O do I loathe these!
They look so appealing in the shops with the nice tender leaves so lovingly stored. But I always thought that there was always something funny about the leaves themselves, they didn’t look real somehow they were everso slightly puffy. They had a rubbery texture when I bit into them.
I have grown rocket, a salad leaf in most salad bags and the rocket I grew was more peppery and didn’t have that dull, slightly rubbery texture of the bag variety.
So why the difference between home grown and the bag variety?
The gas used to pack and preserve the leaves. Boy does it preserve as well!
The gas is meant to disperse into the atmosphere once opened … however eating the gassed leaves makes me feel sick and nauseous for two days. I couldn’t understand why I felt so sick all the time until I found out that the salad leaves in bags are gassed. I don’t know what gas they use but I do know that since I stopped eating bag lettuce I stopped feeling sick.
Also don’t always believe the Organic label. If an alternative to a chemical cannot be found to preserve then some chemicals are allowed by the Soil Association for example copper sulphate is allowed when growing organic olive trees.
There are organic bag lettuces (or salad bags) and although I haven’t got a clue to how they preserve or pack their bags, I wouldn’t trust that they do not use the gas. As I am not that bothered (bovvered? me? do I look bovvered?) I haven’t investigated this, I just totally avoid bag lettuce or salad bags; to the extent that I have nearly asked in a restaurant before ordering a salad if it is from a bag, then I chickened out and ordered soup instead!
Try buying fresh produce and bagging it. My whole foods store sells green plastic bags designed for holding green vegetables. They are designed to hold in certain gasses but allow others to escape, and they work fantastically. You have to seal them using traditional methods like twist-ties, rubber bands, or a granny knot. They cost more than regular plastic bags, I can get maybe 12 quart-size bags for $3.50. I have not found a vegetable that fails to benefit from these bags. They are reusable when washed in the sink. Click my nickname to see some.
Thanks Bag Lady, very interesting – you learn something new every day! I never knew that about the caves in Japan and the clay that absorbs the gases from ripe foods. I just may make a purchase.