Checking lettuce (doo dah, doo dah)

Checking lettuce has definitely become the curse (or blessing) of my life. I dread it, yet I enjoy it while I'm doing it, and I feel so rewarded and proud immediately after.

Pros: Big mitzvah, providing healthy, kosher food to my family

Cons: Drippy, watery and time-consuming

Why don't I buy pre-checked lettuce, you ask? Well, at $3-$5 a bag, I don't find it a good investment. Plus, the bags go bad quickly, appear to be lower in nutritional value because of all the processing, are not conveneniently accessible (I do NOT live in Brooklyn or KGH or similarly Jewish neighborhoods) and I really like the look and feel of big Iceberg and Romaine lettuce leaves.

In case you're wondering, here's how I do it, with guidance from the OU bug-checking book:

Method 1
Carefully tear the lettuce into individual leaves and place in a big bowl to soak for 10-15 minutes. Agitate the water so dirt (and hopefully bugs) will get off of the leaves.

After sufficiently soaked, hold each leaf individually up to the light, scanning both sides while looking out for dark spots (potential bugs) and obvious bugs. When you find one (and it's not as uncommon as you may think), either tear off the affected area OR wash off the bug OR wipe if off with finger, being careful not to splatter bug juices. If you're in doubt about whether it's a bug or not, just give a little scratch to the lettuce leaf and see if it comes off. If if does, whether a bug or dirt piece, you're well rid of it.

Place on towel and pat dry.

Method 2
This way is either, and many people check lettuce this way, but it is not the method endorsed by the OU book, so not sure yet how I feel about it. Basically, follow procedure above but CHECK the lettuce before you soak it. This is extremely advantageous because you don't have water dripping down your sleeves as you put the lettuce leaf up to the light. Then soak the lettuce afterward primarily to wash it.

You can also use a lightbox instead of holding each leaf up to the light, but that didn't work for me. We did get a lightbox, but checking wet leaves didn't work as dust particles would get mixed up with the water from the leaf and skew my vision, plus the switch broke off after a few months. See if it works for you.