Top Ten Salad Greens to Try Tonight

Salad afficionados know their arugula from their endive but to the rest of us our salad greens might all just look like a pile of leaves. The following is a list of some of the most popular salad greens and lettuces that you might like to try. Any of these will go well with a nice simple oil and vinegar dressing.

1. Arugula- The leaves have a somewhat peppery taste and its flowers are edible too.

2. Boston Lettuce- This light tasting green grows in a loose head. It has dark green soft outer leaves and tender, lighter inner leaves.

3. Chicory- has curly edged, kind of spiky leaves and a not unpleasant bitter taste to it. This makes a good salad green addition when used sparingly with lighter tasting lettuces.

4. Endive-is a close cousin of chicory and has a slight bitter taste that will liven up your salad. Again, use sparingly with other lighter tasting lettuce leaves.

5. Escarole- grows in a large spread-out head with wide ribs at the base. It can be tougher than most lettuces (especially the outer portion) and the outer most portions should be discarded. It holds up well against the addition of nuts or apples in a salad and should not be overlooked.

6. Garden Lettuce- is sometimes referred to as Leaf Lettuce and grows in curly loose leaves. This lettuce does not hold up well and needs to be kept very cold after picking and used as quickly as possible.

7. Iceberg Lettuce- is the all time favorite and most popular for salads and sandwich preparations. It is always available and keeps well under refrigeration. It grows in a crisp tight head. Iceberg has the mildest flavor and makes a good base lettuce for other salad green additions.

8. Red Leaf Lettuce- is another loose leaf variety that doesn’t keep very well but it’s red colored leaves make an interesting and delicious addition to most green salads.

9. Romaine Lettuce- is another wildly popular form of lettuce. It has long crisp green leaves that are cut into bite sized pieces before adding to a salad. It holds up well with oily type dressings.

10. Watercress- is deep green in color and has small flat leaves. When using it in a salad you might want to remove the tougher stem. It’s peppery taste works well in salads containing citrus fruits and also goes nicely in sandwiches.

Want even more flavor in your salad? Try adding some crushed fresh herb leaves such as parsley, basil, cilantro and oregano. Mix and match your lettuces and herbs for a different flavor combination every day.

Lettuce photo appears courtesy of ryarwood and CreativeCommons.org.