How to Core Lettuce

Co-authored by Hannah Madden

Iceberg lettuce is great for salads, toppings, and condiments—but cutting out the core before you start chopping can be a pain. With this TikTok hack, you won’t even need a knife! Once you’ve got the right technique, you can remove the core from your lettuce in seconds using only your hands and a flat surface.

1

Hold the lettuce in 2 hands over a hard surface.

Find a table or a countertop nearby. Make sure the surface is clean, then grab the head of lettuce with both hands to get a firm grip on it.
- Try to do this trick standing up—you’ll get more leverage than you would sitting down.
- If you don’t want to slam your lettuce directly onto the table or countertop, put a cutting board down and use that instead.

2

Flip the lettuce over so the core faces down.

You can find the core near the bottom of your lettuce. It’s the hard, brown circle on the bottom of the lettuce that you’re trying to remove.
- The core is usually a little tougher and harder to chop than the rest of the lettuce, which is why you probably want to get rid of it.

3

Hit the lettuce against a flat surface.

Hold the lettuce up to about shoulder height. Then, slam it down onto the table or countertop in front of you.
- Make sure you slam it down quickly! The faster and harder you go, the easier the core will come out.
- You might hear a slight thud as the core dislodges from the rest of the lettuce.

4

Flip the lettuce over and grab the dislodged core.

Grab the core as it falls out on its own. If you slammed the lettuce hard enough, this should be no problem at all.
- You can throw the core away in the garbage or your compost bin.
- If the core isn’t loose enough, try slamming the lettuce down again 2 to 3 times.
- Once you take the core out, you can wash and chop your lettuce to make salad or a yummy topping for burgers and tacos.