Best Vegetables And Lettuce For Salads

A good salad is both nutritious and pleasing to the eye; overall, though, it should taste as good as it looks. Knowing the flavor of each type of lettuce and vegetable is essential for creating the best salad.

The iceberg lettuce is the most common lettuce because it stores well for about two weeks. Iceberg lettuce is known for the crispy texture and very mild flavor. However, it has the least amount of nutrition of the lettuce family. The darker the lettuce leaves, the more nutritious the lettuce. Romaine's strong taste and crispy texture coupled with the sweet taste of carrot, the acidic bite of a sweet Cherry tomato and a crunchiness of the radish makes for a good salad. The butter head type of lettuce has a delicate sweet flavor with the addition of green peppers, green onions and small sprigs of broccoli making an interesting variety of flavors for a green salad. Arugula added to any salad will lend a peppery flavor. Mâche or lambs lettuce is very nutritious, has a velvety texture and a mild flavor. Endive will add a slightly bitter taste, but when added to a sweeter lettuce will off set the sweetness. Celery is a good source of nutrition and goes well with practically every vegetable. Shredded cabbage, spinach and Kale add extra fiber to the salad.

Some of the lettuce types such as arugula and Mâche or lambs lettuce are very delicate and they do not keep well, which means they should be purchased only in the quantity needed and used immediately.