Lettuce

Name: Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) — the most familiar salad plant, grown in several types: crisphead (iceberg), butterhead, romaine (cos) and loose-leaf. Specific kinds, such as iceberg, butterhead, romaine and oak leaf, have their own pages.

Description

Lettuce was first domesticated by the ancient Egyptians, who grew it around 2,700 BCE and depicted it in tomb paintings, originally for its oil-rich seeds and later for its leaves. The Greeks and Romans developed it as a salad vegetable, and it spread across Europe and the world. China and the United States are the biggest producers.

The word lettuce comes from the Latin lactuca, meaning “milk,” for the milky white sap that bleeds from cut stems. Lettuce is a very low-calorie food that is more than 90% water, and the darker the leaf, the more nutrients it contains.

Main nutrition value

Lettuce provides vitamin K, vitamin A, folate and some potassium, with darker leaf types such as romaine and red leaf offering more nutrients than pale iceberg.

How best to be consumed

Lettuce is best crisp and fresh, and eaten raw or lightly cooked.

1. Wash, spin dry and tear gently by hand, rather than cutting with a knife, which can brown the edges.
2. Dress just before serving, so the leaves stay crisp.
3. Use as wraps, in sandwiches, burgers and tacos.
4. Braise gently with peas, or add to soups, as in French cooking.
5. Store unwashed in the fridge in a bag with a paper towel.

Overconsumption could cause…

Lettuce is safe in food amounts.

1. Foodborne illness from poorly washed leaves, so rinse well, especially bagged and ready-to-eat salad.
2. Possible effects on warfarin and similar blood-thinning medicines because of the high vitamin K content, so keep intake steady rather than avoiding them.
3. Little nutrition if the lighter types replace nutrient-dense greens.
4. Calories and fat from heavy dressings and toppings.

GroupsLeafy Green VegetablesDaisy family (Asteraceae)Low fatLow sodiumFresh

Related foodsIceberg LettuceCos LettuceEndiveRomaine LettuceOak Leaf LettuceButterhead Lettuce

Wikipedia — Lettuce, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lettuce