Cabbage and Lettuce

Do not slice off a section of cabbage to chop and cook, or a wedge of lettuce for your salad. Instead, gently remove and use the outer leaves, and as many inner leaves as you need to get the amount you want.

In other words, use the cabbage or lettuce from the outside in and store what’s left in the fridge, and you will be able to use the whole head without any of it going bad.

As a general rule, the less you violate the integrity of the vegetable or fruit, the better it will keep. You know from your garden or from experience with veggies, that it is better to use slightly damaged veggies first.

The nice thing about cabbage and lettuce is that it’s convenient to use them outside in. I think most people instinctively do that with lettuce but maybe not so with cabbage. It’s tempting to cut a cabbage in half becuase it might store better in your fridge. But if you resist that temptation, you can have a head of cabbage for weeks in your fridge, to add to soups and stews.