About Lettuce

Kitchen Garden

Crispy and flavorful, andoffering choices galore.

By Sara Pacher

LETTUCE IS EASY TOGROW. THERE are dozens and dozens of varieties to choose from, and, with proper planning, this traditionally cool-weather crop can be cultivated almost year-round in much of the country. When served straight from the garden, lettuce, like freshly picked corn, has a sweet flavor and crispy texture that can't be matched by store-bought versions.

Considering all this, I'm always astounded at the prices shoppers seem willing to pay for the very limited lettuce choices offered by most supermarkets. With a little effort, almost anyone—even city dwellers—can enjoy homegrown salad, since this compact vegetable can be raised in pots, window boxes, flower beds or tiny plots of earth.

The word lettuce (and the French for lettuce, laitue) comes from the Old French laitues, meaning "milky," which refers to the white sap that is particularly evident as the plant passes its prime. The generic name for lettuce, Lactuca sativa, reflects this, too ( lac being the Latin for "milk"). Lettuce is thought to have originated in the Middle East, and it owes its ease of cultivation to an Asian ancestor common to all Lactucas, the weed known as prickly lettuce (L. Serriola). As early as 550 B.C., this vegetable, then known as kahn, adorned the tables of Persian monarchs, and King Nebuchadnezzar grew it in his famous hanging gardens of Babylon. The Chinese and the Greeks (including Aristotle) lauded its virtues, and the Romans liked it served as the first course of their sumptuous meals. (They considered it both an aphrodisiac and a sedative.) Centuries later, Columbus took lettuce seeds with him to the Bahamas, and the plants were also grown at Henry VIII's Hampton Court, though his sixth wife, Catherine Parr, had her lettuce shipped in from Holland.

What toGrow

Over the hundreds of years that lettuce has been cultivated, several distinct types have evolved. With the exception of crisphead (often called iceberg) lettuce, this favorite ingredient of many salads contains high amounts of vitamin A, more B vitamins than most vegetables and a little vitamin C.

Cabbagelike crisp-head lettuce is the kind most often found in supermarkets. Though it's the least nutritious, the ability of some cultivars to stand up to hot weather and to keep and ship well has led to their being preferred by commercial growers. Great Lakes (matures in 90 days), in particular, is tolerant of hot weather, and Premier Great Lakes is resistant to both heat and tip burn.