Is the lettuce inside the wilted outer leaves still good?

Question

At the vegetable market, I noticed some sellers cutting away the wilted parts of lettuce, to sell much smaller, but green portions. I wonder if they are cheating me, or if that is normal procedure.

• In some cases, the edges of the leaves were brown or had holes, and they trimmed the edges with scissors.
• In other cases, the entire exterior leaves looked really bad, and they just removed the outside, to sell the inside which was still green.

Is it still okay to buy this lettuce? When I find that this has happened to the lettuce I bought, should I similarly cut away these portions and still eat the part inside that is still green?

Answer 1

Yes it is still good.

A lettuce that is kept outside (as in a farmer's market) will get wilted outer leaves, and the merchant will usually cut them off to make the heads nicer.

Depending on the resulting size; if they cut out too much compared to other lettuces, I might ask for a lower price if sold by the unit.

Personally, I will buy the lettuce with as much of the outer leaves as possible, even if I remove them at home, they will act as an outside protection against the elements.