Lettuce

Heads of lettuce are a staple of our weekly shares. We grow many varieties of loose leaf, romaine, butter head and summer crisp heads. A head or two will be in your share until October when it begins to be too cold and damp for lettuce.

Cooking Tips

Of course, salads and sandwiches are an easy way to use your lettuce. Tear the leaves into preferred size, rinse and spin dry. Dress the lettuce right before it is served to avoid sogginess. Shredded lettuce is also great with tacos, baked potatoes, or pita and hummus. If you have more lettuce than you can manage, try making some lettuce soup.

Storage Tips

Keep lettuce in a plastic bag, inside the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. It should keep for about a week. Avoid treating it too roughly, as lettuce will bruise.

Nutrition

Lettuce is rich in vitamins, A, C, and K, folic acid, and antioxidants. Unfortunately, many varieties of lettuce have been selected over the years for higher water content and milder flavor, thus diminishing some of its nutritional value.

History

Wild lettuces grow to this day around the Mediterranean, and it was there that lettuce was first cultivated, initially to make cooking oil from its seeds in ancient Egypt. It was one of the first vegetables brought by Columbus to the Americas, and since then the United States has become a leader in developing new lettuce varieties, including the dubious Iceberg lettuce.