The Lettuce Guide
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable.
It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important as the leaf.
Both the English name and the Latin name of the genus are ultimately derived from lac, the Latin word for “milk”, referring to the plant’s milky juice.
Mild in flavour, it has been described over the centuries as a cooling counterbalance to other ingredients in a salad
You will come across many varieties of lettuce, the type you encounter will depend a lot on the region in which you are. The best places to go to discover the joys of lettuce are on the northern shores of the Mediterranean
Below are some of our favouritist lettuce:
Here we have the Endive Lettuce.
The Endive is great with anything cheesy or nutty.
Tepid goats cheese salad with honey vinagrette, walnuts and rasins....delicious.
Here we can see the Lollo Rosso Lettuce.
Ok, so the lollo rosso may sound like an Italian aperitivo but its a hugely under rated lettuce.
Very tasty and its darkened leaves mean you don't have to worry about dinner guests seeing those bugs still crawling on it.
Fantastic!
And here is the Iceberg Lettuce.
Where would we be without the iceberg lettuce?
The staple of every steakhouse salad and side dressing.
Folk stories even tell of the Iceberg lettuce having been used as a pre cursor to the football.
It really is an integral part of our society.
Here we present the Cos Lettuce.
Very well known due to it's success in the Cesar Salad.
And last but by no means least, the Trocadero Lettuce.
Definatley a mans lettuce. A heavy weight amongst the green leafy plates.
If you ever needed a lettuce to watch your back this would be it.
Grown in Eastern Spain it is usually multi-lingual and travels well.
Do you have a favorite lettuce?
Have you an interesting story about a lettuce you want to share with us?
Just drop us a message on the form below. It's good to share!