Instructions

1. Sanitize your kitchen sink, scrubbing all surfaces, including the drain, faucet, knobs and caulking, with an antibacterial cleaner. Rinse thoroughly. After cleaning, fill the sink about halfway with ice. Alternatively, fill a large, sanitized tub with ice, but it might be hard to move and drain once it’s full.

2. Place a large colander into the center of the ice. Add water to the sink or tub until the water reaches the top level of the ice. Stir briefly with a slotted metal spoon -- or your hand if you can stand the cold -- to quickly chill all the water evenly.

3. Pour your chopped lettuce into the colander in the ice bath and plunge the lettuce into the cold water. Your goal is to shock the lettuce by ensuring that all of the leaves are immersed in the frigid ice water.

4. Allow the lettuce to soak for at least 30 seconds, although you can leave it in the ice bath for up to 2 minutes. Use the slotted metal spoon -- or your hand -- to stir the lettuce as needed to keep it all under water.

5. Pull the plug from your sink, allowing water to drain out. Or, if you’re using a tub, lift the colander from the icy water and dump the ice bath. Shake the colander to remove as much of the excess water as possible.

6. Dry your ice-cold lettuce completely to keep it crisp and prevent sogginess. Pour the drained lettuce into a salad spinner and spin to remove the extra moisture. As an alternative, lay the drained lettuce into a large pan lined with paper towels. Lay several paper towels on top of the lettuce blend and gently squeeze to sop up the extra water. You might need to repeat this step several times with fresh sets of paper towels until the lettuce is dry.