Romaine or head lettuce? Which do you prefer? I’ve been avoiding Romaine because of the e coli scare that was coming with it that has been in the news periodically. I broke down a week ago and tried some. For some reason it was giving me a lump in the throat and a lot of “toot” gas. The lettuce leaves were oddly dark green as well. I skipped it today and I’m OK. There’s something odd about Romaine anymore.
Romaine is more nutritious than the head varieties. Neither is as good as the darker greens, such as spinach, mustard or the "coles" (kale, cabbage, broccoli, etc.) We just grow our own, so that any contamination is of our own making.
I prefer romaine for salads, lots more flavor than the iceburg lettuce, and the leaf lettuce always seems too “wimpy” for me, just no substance to it like romaine has. I have not had any problem with flavor or appearance of the romaine that I have bought, although I usually get the packages of romaine hearts from Sam’s Club when we go there.
I like to mix both the romaine and the iceberg for my salad, I prefer to use iceberg for my Asian turkey wraps, sandwiches as well as for my tacos.
I don't think it's lettuce but I would use Swiss Chard or sprouts in lieu of lettuce in most cases. Sticking just to lettuce, I guess I'd favor the Romaine variety. The iceberg-type lettuce seems to be little more than filler, with very little in the way of taste or nutrition.
Every week I make up a big ol' salad base with a head of Romaine, a 4 pak of small specialty lettuces, and a head of radicchio (a leaf chicory.) Artisan brand lettuce Radicchio My local Walmart used to carry the 4 pak of Artisan lettuce then stopped. Both Aldi and Kroeger carry it. We've all likely had radicchio in restaurant salads, and assumed it was red cabbage. If I get a large head of it, I'll roast some olive oil-coated leaves as a side dish. I figure all that variety is gonna give me a range of nutrients...that's the idea, anyway. If there's a Romaine e. coli alert for my region, I respect it. Other than that I don't really worry.
Leaf lettuce, since it was brought up, is great to grow in shady areas where few other things will grow. It also takes temperatures down to 24 F. if it is shaded and thaws before the sun hits it. True, it is not as nutritious (although some of the heirloom colored varieties take it to be close to Romaine). It is the least crunchy of the lettuces though. There are several Romaine-type that vary in taste, nutrition, and crunch. I would suggest trying local farmer's markets for this if you do not or cannot grow it yourself. @John Brunner mentioned Radicchio. While not a lettuce, it is a fine salad "green" that usually comes in red. It looks a bit like red cabbage but is hotter and usually has a "radish" taste to it. It can be served both raw and cooked, as can most lettuces, but Americans usually only use it in salads. @Ken Anderson bought chard into the discussion, and while also not a lettuce, can be a fine salad green if picked young but is most often served cooked in the U.S. It is a type of beet/beetroot bred for its leaves Oriental greens haven't yet been mentioned here, but they are perhaps some of the most varied and tasty of the salad greens. My wife particularly like shungiku, which is an edible type of chrysanthemum that is used in salads--both the flowers and the leaves.. You may not be able to find it in grocery stores, but you can certainly grow it yourself, even if you only have room for a pot of them. I have found two types: small-leaved and large-leaved. Wife much prefers the small-leaved varieties and they are much more common. As you can tell, this is one of my favorite topics. If you haven't tried wilted greens, I would suggest you give those a try as an alternative to just salads. Wilting greens with bacon "drippings" can make greens that are past their prime a delicious treat.
@Don Alaska My mother used to make wilted curly endive (a green leaf chicory) in bacon drippings with a splash of vinegar added. I've not been able to find it in my region. My neighbors have given me bunches of broccoli leaves, some of which I wilted and some of which got chucked into a pot of navy bean soup. It's amazing how nutritious greens are. And I've eaten nasturtium blossoms, but not chrysanthemum.
Are you looking for the endive? You can certainly grow your own, but I don't know availability in stores. Wilted dandelion greens were popular with my relatives when I was growing up. The edible chrysanthemums have small blossoms and are quite nice in a salad or as a garnish for a cooked dish.
I can find regular endive, but not the curly endive, which is what most of the wilted recipes call for, and which is what my mother made. I've never tried it...the smell of the vinegar turned me off as a kid, so it's an adult Culinary Bucket List thing. I believe she just cooked it for herself. I recall dandelion greens being used for something. I know we made dandelion wine, but don't recall the process.
Dandelion wine is supposed to be one of the finest wines in existence, but it is so labor intensive that it cannot be done industrially. You pick the blossoms and then plunk the petals out of each bloom until you get several gallons of petals. I tasted some that was made by my family and it resembled (to me) something akin to Bristol Cream sherry. I imagine the sweetness can be adjusted to your taste, but it must then be aged for several years to attain peak quality. Here is one link to the seeds for curly endive. Frisee is another name for curly endive. Link
It’s expensive but if I had my druthers it would be Butter Lettuce. It’s sweet, tender and the nutritional values are through the roof. In a salad, Butter lettuce and a Watercress mix with a side of good Roquefort will normally send me but again, we’re talking expensive.