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Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
is a temperate annual plant grown for its leaves, which are used
as greens in salads, hamburgers, tacos, and several other dishes.
It is most frequently eaten cold and raw. Commonly recognized
types of lettuce include: Iceberg lettuces form tight, dense heads
that resemble cabbage. They are generally the mildest of the lettuces,
valued more for their crunchy texture than for flavor. Varieties
of iceberg lettuce are the most familiar lettuces in the USA.
Crisphead lettuces form moderately dense heads with a crunchy
texture; this type is intermediate between iceberg and looseleaf
types. Looseleaf
Romaine, also called cos is a head-forming type with elongated
leaves. Butterhead, also called Boston or bibb forms loose heads;
it has a buttery texture.Batavia is similar to butterhead There
are hundreds of varieties of lettuce within these categories.
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Iceberg lettuce:
A lettuce plant has a short stem initially (a rosette growth habit),
but when it blooms, the stem lengthens and branches, and it produces
many flower heads that look like those of dandelions, but smaller.
This is called bolting. When grown to eat, lettuce is harvested
before it bolts. Some lettuces (especially iceberg) have been
specifically bred to remove the bitterness from their leaves.
These lettuces are have a high water content with very little
nutrient value. The more bitter lettuces and the ones with pigmented
leaves contain antioxidants.
Above Pictures Are From The U.S.D.A.
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