Leaf lettuce: types and benefits

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Leaf lettuce is eaten mainly together with other vegetables or as part of a complex side dish for dishes. Its many varieties make it possible to use this product to enhance the taste and aroma of cooked culinary delights. In addition, it is indispensable for those who want to lose weight. Lettuce as a vegetable crop is divided into leaf and head.

All about leafy salads

Leaf lettuce is a plant of a classic look, an understandable form, based on the name. Familiar and loved by many people, it has a huge variety of varieties, often the same variety is called differently, confusing consumers. The most common and used in cooking are the following types of leaf lettuce:

- lettuce;

- lollo-rosso;

- oak lettuce;

- arugula;

- watercress;

- endive.

Each species is unique in its own way, has a bright rich flavor, combined with various ingredients.

Lettuce

Classic lettuce salad

has been growing everywhere in our country since ancient times. It has a fresh taste, its leaves are tender, soft. The main thing when growing this variety of lettuce is not to oversleep the time of its collection, because, overripe, it forms a kind of head of cabbage and becomes tasteless. If the plant lived in a place where it lacked moisture and light, there is a chance that the leaves will acquire an unpleasant bitter taste. This type goes well with vegetables, it is advisable to use it when making sandwiches.

Oak salad

Oak leaf lettuce got its name because of the similarity with the leaves of a similar tree. It can acquire both green and burgundy color, it is good when added to dishes of champignons, salmon, because it has an unobtrusive nutty flavor.

Arugula salad

Arugula salad

is familiar to many in combination with parmesan cheese and cherry tomatoes. It has an invigorating effect, despite its neutral taste. Only the leaves are added to dishes, as the stems have a bitter taste. This leaf lettuce, unlike most of its counterparts, grows in separate leaves, has a mustard-nut taste with a hint of hot pepper. Coming to us from the Mediterranean cuisine, it appealed to many lovers of mozzarella cheese, combined with olive oil and small sweet tomatoes.

Cress

Garden pepper - another name for watercress, widelycommon in the Caucasus and used in the preparation of masterpieces of local cuisine. It has a tart, slightly spicy taste, contains mustard oil, and is generally an excellent addition to salads, meat or fish dishes.

What is the use of salad?

When eating salads of any type and type, the body receives microelements (phosphorus, potassium, folic acid, iron, magnesium, calcium), is saturated with group A vitamins, which helps to strengthen the nervous system, prevent colds, regulate metabolism substances.

The use of leaf lettuce also lies in the fact that it is included in the menu of people suffering from problems with the gastrointestinal tract, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Due to the fiber content and low calorie content, it is advisable to eat it for those who want to lose weight. And the taste of this product allows you to add it to almost any dish.