All About: Salad Greens
Varieties
How to Store
Tips
Nutrition
Americans eat about 30 pounds of lettuce a year, and that number just keeps rising. Lettuce is also the second most popular fresh vegetable in the United States. That's no surprise considering the increasing varieties of salad greens available and new packaging that makes it easy to pick up a bag of pre-washed greens for your salad. The new varieties available also make it easy to try different varieties in your daily salad.
Did you know that lettuce has been cultivated for more than 2,500 years? In fact, romaine lettuce is named for the Romans who grew it and other varieties. Lettuce is a member of the sunflower family.
Here are some different varieties of salad greens to look for at your grocery store. Try different mixtures to see what combinations you enjoy. Look for fresh, crisp salad greens and avoid those with wilted leaves.
Varieties
Arugula:
Also known as rocket, arugula is a member of the mustard family and known for its peppery taste.
Belgian Endive:
Look for compact heads of yellow or white leaves. Leaves have a crisp texture and slightly bitter taste.
Bibb lettuce:
Small, tight leaves that have a crunchy sweetness.
Bok choy:
Sometimes called Chinese cabbage, the raw leaves have a slightly sharp taste. Can also be cooked lightly.
Boston lettuce:
Tender pale green leaves.
Endive, curly:
Inner leaves are sweeter and more tender than the dark outer leaves and are perfect for salads.
Escarole:
Salad greens with a pleasing bitter flavor that combine well with sweeter greens.
Field greens:
Available in the bagged salad section, field greens offer convenience and variety.
Iceberg:
The traditional salad green. Try combining it with other greens to add variety to your salads.
Leaf lettuce:
Mild and fresh flavor. Curly edged leaves often have red tips.
Radicchio:
A red miniature leaf with a slightly bitter flavor.
Romaine:
Gaining in popularity as a replacement for iceberg, romaine lettuce has dark green leaves and a crunchy texture.
Spinach:
A vegetable with deep green leaves that is suitable for mixing with other greens or as the only salad green.
Spring mix:
Often found as pre-bagged greens in the supermarket section. Composed of the earliest greens, or baby greens, for the most tender selections.
Leafy Salad Additions
Chives:
Chives belong to the onion family and can be snipped to add flavor to salads or other dishes. The chive plant is also an easy-to-grow perennial with purple flowers.
Lovage:
Described as a cross between celery and parsley, this perennial herb makes a great addition to salads and soups. It's also an interesting addition to vegetable sandwiches. Try it with cucumbers on dark bread.
Parsley:
Parsley is an herb. Use fresh Italian flat leaf or curly parsley in salad recipes. Chopped, it makes a pleasing addition to salads, both in appearance and taste.
Watercress:
Watercress is a salad green that looks somewhat like a cross between parsley and clover. Its dark green leaves have a peppery flavor, and it's a member of the cruciferous family.
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How to Store
How to Store
Store salad greens in a plastic bag in the refrigerator's crisper. Iceberg and romaine typically will keep the longest, while other greens are a bit more perishable and should be used within a few days.
Do not store greens near apples or bananas, as the ethylene gas the fruits release will speed up the decay of greens.
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Tips
- Greens that are purchased in a bunch with stems attached (such as parsley) can be put into a cup of water, covered with a plastic bag, and stored in the refrigerator.
- Too much dressing weighs down the greens.
- Wash greens by rinsing under a cool stream of running water.
- Dry leaves are critical to crisp salads and for the dressing to stay put. A salad spinner can be a great help.
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Nutrition
Nutrition varies widely depending on the salad green selected; however, the darker the green, the more nutritious the variety. Iceberg and romaine, for example, are both low in calories. But romaine supplies more than three times the amount of calcium than iceberg and six times the amount of vitamin C.
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