Seeing Red!

stark said:

I buy romaine hearts, snip the root end, wash, dry, wrap in a paper
towel, and stash in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer. Depending
on the age of the lettuce
in shipping it's good for a week to 10 days. BUT somewhere around 4 or
5 days, the lettuce starts seeping bright red, from the root end. Now
what the heck's that?
Something natural in the lettuce or something packagers added as
preservative?
Or is it just me? Just curious.

Oxidation. If you leave it long enough, it will turn brown.

Perfectly normal.

maxine in ri

stark said:

I buy romaine hearts, snip the root end, wash, dry, wrap in a paper
towel, and stash in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer. Depending
on the age of the lettuce
in shipping it's good for a week to 10 days. BUT somewhere around 4 or
5 days, the lettuce starts seeping bright red, from the root end. Now
what the heck's that?
Something natural in the lettuce or something packagers added as
preservative?
Or is it just me? Just curious.

I'm working with pretty old botany here, but stay with me.

The green pigment (chlorophyll) in plants "hides" a number of other
pigments (yellow, red predominantly, carotinoids and anthocyans).

When the weather gets cold and daylight gets shorter, trees stop
producing chlorophyll and the other pigments begin to show through, thus
the bright colors of autumn leaves.

The same thing is happening to your romaine. In the dark and cold of
the fridge, they anthocyan pigment begins to leave the plant. Other
lettuces get "rusty" instead.

Not to worry.

gloria p

Quoted message said:

The same thing is happening to your romaine. In the dark and cold of
the fridge, they anthocyan pigment begins to leave the plant. Other
lettuces get "rusty" instead.

Not to worry.

gloria p

Once again blinded by science, thanks.