Overview of types and varieties of green salads

Lettuce

The most famous and widely used variety, with about 100 varieties. Lettuce is available in cabbage and leafy varieties. The first forms loose rosettes of curly leaves, the second leaves more even and collected in dense heads of cabbage at the base. The salad does not have a pronounced taste, rather its taste is bland or neutral, so it is an ideal addition to products with a more pronounced taste.

Lettuce leaves are quite tender, so it is recommended not to cut them, but to tear them with your hands. It is used fresh - it is put in sandwiches, cold dishes are decorated with curly leaves. So that the greens do not lose their juiciness, they are briefly placed in water. In the cold, lettuce can be stored for 2-4 days.

Lollo Rossa

A very beautiful and popular hybrid of lettuce, but unlike it has a light nutty flavor with a slight bitterness. The leaves are green at the base and reddish brown at the edges. Presented by several hybrid varieties. The most famous of its types: Lollo Bionda, Nika, Barbados.

The leaves are voluminous and soft. You can eat the salad fresh, as well as in combination with sauces, any hot meat and vegetable dishes, barbecue. Lollo Rossa has a high decorative effect, therefore it is often used for serving dishes. In the cold, it lasts no more than 2 days.

Korn

This salad is represented by small oval leaves of a rich dark green color, collected in small rosettes. It has a delicate spicy aroma that is not immediately perceived. The taste is intense, sweetish-nutty. In order not to overwhelm this taste, only olive oil is recommended as a dressing for herbs.

Corn is well combined with many products: bacon, croutons, nuts, onions. In a fresh salad, it can be steamed with a cyclic salad. Despite the fact that it is a salad green, the root goes well with citrus fruits, and in some countries it is served with berry sauces. In the cold, Corn retains its freshness for up to 3 days.

Romano

It is also called romaine, or roman salad. It has a slightly tart sweetish-nutty taste and a delicate spicy aroma that is not lost in combination with other herbs. Many hybrids have been bred on its basis. Remus, Monavert, Dandy, Xanadu, Wendel are some of the hybrid varieties of Romano.

The leaves are juicy, crispy, long (up to 30 cm), dense, intense dark green color with white fleshy compaction at the base. Depending on the type, they are collected in dense rosettes or heads of cabbage, reaching a weight of 300 g. Romano can be consumed fresh without any additives, it can also become a spicy addition to vegetable salads, sandwiches, and various dressings. In addition, Romano is used in the classic version of the Caesar salad.

Watercress

A very spicy plant containing mustard oil in its juicy green leaves, thanks to which the greens have a characteristic taste similar to the pungency of horseradish. Watercress is famous for its useful, one might say, healing properties and high concentration of vitamins, therefore it is often grown in vegetable gardens in the garden. Watercress greens are outwardly similar to spinach or Corn salad - the leaves are the same oblong and smooth.

In cooking, watercress has the widest application: it goes well with vegetables, it is able to add a special piquancy to any dish. It is also an excellent seasoning for meat, especially cutlets, chops. The leaves can be used to make green butter for canapes, sandwiches. It is used both fresh and stewed, although during processing it loses some of its useful substances, but the taste becomes softer at the same time.

Video "Benefits of different types of lettuce"

This video provides a description of the different types of salad, and you can also hear tips for choosing greens.

Arugula

Very popular salad greens with unusual intense green leaves that look like dandelion leaves. Has a peculiar aroma and spicy taste, reminiscent of a mixture of nuts, mustard and pepper. Unlike other types of salad greens, it grows not in rosettes or heads of cabbage, but in separate stems, to which spicy leaves are attached.

Vinegar, vegetable oil, preferably olive oil is suitable as a dressing for arugula. It goes well with fresh tomatoes, cheese, it can be added to vegetable salads, as well as steamed and served as a garnish for meat and fish. Arugula leaves wither quickly, so greens cannot be stored for a long time.

Spinach

The most popular salad greens, widely known for their high vitamin content and low calorie content. Spinach grows in small rosettes, the leaves, depending on the variety, can be smooth or wrinkled, and differ in color intensity. In our latitudes, the culture can be grown year-round: in the winter in pots, in the summer - in the garden. Spinach leaves have a pleasant, slightly sweet taste.

It is good both fresh and blanched, and during processing, these greens retain vitamins and proteins. It is better to use young spinach leaves for food - they have a more delicate and delicate taste. In the cold, spinach stays fresh for about a week.

Iceberg

The most famous and purchased salad with dense leaves of light green color, collected in a fairly large (from 300 g to 1 kg) head of cabbage. The iceberg can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks, and at the same time its leaves do not lose their juiciness and crunchiness. It has a neutral, slightly sweetish aftertaste, therefore it is easily combined with any sauce, dressing. The iceberg can be used in vegetable salads, as a garnish for fish, meat, seafood, or as an addition to sandwiches. You can also make stuffed cabbage rolls from its leaves. When choosing a quality salad, you should pay attention to the density of the heads - they should not be too soft (empty), or too dense.

Radicchio

A very popular head salad in Italy, a hybrid of the chicory we know. The sprawling heads of cabbage resemble cabbage in shape, but the leaves have an intense purple color. Green species of Radicchio are distinguished by dark green color of leaves with dense burgundy veins. The taste of the salad is bitter, intensely expressed. The use of Radicchio in cooking is quite diverse: it can be eaten raw, mixed with other lard, used as a garnish for cape, hot vegetables, and also added to vegetable sautés. Mayonnaise, honey sauce, citrus juices are suitable for dressing juicy leaves.

Frize

The name of the salad is translated from French as "curly". Its leaves are narrow and really very curly with an intense green color, which gradually changes to yellow towards the center of the rosette.It is this yellow center that has a delicate taste and is completely devoid of bitterness. Previously, to obtain these delicate light leaves, lettuce was tied, depriving it of daylight, but now hybrids have been introduced that themselves brighten, and they do not need to be tied.

Frize leaves have a slight bitterness; due to their high decorativeness, they are used to decorate dishes. The salad is well combined with other salad greens, perfectly sets off the taste of meat, shrimp, fish, soft cheeses. Spicy herbs will perfectly complement fried bacon, meat sandwich. Vinegar and vegetable oil are suitable for dressing Frize.

Lollo Bionda

Lettuce with beautiful curly leaves of bright green color. It is a hybrid of lettuce and a variety of the well-known Lollo Ross. The taste is nutty, light, with bitterness. Contains vitamins B, A, C in high concentration, calcium, iron. It is recommended to season greens with balsamic vinegar, citrus juice, olive oil.

Lollo Bionda goes well with many products, including fried meat, kebabs, hot vegetables. Corrugated greens are good as a staple in fresh vegetable salads. The leaves of the plant are quite tender and crunchy, so lettuce is often sold in pots to prolong the shelf life of the product.

Oak

This salad got its name from the original green-brown leaves that look like oak leaves. Its most famous types: Amoriks, Asteriks, Dubachek, Dubrava, Zabava. It has a bright taste with a slight nutty flavor, so it is better to combine it with dishes without a dominant aroma. Lettuce leaves do not tolerate temperature changes - the greens are stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day.

Oak salad is good in combination with mushrooms, avocado, salmon, any hot appetizers. It can be served with fried croutons and fish. Light sauces, any vegetable oil, vinegar are recommended for dressing the leaves.

Video "Types, processing and storage of salads"

Video recommendations for choosing different varieties of leaf lettuce with practical tips for storing them.