probably in the bin. So no waste there
then.

Steve

In article , shazzbat
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...

You can revive shrivelled carrots by putting them in water. That is, if
they've shrivelled. Supermarket ones nowadays seem to go black and slimy
instead.

I saw some french beans curling up and turning black at the ends yesterday
on a shelf in tesco. I checked the label, and they had been grown in
Zimbabwe. By this morning they were probably in the bin. So no waste there
then.

I'm trying to eat only those vegetables that are in season. There's no
guarantee that they haven't been flown half way around the world, but
there's at least a better chance of it. Just wish I liked the cabbage
family a little more than I do ;-)
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , shazzbat
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...

You can revive shrivelled carrots by putting them in water. That is, if
they've shrivelled. Supermarket ones nowadays seem to go black and
slimy
instead.

I saw some french beans curling up and turning black at the ends
yesterday
on a shelf in tesco. I checked the label, and they had been grown in
Zimbabwe. By this morning they were probably in the bin. So no waste
there
then.

I'm trying to eat only those vegetables that are in season. There's no
guarantee that they haven't been flown half way around the world, but
there's at least a better chance of it. Just wish I liked the cabbage
family a little more than I do ;-)

I make a point of checking a few labels now when I'm following SWMBO round a
supermarket, the thing that really made me angry last year was to see runner
and french beans which had been flown in from Africa on the same day that we
were picking them off the allotment. I can understand it when stuff is out
of season here, but that is ridiculous.

We like the cabbage family OK incidentally, but neither of us are fond of
any kind of spinach. We got seeds of swiss chard on one of the magazines the
other week, and we're growing it for the attractive coloured foliage rather
than to eat.

Steve

"shazzbat" wrote in message
...

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , shazzbat
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...

You can revive shrivelled carrots by putting them in water. That is,
if
they've shrivelled. Supermarket ones nowadays seem to go black and
slimy
instead.

I saw some french beans curling up and turning black at the ends
yesterday
on a shelf in tesco. I checked the label, and they had been grown in
Zimbabwe. By this morning they were probably in the bin. So no waste
there
then.

I'm trying to eat only those vegetables that are in season. There's no
guarantee that they haven't been flown half way around the world, but
there's at least a better chance of it. Just wish I liked the cabbage
family a little more than I do ;-)

I make a point of checking a few labels now when I'm following SWMBO round
a
supermarket, the thing that really made me angry last year was to see
runner
and french beans which had been flown in from Africa on the same day that
we
were picking them off the allotment. I can understand it when stuff is out
of season here, but that is ridiculous.

So you don't want Africans to earn a living?

Kiwi,Apricots,tangerines etc etc are never in season in the UK

In article , shazzbat
writes

We like the cabbage family OK incidentally, but neither of us are fond of
any kind of spinach. We got seeds of swiss chard on one of the magazines the
other week, and we're growing it for the attractive coloured foliage rather
than to eat.

Big advantage of that stuff is its ability to keep on going through the
winter and that dead bit of the year when you're still waiting for the
first broad beans. I used to tear the leaves from the stalks, cut the
stalks in pieces, put them in a pan with the smallest bit of water
possible, then put the leaves on top to be steamed. I liked it like
that, but it is still spinachy, though not with the tooth-roughening
character of real spinach.

I picked my first french bean this week. A seedling I had on the toilet
windowsill, waiting to be planted into a decent sized pot in the
greenhouse away from the slugs. It has decided to flower and fruit in a
two inch pot. Stupid thing ;-)
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Rupert" wrote in message
...

"shazzbat" wrote in message
...

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , shazzbat
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...

You can revive shrivelled carrots by putting them in water. That is,
if
they've shrivelled. Supermarket ones nowadays seem to go black and
slimy
instead.

I saw some french beans curling up and turning black at the ends
yesterday
on a shelf in tesco. I checked the label, and they had been grown in
Zimbabwe. By this morning they were probably in the bin. So no waste
there
then.

I'm trying to eat only those vegetables that are in season. There's no
guarantee that they haven't been flown half way around the world, but
there's at least a better chance of it. Just wish I liked the cabbage
family a little more than I do ;-)

I make a point of checking a few labels now when I'm following SWMBO
round
a
supermarket, the thing that really made me angry last year was to see
runner
and french beans which had been flown in from Africa on the same day
that
we
were picking them off the allotment. I can understand it when stuff is
out
of season here, but that is ridiculous.

So you don't want Africans to earn a living?

I've nothing against it. But would you grow rice here and fly it to China?



Kiwi,Apricots,tangerines etc etc are never in season in the UK

I never mentioned them. Although I believe Kiwis can be grown here.

Steve

In article , Rupert
writes

"shazzbat" wrote in message
...


I make a point of checking a few labels now when I'm following SWMBO round
a
supermarket, the thing that really made me angry last year was to see
runner
and french beans which had been flown in from Africa on the same day that
we
were picking them off the allotment. I can understand it when stuff is out
of season here, but that is ridiculous.

So you don't want Africans to earn a living?

It's not as simple as that, though, is it?

Kiwi,Apricots,tangerines etc etc are never in season in the UK


Apricots are in season in the UK in late summer. Don't know whether
they're grown commercially on any scale.

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article , (Rupert)
wrote:

So you don't want Africans to earn a living?

"Millions of peasants whose land has been taken over by agribusiness end
up in a desperate struggle against hunger. Children are often the first
victims of a society where a higher priority is placed on exporting food
than on feeding local people first"

From: http://www.tsujiru.net/moen/video_trans/008.html

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

Kay wrote:
:: In article , shazzbat
:: writes
:::
::: "Kay" wrote in message
::: ...
:::::
:::: You can revive shrivelled carrots by putting them in water. That
:::: is, if they've shrivelled. Supermarket ones nowadays seem to go
:::: black and slimy instead.
:::
::: I saw some french beans curling up and turning black at the ends
::: yesterday on a shelf in tesco. I checked the label, and they had
::: been grown in Zimbabwe. By this morning they were probably in the
::: bin. So no waste there then.
:::
:: I'm trying to eat only those vegetables that are in season.
:: There's no guarantee that they haven't been flown half way around
:: the world, but there's at least a better chance of it. Just wish I
:: liked the cabbage family a little more than I do ;-)

FWIW, vegetables aren't flown anywhere,it's much too expensive, they come by
cargo ship, usually in containers filled with carbon dioxide which slows
down their rate of going mouldy...only until they are exposed to oxygen
again, whereupon it actually speeds it up, perfect for the supermarkets as
you are probably storing it away by then at home, then when you come to use
it you find it has turned into soup and you have to go back to get some
more.

FWIW, vegetables aren't flown anywhere,it's much too expensive, they come
by
cargo ship, usually in containers filled with carbon dioxide which slows
down their rate of going mouldy...only until they are exposed to oxygen
again, whereupon it actually speeds it up, perfect for the supermarkets as
you are probably storing it away by then at home, then when you come to
use
it you find it has turned into soup and you have to go back to get some
more.



What rubbish, loads of vegetables are transported by air generally high
value/ highly perishable types.

Here's a link to a document which gives some details about the trade.
Written by some people who really do know what they are talking about.

Henry

Here's a link to a document which gives some details about the trade.
Written by some people who really do know what they are talking about.


Oops would help to include the link
http://r0.unctad.org/infocomm/divers...obi/lherau.pdf

Henry

Henry wrote:
::: FWIW, vegetables aren't flown anywhere,it's much too expensive,
::: they come by
::: cargo ship, usually in containers filled with carbon dioxide
::: which slows down their rate of going mouldy...only until they are
::: exposed to oxygen again, whereupon it actually speeds it up,
::: perfect for the supermarkets as you are probably storing it away
::: by then at home, then when you come to use
::: it you find it has turned into soup and you have to go back to
::: get some more.
:::
::
::
:: What rubbish, loads of vegetables are transported by air generally
:: high value/ highly perishable types.
::

OK, some high value vegetables come by air freight, the rest come by sea and
road.

:: Here's a link to a document which gives some details about the
:: trade. Written by some people who really do know what they are
:: talking about.

Yes it was a good read although about 7 years old...also it mentioned fruit
and veg imports to the EU, not specifically Britain, a more recent one (from
the Dept of Transport) states that fruit and vegetables arriving by air
freight into the UK accounts for 13% of total sales but it doesn't state how
much of this percentage is fruit *or* veg, I was referring to veg, if you
split it down the middle it's a fair approximation that about 6% of imported
veg comes via aeroplane, the other 94% comes by cargo ship.

HTH