TYPES OF LETTUCE

[QueenBeeGrannyJean]

Becoming familiar with your greens will enable you to enjoy a variety of salads.


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Red-tip leaf lettuce has a tender, sweet, delicate flavor that makes it versatile for many types of green salads.



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Leaf lettuce has a mild, delicate flavor and may be used interchangeably with red-tip leaf lettuce



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Radicchio is bitter and peppery-tasting when eaten alone, but small amounts add a nice accent to other greens



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Spinach has a mildly hearty flavor and is often used raw in salads




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Swiss chard has large stems with a delicate flavor similar to celery; leaves have a hearty spinach-like flavor



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Romaine has large, crisp leaves and a slightly sharp flavor that make this the classic lettuce for Caesar salad



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Curly endive has a mildly bitter flavor and adds visual interest to salads.



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Arugula has a peppery, pungent flavor that is an ideal contrast when mixed with milder greens.

[jdelasko]

It's not a type of lettuce but when I was growing up in PA, my dad used to consume vast quantities of Dandelion in the spring.

It's not as common in the south as it is in the northeast. For years I watched my dad go out in the yard and pick this weed and prepare what we would call today a wilted dandelion salad. First he would pick only the youngest leaves because the older ones were too bitter. He cleaned them, then put them in a large bowl and generously sprinkled them with salt. After they set for a while, he would take them all and squeeze all the water out of them by hand. Then he would fry a few strips of bacon and combine the dandelion, bacon crumbles, a bit of the bacon drippings, and some vinegar. He would do this nearly every day in the spring until the dandelion got too old. I believe once it passes the flowering stage it gets too bitter to eat. It's very similar to endive.

Finally, after many years of watching my dad pick and eat the stuff, I asked for a taste of the finished dish and I got a generous portion. I ate the whole thing and from then on, I'd help my dad pick dandelion. If you don't have dandelion growing in your yard, try endive. Like dandelion, endive is loaded with vitamins and minerals.

http://www.torontoist.com/attachments/toronto_ann/dandelion.jpg

[QueenBeeGrannyJean]

Very interesting, I never saw your reply to my post. I will try it next summer when the weeds are growing.